Criminal Harassment Charges and Restraining Orders in Ontario: What You Need to Know

Criminal harassment — often referred to as stalking — is one of the most commonly misunderstood offences in the Criminal Code of Canada. The charge covers a broad range of conduct, from repeated unwanted phone calls and text messages to physically following someone. People are often shocked to learn they have been charged with criminal harassment for behaviour they considered harmless, persistent, or even well-intentioned.

If you have been charged with criminal harassment in Barrie, Simcoe County, or anywhere in Ontario, you need to understand exactly what the Crown must prove, what penalties you face, and what defence strategies may be available. This article breaks all of that down. If you need immediate legal advice, contact our office to speak with a criminal defence lawyer.

What Is Criminal Harassment Under the Criminal Code?

Criminal harassment is defined under section 264 of the Criminal Code. The offence targets conduct that causes another person to reasonably fear for their safety or the safety of someone known to them. It is not enough that the conduct was annoying, unwanted, or persistent — the Crown must prove that the complainant was genuinely fearful and that the fear was objectively reasonable in the circumstances.

The section sets out four specific prohibited acts that constitute criminal harassment when done without lawful authority and when the accused knows — or is reckless as to whether — the complainant is harassed:

1. Repeatedly Following the Complainant or Someone Known to Them

This includes physically following the complainant from place to place, whether on foot, by vehicle, or by any other means. It also includes following people associated with the complainant — a friend, family member, or new partner. The conduct must be repeated; a single instance of following someone does not meet the threshold.

2. Repeatedly Communicating With the Complainant or Someone Known to Them

Repeated communication covers phone calls, text messages, emails, letters, social media messages, voicemails, and any other form of contact. The communication does not need to be threatening in nature. Calling someone thirty times in a day, even without leaving a message, can constitute criminal harassment if the other elements of the offence are made out.

3. Watching or Besetting the Place Where the Complainant Resides, Works, or Happens to Be

This prohibited act covers surveillance-type behaviour — sitting outside someone’s home, parking near their workplace, or showing up at locations where the complainant is present. “Besetting” means blocking or surrounding a place in a way that interferes with the complainant’s ability to move freely.

4. Engaging in Threatening Conduct Directed at the Complainant or Their Family

This is the broadest of the four prohibited acts and captures threatening behaviour that does not fit neatly into the other categories. The threat does not need to be a direct verbal threat of violence; it can include gestures, implied threats, or patterns of behaviour that a reasonable person would find threatening.

What the Crown Must Prove

To secure a conviction for criminal harassment, the Crown must prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. The accused engaged in one of the four prohibited acts described above.
2. The complainant was harassed — meaning they were tormented, troubled, worried, plagued, or bedevilled by the conduct.
3. The accused knew the complainant was harassed, or was reckless as to whether the complainant was harassed. This mental element is critical. If you genuinely did not know your behaviour was causing distress, and a reasonable person in your position would not have known, the Crown may not be able to prove this element.
4. The complainant feared for their safety or the safety of someone known to them as a result of the conduct.
5. The fear was reasonable in all of the circumstances. The court assesses this objectively — would a reasonable person in the complainant’s position have feared for their safety given the accused’s conduct?

The failure to prove any one of these elements results in an acquittal. A skilled defence lawyer will examine each element carefully, because cases that look strong on paper often have significant weaknesses when the evidence is tested.

Penalties for Criminal Harassment

Criminal harassment is a hybrid offence, meaning the Crown can elect to proceed by indictment or by summary conviction. The election depends on the severity of the allegations, your criminal history, and the circumstances of the case. For more on how the Crown makes this decision, see our article on summary conviction versus indictable offences.

• Indictable: Maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment
• Summary conviction: Maximum penalty of 2 years less a day imprisonment

Where the offence is committed while the accused is subject to a bail order, probation order, peace bond, or other court order — such as a no-contact condition — the court will treat this as a significant aggravating factor on sentencing. In practice, a first-time offender facing a straightforward criminal harassment charge is unlikely to receive a penitentiary sentence, but jail is a real possibility even for first offences when the conduct is prolonged, escalating, or involves threats of violence.

For context on how the courts treat first-time offenders generally, see our article on first-time offender options.

Criminal Harassment vs. Restraining Orders

One of the most common sources of confusion is the difference between a criminal harassment charge and a civil restraining order. They are fundamentally different legal mechanisms, even though both are designed to protect someone from unwanted contact.

Criminal Harassment Charges

A criminal harassment charge is laid by the police under section 264 of the Criminal Code. It is a criminal offence prosecuted by the Crown. If you are convicted, you receive a criminal record. The police initiate the process, and the complainant becomes a witness in the Crown’s case. The complainant does not “press charges” or “drop charges” — only the Crown can withdraw a criminal charge.

Civil Restraining Orders

A restraining order is a civil court order obtained by one person against another through the Ontario family court or civil court system. Restraining orders are governed by provincial legislation — primarily the Family Law Act and the Children’s Law Reform Act. They are available in the context of family law disputes and do not, on their own, create a criminal record.

However, breaching a restraining order can lead to criminal charges. And the existence of a restraining order can become relevant evidence in a criminal harassment prosecution, because it establishes that the accused was put on notice that their contact was unwanted.

Peace Bonds as an Alternative Resolution

In many criminal harassment cases, the matter is resolved through a peace bond rather than a trial or guilty plea. A peace bond under section 810 of the Criminal Code is a court order requiring you to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for a set period — typically 12 months. The critical advantage is that when a peace bond is entered, the criminal charge is withdrawn, and you are left without a criminal conviction.

Peace bonds in harassment cases almost always include no-contact conditions with the complainant and may include conditions restricting your use of social media, your attendance at certain locations, and your possession of weapons. For a detailed explanation of how peace bonds work, see our article on peace bonds in Ontario.

Digital Harassment: Texting, Social Media, and Email

The rise of digital communication has transformed how criminal harassment cases look in practice. Many of the cases we see at our Barrie office involve conduct that occurred entirely online — through text messages, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, email, or other platforms. There was no physical following, no surveillance, and no face-to-face confrontation. The entire case is built on a record of digital communications.

Digital harassment falls squarely under the repeated communication branch of section 264. Courts have consistently held that electronic communications are captured by the provision. Creating fake social media accounts to contact someone who has blocked you, sending messages through third parties, or continuing to email someone after they have told you to stop can all form the basis of a criminal harassment charge.

The digital nature of these cases is a double-edged sword. On one hand, the Crown has a complete record of every message sent — there is no ambiguity about what was said. On the other hand, that same record may reveal that the complainant was actively participating in the conversation, responding positively, or initiating contact themselves. This kind of evidence can undermine the Crown’s case on the question of whether the complainant was truly harassed or fearful.

For guidance on preserving digital evidence that may help your defence, see our article on collecting digital evidence.

No-Contact Bail Conditions and Harassment Charges

If you are arrested for criminal harassment, you will almost certainly be released on bail conditions that include a no-contact provision with the complainant. This is standard in all harassment and domestic assault cases. The condition prohibits you from contacting the complainant directly or indirectly, by any means whatsoever.

The interaction between no-contact bail conditions and the underlying harassment charge creates a dangerous situation. If the complainant contacts you — and they often do — and you respond, you are committing a breach of bail conditions regardless of who initiated the contact. This is a separate criminal offence under section 145 of the Criminal Code, and it will dramatically weaken your position on both the original harassment charge and the breach charge.

If you need to communicate with the complainant for legitimate reasons — such as arranging child custody exchanges or dealing with shared financial obligations — you must raise this with your lawyer, who can seek a variation of your bail conditions through the court. Do not take matters into your own hands.

Defence Strategies for Criminal Harassment Charges

Every criminal harassment case is different, but the following defence strategies arise frequently:

No Genuine Fear

The Crown must prove that the complainant actually feared for their safety. If the evidence shows the complainant was annoyed, frustrated, or inconvenienced — but not genuinely afraid — the charge cannot be made out. Defence counsel will examine the complainant’s behaviour after the alleged harassment. Did they continue to interact with the accused? Did they move, change their routine, or report to police promptly? Behaviour inconsistent with genuine fear can be powerful evidence.

Consent or Invitation

If the complainant was voluntarily participating in the communication or contact, it is difficult for the Crown to prove harassment. Evidence that the complainant was responding to messages, initiating contact, or inviting the accused to meet undermines the allegation. This defence does not require that the complainant expressly consented to every interaction — it is about the overall dynamic of the relationship and whether the contact was truly one-sided.

Mistaken Identity

In cases involving digital harassment — anonymous messages, fake social media accounts, or spoofed phone numbers — the Crown must prove that the accused was the person responsible for the communications. If there is a reasonable doubt about the identity of the sender, the charge fails.

Legitimate Purpose

Not all repeated contact is criminal. If the accused had a legitimate reason for the communication — such as arranging custody exchanges for children, resolving shared financial obligations, or responding to a legal proceeding — the conduct may not meet the threshold for criminal harassment. The court considers the purpose and context of the contact, not just its frequency.

Charter Violations

The manner in which the police investigated the offence matters. If the police obtained evidence through an unlawful search of your phone, your social media accounts, or your electronic devices, that evidence may be excluded under section 24(2) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Without the digital evidence, the Crown’s case may collapse entirely. For more on how the Charter protects your rights during a criminal investigation, see our article on Charter rights and criminal defence.

How a Criminal Defence Lawyer Can Help

Criminal harassment charges are serious, but they are far from automatic convictions. The Crown’s burden of proof is high — they must establish not only the prohibited conduct, but also the accused’s knowledge or recklessness, the complainant’s genuine fear, and the objective reasonableness of that fear. Each of these elements presents an opportunity for the defence.

At Mor Fisher LLP, we represent clients facing criminal harassment charges across Barrie, Simcoe County, and Ontario. Whether your case involves an allegation from a former partner, a neighbour dispute, a workplace conflict, or a digital communication that escalated beyond what you intended, we will examine every piece of evidence and identify the strongest path to resolving your case — whether that means taking the matter to trial, negotiating a peace bond, or pursuing a withdrawal of the charge.

Contact Us

If you have been charged with criminal harassment or are subject to a restraining order or no-contact condition, do not wait to get legal advice. Early intervention can make a significant difference in how your case unfolds.

Call Mor Fisher LLP at 705-252-2828 or contact us online to schedule a consultation. We are available 24/7 for urgent matters.