Aboriginal incarceration in Canada since 1978: Every picture tells the same story

Sentencing in Canada is beset by many problems yet one weakness stands above the rest: the disproportionately high rates of Aboriginal incarceration. This article documents current and historical trends in levels of Aboriginal incarceration at the provincial/territorial and federal levels since 1978. We pay particular attention to the years following two important Supreme Court judgments (in 2001 and 2012) which directed courts to use custody with greater restraint when sentencing an Aboriginal offender. The primary data derive from the annual Adult Correctional Services (ACS) Survey conducted by Statistics Canada. In 2014, Aboriginal persons accounted for just over one quarter of all provincial and territorial admissions, significantly higher than the percentage recorded in 1978 (16%). In fact, over the last 20 years all jurisdictions save one have experienced an increase in the percentage of Aboriginal admissions to provincial correctional institutions. Despite judgments from the Supreme and provincial courts of appeal, and a number of other remedial interventions such as the creation of so-called ‘Gladue’ courts and an alternate form of custody served in the community, the problem of Aboriginal over-incarceration has worsened, not improved.