Ontario to Require Cash Bail Deposits Starting Aug. 17

Ontario’s Attorney General Doug Downey attends question period at the Ontario legislature in Toronto on Nov. 28, 2023. The Canadian Press/Chris YoungOntario will begin requiring people granted bail on criminal charges to pay the full court-ordered cash security deposit within two business days of their release starting Aug. 17.The measure, part of a set of provincial legislative changes introduced in June 2025 and June 2026, replaces the previous rule that required payment only if the conditions of release were breached.“The changes coming into force will help make bail more effective by ensuring dangerous and repeat offenders face meaningful consequences and are held accountable,” Associate Attorney General Michael Tibollo is cited as saying in an Aug. 14 news release.The provincial government says the new measures will make it easier to recover bail debts if an accused breaches conditions or fails to attend court, while ensuring accountability by imposing immediate financial consequences.Another new measure is that sureties—individuals who have agreed to supervise the persons out on bail and ensure they follow their bail conditions—are now required to provide up-to-date contact and identification information. This will let the province more effectively collect forfeited bail money if there is no security deposit on file, the news release said.The new rules also introduce enhanced collection tools for bail debts, such as wage and bank account garnishment, property liens, and property seizure and sale, according to the release.Ontario’s new bail rules come on the heels of federal bail and sentencing reform legislation that came into force on July 15.The federal Bill C-14 was designed to make bail harder to get for repeat and violent offenders by expanding reverse onus rules, among other changes, and to create tougher sentencing laws for those convicted of serious crimes. Reverse onus means the accused persons are required to provide proof that they should be released.Justice Minister Sean Fraser told reporters on June 16, after the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act received royal assent a day earlier, that the bill would “target some of the most frequent causes of concern we hear in our engagement with communities across Canada.”The minister cited auto theft, home invasion, extortion, trafficking, assault, and sexual assault as examples of repeat crimes that the legislation would target.The Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Criminal Lawyers’ Association announced that they will be launching a constitutional challenge against the mandatory cash bail on Aug. 17, saying it “creates two tiers of justice” by imposing the measure regardless of the income level of those involved.“Mandatory cash bail applies to people presumed innocent. It applies to first-time accused persons and non-violent allegations. And will increase the population of overcrowded Ontario prisons with inhumane conditions,” the two organizations said in a joint news release on Aug. 14.The bail measures were introduced in the Keeping Criminals Behind Bars Act, 2026, and the Protect Ontario Through Safer Streets and Stronger Communities Act, 2025, which received Royal Assent on June 2, 2026, and June 5, 2025, respectively.The Ontario Provincial Police Association, a labour union that represents over 9,000 non-commissioned uniform police officers and civilian employees of the Ontario Provincial Police, in an Aug. 14 Facebook post applauded the “significant new measures” and called the bail reforms “critical.”