Traffic Stop
Rights Canada
In Canada, police have broad powers to stop vehicles, but their power to search you is strictly limited by the Charter. Know the line.
Interaction Protocol
Documents
You MUST provide your Driver's License, Vehicle Registration, and Insurance. Failure to do so is an offence.
Exit the Vehicle?
In Canada, police CAN order you to step out of the car for safety reasons during a lawful stop. You must comply.
Sobriety Tests
Under federal law, police can demand a breath sample (ASD) at the roadside WITHOUT reasonable suspicion of impairment.
🛑 Charter Section 8
Police CANNOT search your trunk, glovebox, or phone during a routine traffic stop unless they have reasonable and probable grounds to believe a crime has been committed.
Search Power Limits
Random Stops
Police can stop any vehicle at any time to check for license, registration, or sobriety (National standard).
Plain View
If illegal items (drugs, open alcohol) are in "plain view" through the window, police gain the power to search the entire vehicle.
Phones
Police cannot search your phone content at a traffic stop. Even if arrested, they usually require a warrant unless there are exigent circumstances.
Stunt Driving (Ontario)
In Ontario, going 40km/h over (in <80 zones) or 50km/h over results in an immediate 30-day license suspension and 14-day vehicle impoundment at the roadside.