How long can a criminal case take in Ontario before the delay is too long?

Under R. v. Jordan, delay from the charge to the actual or expected end of trial is presumed unreasonable once it passes 18 months in the Ontario Court of Justice, or 30 months in the Superior Court or after a preliminary inquiry, not counting delay the defence caused or waived. Above that ceiling the Crown must prove exceptional circumstances or the charges are stayed. Below it, the defence has to show it pushed the case forward and that it took markedly longer than it should have.

Section 11(b) of the Charter gives any person charged with an offence the right "to be tried within a reasonable time." In R. v. Jordan, 2016 SCC 27, the Supreme Court of Canada replaced an open-ended balancing test with fixed presumptive ceilings. This page explains how the clock is counted, what counts against the defence, what the Ontario Court of Justice now does to keep cases inside the ceiling, and what a stay of proceedings means for a criminal case in Ontario.

How is delay counted, step by step?

1. Start the clock at the charge. Jordan measures delay "from the charge to the actual or anticipated end of trial." In the Ontario Court of Justice, the scheduling practice direction counts from the date the Information, the formal charging document, was sworn.
2. Find the end point. Use the date the trial ended or is expected to end, not the date it starts.
3. Subtract defence delay. Delay the defence waived, and delay caused solely by the defence's conduct, do not count toward the ceiling (Jordan, paras. 61 to 64).
4. Compare the net delay with the ceiling. The ceiling is 18 months for cases tried in the provincial court, and 30 months for cases in the superior court or tried in the provincial court after a preliminary inquiry.
5. If the ceiling is exceeded, the burden is on the Crown to show exceptional circumstances. If it cannot, a stay follows.
6. If the delay is below the ceiling, the defence must show that it took meaningful steps demonstrating a sustained effort to expedite the case and that the case took markedly longer than it reasonably should have. Jordan says stays below the ceiling should be granted only in clear cases.

What are the ceilings and the Ontario scheduling targets?

The 15-month target is the court's own scheduling goal, set below Jordan's 18-month ceiling. It is not a new legal limit, and the practice direction says either side may ask to waive or decline the offered date, with any waiver clearly stated on the record, and that the court decides whether to grant the request. Cases with accused persons in custody, and young persons, continue to receive scheduling priority.

What counts as defence delay?

Jordan describes two kinds. The first is delay the defence waives. A waiver can be explicit or implicit, but it must be clear and unequivocal, and the accused must have full knowledge of their rights and of the effect the waiver will have (para. 61). The Court added that what is waived is not the right itself, only the inclusion of a specific period in the calculation.

The second is delay caused solely by the defence. Deliberate and calculated tactics, including frivolous applications and requests, are the clearest example (para. 63). The defence also causes the delay if the court and the Crown are ready to proceed and the defence is not (para. 64). But periods when the court and the Crown are unavailable do not count against the defence, even if defence counsel is also unavailable on those dates.

Some things never count as defence delay. The defence must be allowed time to prepare, even when the court and the Crown are ready, and applications that are not frivolous generally do not count against it either (para. 65). That matters if your lawyer needs time to review disclosure or bring a Charter application to exclude evidence.

What can the Crown rely on above the ceiling?

Only exceptional circumstances. They lie outside the Crown's control because they are reasonably unforeseen or reasonably unavoidable, and they cannot reasonably be remedied. They fall into two broad groups:

• Discrete events, such as an illness or an unexpected event at trial. The delay reasonably attributable to the event is subtracted from the total.
• Particularly complex cases. If the delay comes from the case's complexity, the delay is reasonable and no further analysis is needed.

Jordan is equally clear about what does not count. The seriousness or gravity of the offence cannot justify delay above the ceiling, nor can chronic institutional delay. And the absence of prejudice to the accused can in no circumstances be used to justify delay once the ceiling is breached.

How does the Ontario Court of Justice try to stay inside the ceiling?

Its Jordan-compliant trial scheduling practice direction, effective November 1, 2023 and revised June 1, 2026, expects both sides, at the first appearance after the six-month mark, to have addressed disclosure, held a meaningful Crown pre-trial and any needed judicial pre-trial, and be ready to resolve the case or set a trial or preliminary inquiry date. If they are not ready to resolve it, the court expects them to set a trial date anyway while discussions continue, and to flag outstanding items such as discrete disclosure for early follow-up. A judicial pre-trial must be scheduled if substantial disclosure has not been received within four months. Our guide to criminal disclosure in Ontario explains why early dates are often adjourned while disclosure arrives.

The first months matter too. Our page on the first court appearance in Toronto explains the 12-week adjournment that can apply when a lawyer is on the record by the first appearance or within four weeks of it. For charges sworn on or after June 1, 2026, out-of-custody adult cases are limited to three appearances in case management court unless a judicial officer orders otherwise.

What changes the answer?

• Which court tries the case. A Superior Court trial, or a provincial court trial after a preliminary inquiry, has the 30-month ceiling. Our page on the judge or jury election explains how that choice is made.
• How the Crown proceeds. The Crown's choice affects where the case can be tried and so which ceiling applies; see what the summary or indictable choice changes.
• Any waiver. A clear and unequivocal waiver removes that period from the count (Jordan, para. 61).
• Defence availability. If the court and Crown offer a date and the defence cannot take it, that period is usually defence delay (para. 64).
• Complexity and discrete events. These are the only routes for the Crown above the ceiling.
• Custody. A detained accused gets scheduling priority, and a separate 90-day detention review applies (Criminal Code, s. 525), explained in our guide to bail reviews in the Superior Court.
• When the Information was sworn. Different parts of the practice direction apply to Informations sworn before November 1, 2023, on or after that date, and on or after June 1, 2026.

A worked example

For example, imagine Farid, who lives in Vaughan and is charged by York Regional Police with assault. The Information is sworn in early February 2026, and his case is in the Ontario Court of Justice in Newmarket. Disclosure comes in pieces, a judicial pre-trial is held at month five, and at month six a two-day trial is set for month 14, inside the court's 15-month target. Our page on the Newmarket courthouse explains where the case is heard.

At month 12, Farid changes lawyers and his new lawyer asks for one more month to prepare, so the trial moves to month 15. Then, a week before trial, the court has no judge available, and the next date it can offer is month 20. On these facts, the one-month adjournment the defence requested when it was not ready may count as defence delay, leaving 19 months, which is over the 18-month ceiling. The Crown would then have to show an exceptional circumstance, and Jordan says chronic institutional delay is not one. Farid's lawyer would have put the Crown on notice as soon as the delay became a problem and would bring the section 11(b) application promptly. Whether a court would stay the charge depends on the full record. This is a hypothetical walk-through, not a prediction of any result.

What mistakes do people make?

1. Agreeing to a waiver without understanding it. A waiver removes that period from the count, and a clear one will be held against the defence (para. 61).
2. Turning down offered dates. If the court and Crown are ready and the defence is not, that time is usually charged to the defence (para. 64).
3. Raising delay at the last minute. Jordan expects the defence to put the Crown on timely notice when delay is becoming a problem and to bring the application reasonably and expeditiously.
4. Assuming a serious charge cannot be stayed. Seriousness cannot justify delay above the ceiling.
5. Assuming nothing can be done below the ceiling. A stay is possible below it, but only in clear cases where the defence pushed the case and it took markedly longer than it should have.
6. Changing lawyers late without a plan. A new lawyer needs preparation time, and any adjournment that follows may be counted against the defence.

What to do this week

1. Find the date the Information was sworn. It is the start of the count in the Ontario Court of Justice.
2. Build a timeline. List every court date, who asked for each adjournment and why.
3. Check for any waiver. Ask your lawyer whether anything was waived on the record.
4. Follow up on disclosure. Missing disclosure is a common reason for adjournments.
5. Make yourself available. Tell your lawyer the dates you cannot attend now, so the defence can accept the earliest dates offered.
6. Ask for an explanation in your language. If you are more at ease in Persian, our guide for Persian-speaking people charged in the GTA explains each stage.

Frequently asked questions

Does the clock start at the arrest?

Jordan counts from the charge. In the Ontario Court of Justice, the practice direction measures from the date the Information was sworn, which can be different from the date of arrest.

Do adjournments my lawyer asks for count against me?

Not automatically. Time to prepare, and applications that are not frivolous, generally do not count against the defence; delay counts against the defence when the court and Crown are ready and the defence is not, or when the defence waives it (Jordan, paras. 61 to 65).

What happens if a court finds the delay unreasonable?

Jordan says that if the Crown cannot justify delay above the ceiling, a stay will follow. It is the remedy Jordan sets for delay above the ceiling that the Crown cannot justify.

Is the 15-month target a legal deadline?

No. It is the Ontario Court of Justice's scheduling goal under its practice direction. The constitutional ceiling from Jordan for that court is 18 months.

Does the ceiling change if there is a preliminary inquiry?

Yes. A case tried in the provincial court after a preliminary inquiry has the 30-month ceiling, the same as a Superior Court case.

What should I expect at the trial itself?

Delay is one issue a trial judge may decide before or at trial. Our page on a criminal trial in the Ontario Court of Justice walks through the trial step by step.

Getting help

Gambriani Law PC tracks delay from the first appearance in cases across Toronto, York Region and Peel and brings section 11(b) applications where the record supports one, in English and Farsi. Call +1 647 970 3370 or reach us through the contact page.

This page is general information about the right to be tried within a reasonable time, not legal advice about your case.