In the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an unprecedented decline in the number of adults and youth in a correctional institution, and counts fluctuated in tandem with pandemic-imposed restrictions. Overall, in 2020/2021, the annual average daily count of adults in provincial, territorial and federal custody declined 16% from the previous year. The annual average daily count of youth in custody decreased by more than one-quarter (-27%) in 2020/2021, the largest decline in almost two decades since the Youth Criminal Justice Act came into force.
While the pandemic brought historic changes in the size of the federal, provincial and territorial correctional populations, the changes at the provincial and territorial levels were more pronounced. Specifically, in 2020/2021, the annual average daily count of adults in provincial and territorial custody declined 21% from the previous year to about 18,950, while the federal custodial population declined 9% to about 12,830. These declines were the largest recorded at both the federal and provincial and territorial levels since the late 1970s, when information was first available. For more information on the differences between the provincial, territorial and federal correctional systems, please see Note to readers.
Most of the decrease in provincial and territorial custody occurred in the first month of the pandemic, from March to April 2020, when the monthly average daily count of adults in custody fell 20%. Provincial and territorial custody counts declined again the following month (-5% in May), then trended upward over the remaining course of the year, increasing 14% from June 2020 to March 2021.
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