A search warrant is a judicial authorization — usually in Form 5 — that lets police search a specific place for specific things connected to an offence. Under section 487 of the Criminal Code , a justice who is satisfied by information on oath (an Information to Obtain, or ITO, in Form 1) may issue that warrant where there are reasonable grounds to believe evidence, offence-related property, or other listed items will be found.
Canadian law also uses specialized warrants and related orders — DNA warrants, tracking warrants, production orders, wiretap authorizations, and Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) search powers — because different investigative techniques invade privacy differently. Separately, section 8 of the Charter still governs whether any search, with or without a warrant, was reasonable.
Section 487(1) is the workhorse provision. A justice may authorize a peace officer (or named public officer) to search a building, receptacle, or place and seize things where there are reasonable grounds to believe that there is, for example:
The application is made on oath, typically through an ITO. The warrant itself may be in Form 5, varied to suit the case. In practice, a warrant should identify where police may search and what they may look for and seize. Once the authorized search is complete, police generally cannot treat the warrant as an open-ended licence to keep searching later without fresh authorization.
Other Criminal Code and CDSA provisions authorize specialized warrants and orders for particular investigative techniques, including:
“Clients arrested for DUI frequently assume that we’ll be able to get the charges dismissed because the police searched their car without a warrant,” says criminal defence lawyer Robbie Tsang , co-managing partner of the Greater Toronto Area’s Mass Tsang law firm. “We have to explain to them that the police have the right under law to conduct such searches incident to the arrest.”
Robbie’s co-managing Mass Tsang partner, Jeff Mass , adds, “Canadian law provides police with other exceptions that allow them to conduct warrantless searches. However, legal principles that allow warrantless searches are subject to interpretation by the courts, and some police officers may be prone to overstepping known legal boundaries or lack understanding of what they are. Thus, we carefully examine the role of searches and search warrants in every criminal case we handle.”
A warrant is not immune from Charter scrutiny. Section 8 protects against unreasonable search or seizure, so defence counsel may attack both the issuance of the warrant and the manner of its execution.
Common challenge themes include:
If a court finds a Charter breach connected to the search, exclusion of evidence is decided under s. 24(2) using the framework from R. v. Grant , 2009 SCC 32: seriousness of the police conduct, impact on the accused’s Charter-protected interests, and society’s interest in adjudication on the merits. Exclusion is discretionary, not automatic.
Canadian law also recognizes limited situations where police may search without prior judicial authorization — for example, valid consent, search incident to a lawful arrest, plain view, or exigent circumstances. Those warrantless pathways are a separate analysis from how a warrant is obtained and executed. For the warrantless exceptions and home-versus-car privacy gradient, see when police can search your car or home without a warrant in Canada .
| Warrant / Order | Authorizing law | What it typically allows | Key limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| General search warrant | Criminal Code s. 487 | One-time entry into a specific place to seize listed evidence | Must be grounded in sworn reasonable grounds; scope limited to place/items authorized |
| Telecommunication / remote application | Criminal Code s. 487.1 | Apply for certain warrants/orders by telecommunication | Extra safeguards where the application does not produce a writing |
| General warrant | Criminal Code s. 487.01 | Authorize investigative techniques not otherwise provided for | Strict statutory conditions; cannot authorize interference with bodily integrity |
| DNA warrant | Criminal Code ss. 487.05–487.09 | Take bodily substances for forensic DNA analysis | Tied to designated offence pathways and statutory criteria |
| Tracking warrant | Criminal Code s. 492.1 | Install/use a tracking device for location/movement data | Time-limited; privacy intensity depends on what is tracked |
| Production order | Criminal Code ss. 487.014 and related | Compel a third party to produce documents or data | Does not authorize police to enter and search the third party’s premises the way a s. 487 warrant does |
| Wiretap authorization | Criminal Code Part VI | Intercept private communications | High threshold; necessity and minimization scrutiny |
| CDSA drug warrant | CDSA s. 11 | Search for controlled substances / related evidence | Drug-specific statutory framework |
Police draft an ITO explaining the investigation and the grounds. A justice reviews that sworn information and, if satisfied, issues a warrant (often Form 5). Execution is then judged against what the warrant actually authorized — address, items, and any express limits. Defence review usually starts with the ITO package, the warrant face, and what police did on scene.
| Search type | Legal basis | Typical onus issue |
|---|---|---|
| Search with warrant | Criminal Code / CDSA judicial authorization | Defence often attacks ITO sufficiency, scope, and execution |
| Consent search | Common law | Crown must prove consent was voluntary and informed |
| Search incident to arrest | Common law | Arrest must be lawful; search must be truly incidental |
| Exigent circumstances | Common law / Code pathways | Crown must show genuine urgency making a warrant impracticable |
| Plain view | Common law | Police must be lawfully present; incriminating nature immediately apparent |
A DNA warrant authorizes police to take bodily substances (such as blood, saliva, or hair) for forensic DNA analysis under the Criminal Code DNA warrant scheme. It is not a generic s. 487 property warrant; it is limited to the statutory DNA pathway and designated offence criteria.
In modern Code language, s. 487.1 allows many warrant and order applications to be submitted by telecommunication. Where the application does not produce a writing, additional recording and impracticability safeguards apply. The practical point is the same: remote issuance is available, but the judicial threshold does not disappear.
A tracking warrant under s. 492.1 authorizes police to install and use a tracking device to obtain location or movement data for a person, vehicle, or thing. It is time-limited and is assessed as ongoing surveillance, not a one-time physical entry.
A production order compels a third party — such as a bank or telecom provider — to produce records or data under their control. Unlike a classic s. 487 warrant, it does not authorize police to enter and search the third party’s premises for the listed items.
Stay calm and do not obstruct. Ask to see the warrant and check the address, authorized items, and issuing details. Ask to contact counsel. Provide basic identification if required, but do not answer investigative questions or sign consent forms without legal advice. Observe and later record what police searched and seized.
