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Criminal Code

s. 269 Unlawfully Causing Bodily Harm

Unlawfully causing bodily harm

  • Assault & Violent Offences
  • Assault
Maximum sentence
10 years
Classification
Hybrid

Last verified: June 2026 · Source: laws-lois.justice.gc.ca

The law says

Criminal Code s. 269
Verify on justice.gc.ca(opens in a new tab)

Every one who unlawfully causes bodily harm to any person is guilty of (a) an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years; or

  • (b)an offence punishable on summary conviction.
Amendment History (3)
  • R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 269
  • 1994, c. 44, s. 18
  • 2019, c. 25, s. 94

Justice Laws is the authoritative version. If this copy and it ever differ, Justice Laws wins.

Immigration

Where this offence sits under IRPA

This offence is hybrid. The top sentence is 10 years, which makes a conviction serious criminality under IRPA s.36(1). The section covers bodily harm caused in some way other than an assault.

This is how the law sorts the offence, not a reading of any one record. An officer decides each case.

IRPA sections involved

Guides on offences like this one

No guide cites this section directly. These guides cite related offences.

Assault & Domestic Violence Entry to Canada

Related sections

Criminal Code s. 267Assault with a Weapon or Causing Bodily HarmHybridCriminal Code s. 268Aggravated AssaultIndictable