Canada's Pathetic Justice System > Your home is not your castle in Canada - Intruders have rights too

 

Ontario man charged for injuring home intruder

A man from Lindsay, Ont., has been arrested and charged for defending himself against a home intruder, according to Kawartha police.

Alex Zoltan, True North

Aug 20, 2025

Source: Kawartha Lakes Police

A man from Lindsay, Ont., has been arrested and charged for defending himself against a home intruder, according to Kawartha Lakes police.

The 44-year-old homeowner, who remains unnamed, is facing assault charges for allegedly injuring the intruder.

According to police, on August 18, at approximately 3:20 am, the Kawartha Lakes Police Service responded to an apartment on Kent Street for a report of an altercation between two males.

Officers arrived on scene and learned that the resident of the apartment had awoken to find an intruder inside his apartment.

Kawartha police then said there was an altercation inside the apartment—presumably between the accused and the intruder—resulting in the intruder suffering serious, life-threatening injuries.

The intruder was transported to Ross Memorial Hospital and later air-lifted to a Toronto hospital.

Police added that there is no risk to public safety and that the investigation has resulted in the homeowner being charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.

He was released with a future court date.

The intruder, meanwhile, was already wanted by police at the time of the incident for unrelated offences.

He has since been additionally charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, break and enter, failure to comply with his probation orders and mischief.

When released from the hospital, the intruder will be held in custody pending a bail hearing.

As previously reported, unlike in the United States, Canada's criminal justice system does not have a “castle doctrine” legal framework—often colloquially referred to as a “stand your ground” law.

The castle doctrine is a legal principle in some U.S. states that allows a homeowner to use self-defence, including lethal force, against an intruder without any obligation to retreat, provided they reasonably believe they or others are in danger of serious harm or death.

In Canada courts weigh the “reasonableness” of force in self-defence, a legal standard that has led to contentious cases when intruders end up seriously injured.

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