According to recent Statistics Canada data , Canadian police investigated over 215,000 Level 1, “simple” assault incidents in 2024, making the offence the third most reported crime in Canada after theft of $5,000 or under and mischief (vandalism and related property crimes). In Ontario , police investigated just over 63,000 reported simple assaults and charged about 26,300 suspects with committing the offence.
People tend to associate the word “assault” with violence and causing physical harm. However, under Canadian law, assault includes the intentional application of force against another person even in the absence of violence or causing any harm. Thus, even a simple tap on the shoulder or a light grab of a wrist can be construed as assault under the law. Indeed, police will often lay assault charges for such limited physical contact if they are concerned that a minor confrontation might escalate, especially in response to domestic disputes.
Most people charged with simple assault due to limited physical contact and no real harm to the alleged victim feel that the law is unjust, given the severe penalties that can be handed down with a conviction. Level 1 assault is a hybrid offence that the Crown can prosecute as either a summary conviction or indictable offence. When charged as an indictable offence, the maximum penalty is five years imprisonment. While most simple assaults are charged as a summary conviction offence, it carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail, of which, even a one-day sentence would likely seem extreme to someone convicted because of a light wrist grip. Additionally, a conviction comes with a criminal record, and judges can impose limitations on personal freedoms through no-contact orders and weapons and alcohol prohibitions.
Given the severe penalties that can ensue from a simple assault conviction, anyone facing such charges should secure the services of a highly skilled assault defence lawyer, like those of the Greater Toronto Area’s Mass Tsang law firm.
“Stats Can court case data suggests that the Crown successfully convicts just over 25% of alleged simple assault offenders,” says Mass Tsang founding partner Jeff Mass . “It also suggests that the majority of cases are resolved in the defendant’s favour before trial.”
Jeff’s partner, Robbie Tsang , adds that most defendants in these pre-trial settled cases likely secured their favourable outcomes with the help of a competent assault defence lawyer. “Crown prosecutors don’t like to negotiate with defendants and are prone to take a harder line against those who defend themselves,” he says. “This holds especially true with assaults characterized as domestic, due to what is essentially a “zero tolerance” policy for the offence in the Canadian judiciary.”
On the basic level, Section 265(1) of the Criminal Code broadly defines assault as intentionally applying direct or indirect force against another person without their consent. An attempt or threat to apply such force against another person by “act or gesture” also constitutes simple assault, if the victim truly believes that the alleged assailant had the ability to carry out the action. Last, accosting or impeding another person, and begging constitutes simple assault, if done while openly wearing or carrying a weapon or imitation of one.
Canadian police charge most people with simple assault that occur during physical fights and domestic disturbances that are turn physical. If the assault involves significant injury requiring medical care or usage of a weapon, police usually lay Level 2 assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm or Level 3 aggravated assault charges.
Once they’ve thoroughly reviewed case details and evidence, Ontario defence lawyers defending simple assault clients typically begin their defence work by negotiating with the Crown. Simple assault evidence always involves two perspectives — that of the alleged victim and assailant — and may include a third if there were any witnesses. In negotiations, a competent defence lawyer wants to ensure that the Crown attorney understands the incident from the alleged assailant’s point of view. They also want to expose any flaws in the Crown’s case and evidence, letting them know that the charges may not survive court scrutiny. For simple assaults that are essentially minor spats with limited physical contact, a defence lawyer will strive to encourage the Crown to view the incident as not worth the court’s time and certainly not worth upending the defendant’s life with a criminal conviction.
Absent success with these pre-trial negotiation efforts in simple assault cases, a criminal defence lawyer has several strategies they can use to secure pre-trial negotiation success or acquittal at trial.
These 5 strategies include:
Consent for the use of force — a defence used to mitigate the alleged offender’s complicity in the act by proving that the victim was also complicit in how the incident unfolded. This defence is most commonly used in simple assaults related to fistfights.
Self Defence — Section 34 of the Criminal Code absolves an alleged assault offender if they had “reasonable grounds” to believe that the victim was using or threatening force against them or someone else.
Lack of intent — Proving that the physical contact was not intentional or was caused by a reflexive reaction to external stimuli.
Reasonable doubt — a potentially effective defence in most criminal trials because the Crown must prove the defendant’s guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt” legal threshold. Skilled criminal lawyers, like those at Mass Tsang, are highly adept at raising enough doubts about the Crown’s narrative and evidence to scuttle their case.
Charter Rights violations — if uncovered, defence lawyers will always expose Charter Rights violations because judges typically exclude any evidence connected to them, or even dismiss the Crown’s case.
Even if there doesn’t appear to be a clear path for getting the charges dismissed or securing an acquittal due to solid evidence (such as police witnessing the incident), experienced defence lawyers can often secure reduced charges, diversion, or other favourable outcomes through plea bargain negotiations.
With more than 30 years of combined criminal defence experience in the Greater Toronto Area, Mass Tsang’s lawyers have established an outstanding reputation from successfully defending clients changed with assault. If Ontario police have charged you with assault, don’t take the chance of trying to fight the charges on your own, contact us today for a free, confidential consultation.
