Sentencing Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act: Part 4

PUBLISHED ON March 15, 2025

While a youth’s sentence will often be more lenient than that of an adult convicted for the same offence, this doesn’t mean that a youth cannot be sentenced to a period of incarceration under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. This article addresses youth sentencing in cases of murder and manslaughter. Further aspects of sentencing under the Youth Criminal Justice Act are addressed in other articles.

The difference between first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and manslaughter are outlined elsewhere. The mandatory periods of parole ineligibility that apply to adults sentenced under the Criminal Code have no application for youths. This article only addresses the maximum sentences for these offences. Actual sentences are determined with guidance from the principles and objectives of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, particularly the factors outlined in s. 38.

First-degree murder

The maximum sentence that a youth can receive under the Youth Criminal Justice Act for first-degree murder is ten years, with a maximum of six years to be served in custody and the remainder to be served in the community under conditional supervision (s. 42(2)(q)(i)(a-b).

Second-degree murder

The maximum sentence that a youth can receive under the Youth Criminal Justice Act for second-degree murder is seven years, with a maximum of four years to be served in custody and the remainder to be served in the community under conditional supervision (s. 42(2)(q)(ii)(a-b).

Manslaughter

Under section 42(2)(o) of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, a youth found guilty of manslaughter can be sentenced to a custody and supervision order for a term not exceeding three years from the date of committal that orders the young person to be committed into a continuous period of custody for the first portion of the sentence and to serve the remainder of the sentence under conditional supervision in the community in accordance with section 105 of the YCJA.

Pre-trial custody

While a youth court judge must consider pre-sentence custody in sentencing, the credit given is entirely in the discretion of the sentencing judge. The Youth Criminal Justice Act mandates youth sentencing judges to impose the least restrictive sentence capable of achieving the purposes in the YCJA, and to impose a sentence most likely to rehabilitate and reintegrate young person into society. In certain cases, requiring youth court judges to give credit for pre-sentence custody could reduce their ability to meet those objectives.

A young person who turns 18 before being sentenced

In terms of serving a sentence, a young person who turns 18 before they are sentenced will be ordered to serve their sentence in an adult facility unless it is not in their best interests and would not jeopardize the safety of others to serve a sentence in a youth facility. A young person can stay in a youth facility until they turn 20, at which point they would be moved to an adult facility (YCJA, 93(1)).

Conclusion

In all sentencing cases under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the Court will be guided by the objectives and principles of the YCJA outlined in sections 3 and 38. As always, this article is for information purposes only and not legal advice. If you need legal advice, contact a criminal defence lawyer like Brian Ross at (416) 658-5855.