Department of Justice Canada · Contribution program
Legal Aid
Criminal legal aid helps support legal services for economically-disadvantaged persons accused of serious criminal offences and for youth charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Immigration and refugee legal aid supports legal services for eligible individuals appearing at immigration and refugee proceedings. The Legal Aid Program also manages and funds State-Funded Counsel cases on behalf of the federal government, where the Attorney General of Canada is ordered by a court to provide funded defence counsel, or where the Department reimburses legal aid plan costs in national security proceedings. Additionally, time-limited funding has been made available through the Legal Aid Program for legal information and advice services for individuals impacted by workplace sexual harassment.
- Total value
- $4.3B
- Agreements
- 222
- Apr 2017 to Jul 2026
- Median agreement
- $843K
- Typical range
- $300K–$4.3M
- the middle half of agreements
Federal grants and contributions, agreements starting Jan 2006 to Oct 2026, each counted once at its latest amended value. Source: Treasury Board proactive disclosure, published October 11, 2026.
See every record for this program on the government’s search. How to apply: look up the program on Department of Justice Canada’s website.
Who got it
Organizations with the most funding under this program.
By year
Agreements by the year they started.
| Year | Agreements | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 54 | $1.8B |
| 2019 | 24 | $45.2M |
| 2020 | 8 | $7.1M |
| 2021 | 9 | $6.6M |
| 2022 | 54 | $1.4B |
| 2023 | 20 | $90.7M |
| 2024 | 27 | $918M |
| 2025 | 19 | $15M |
| 2026 | 7 | $18.1M |
By province
| Province or territory | Agreements | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 41 | $2.3B |
| British Columbia | 26 | $550M |
| Quebec | 17 | $460M |
| Alberta | 20 | $319M |
| Saskatchewan | 16 | $209M |
| Manitoba | 22 | $208M |
| Nova Scotia | 22 | $80.5M |
| New Brunswick | 11 | $42.2M |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 14 | $39.7M |
| Yukon | 14 | $10.3M |
| Prince Edward Island | 7 | $8.2M |
| Northwest Territories | 7 | $2.4M |
| Nunavut | 5 | $1.8M |
By type of recipient
As the department classified the recipient.
| Recipient type | Agreements | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Not stated by the department | 168 | $3.5B |
| Government | 13 | $698M |
| Other organizations | 22 | $99.8M |
| Not-for-profit organizations and charities | 17 | $11.8M |
| For-profit organizations | 2 | $2.3M |
Latest agreements
| Start | Recipient | What for | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2026 | Black Lgbtq Justice Canada Inc. | Black LGBTQ Justice Affirming Assessment Report CertificationContribution | $222,058 |
| Apr 2026 | BATCH REPORT IMPACT OF RACE AND CULTURE ASSESSMENTS (IRCAs) | Impact of Race and Culture Assessments (IRCAs)Contribution | $16,260,000 |
| Feb 2026 | Viola Desmond Justice Institute | Building IRCA Capacity and Raising AwarenessContribution | $498,400 |
| Jan 2026 | Fédération des associations de juristes d'expression française de common law inc. | Asynchronous training, lexicon and coaching project for French-speaking writers of IRCA reportsContribution | $228,500 |
| Jan 2026 | The Sankofa Psychotherapy And Consultancy Group Inc. | Sankofa IRCA ExpansionContribution | $425,800 |
| Jan 2026 | The Sankofa Psychotherapy And Consultancy Group Inc. | Sankofa IRCA ExpansionContribution | $364,550 |
| Jan 2026 | Legal Aid British Columbia | IRCA Education and Implementation ProjectsContribution | $80,428 |
| Nov 2025 | Saskatchewan Legal Aid Commission | Agreement Respecting Immigration and Refugee Legal AidContribution | $2,624,000 |
| Apr 2025 | Public Legal Information Association of Newfoundland and Labrador | Continuing Legal Advice and Support for Employees Experiencing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace in NLContribution | $557,000 |
| Apr 2025 | Community Legal Assistance Society | SHARP Workplaces Legal Advice ClinicContribution | $1,000,000 |
| Feb 2025 | Public Legal Education Association of Saskatchewan Inc. | Addressing Workplace Sexual Harassment: Lawyer Referral ServiceContribution | $273,714 |
| Feb 2025 | Public Legal Education Association of Saskatchewan Inc. | Addressing Workplace Sexual Harassment: Lawyer Referral ServiceContribution | $318,998 |
| Feb 2025 | Help And Legal Centre Of Northumberland (For Northumberland Community Legal Centre), The | Ontario Regional Legal Clinics SHIW Legal AdviceContribution | $1,000,000 |
| Feb 2025 | Community Legal Information Association Of Prince Edward Island | RISE for Safe WorkplacesContribution | $408,118 |
| Jan 2025 | African Nova Scotian Justice Institute | National IRCA Centre- Feasibility StudyContribution | $74,463 |
| Jan 2025 | African Canadian Civic Engagement Council | ACCEC Impact of Race and Culture Assessment (IRCA) Expansion ProjectContribution | $1,302,931 |
| Jan 2025 | African Canadian Civic Engagement Council | ACCEC Impact of Race and Culture Assessment (IRCA) Expansion ProjectContribution | $1,429,212 |
| Jan 2025 | Pro Bono Ontario | Enhanced Workplace Sexual Harassment HotlineContribution | $749,357 |
| Jan 2025 | Muslim Legal Support Centre | Empowering Muslim Women: Addressing Gendered Islamophobia and Workplace Sexual HarassmentContribution | $463,556 |
| Jan 2025 | Muslim Legal Support Centre | Empowering Muslim Women: Addressing Gendered Islamophobia and Workplace Sexual HarassmentContribution | $565,011 |
| Jan 2025 | Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia | Free Legal Advice Program for Workplace Sexual HarassmentContribution | $429,500 |
| Jan 2025 | Community Legal Education Association (Manitoba) Inc | Workplace Sexual Harassment Legal HotlineContribution | $237,975 |
| Jan 2025 | Clinique juridique Juripop | Support for Survivors of Sexual Violence in the WorkplaceContribution | $595,355 |
| Jan 2025 | Clinique juridique Juripop | Support for Survivors of Sexual Violence in the WorkplaceContribution | $576,669 |
| Jan 2025 | Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic | The #AndMeToo Initiative: A Pathway to Survivor Justice and EmpowermentContribution | $870,374 |