Data on adults in federal and provincial/territorial custody during the COVID-19 pandemic, July to December 2021

Monthly average counts of adults in custody in the provincial/territorial and federal correctional systems during the COVID-19 pandemic are compiled from Statistics Canada's Adult Corrections Key Indicator Report which monitors trends in correctional populations.

The Canadian courts and correctional systems have taken actions to reduce the size of the correctional institution population during the COVID-19 pandemic, while balancing public safety concerns. While the data in this release quantify the magnitude of change, they cannot show the extent to which special safety measures implemented during the pandemic, such as temporary and/or early release or alternatives to custody, contributed to lower custody counts.

There may be differences in jurisdictional operations, custodial populations and implementation of measures to address COVID-19 among correctional services programs resulting in differences in the relative changes in custodial populations.