DUI and Impaired Driving Defence Lawyers

An impaired driving charge in Alberta is a serious criminal matter with real consequences. A conviction creates a permanent criminal record, takes away your right to drive, and can affect your job, your insurance, your immigration status, and your ability to travel. The prosecution is also highly technical. Defending an impaired driving charge well takes a lawyer who understands the breath and blood science, the constitutional rules police have to follow, and the procedures that decide most of these cases at trial.

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DEFENDING YOUR LICENSE, REPUTATION, AND FUTURE

Comprehensive Defence for Impaired Driving Offences

At Davidson Gregory, we are committed to defending individuals facing impaired driving allegations throughout Western Canada and the Northwest Territories. From roadside penalties to serious Criminal Code charges, our team has the experience and insight to build a strong defence tailored to your case.

No two impaired driving cases are alike, and the issues can range from licence suspensions to complex forensic evidence. We offer focused legal support in the following areas:

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DUI and Impaired Driving Defence Lawyers in Alberta

Davidson Gregory has decades of experience defending impaired driving cases across Alberta. Our DUI lawyers run impaired driving and DUI trials and have handled hundreds of these files at every stage, from a client’s first court appearance through pre-trial constitutional applications and trial in the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench. Call 780-482-5496 or contact us online to speak with an impaired driving lawyer. We serve Edmonton, St. Albert, Calgary, Red Deer, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, and communities across Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories.

Davidson Gregory's Experience Defending Impaired Driving Cases

Davidson Gregory has defended impaired driving cases in Alberta for decades. The firm has handled hundreds of impaired driving files, including the most serious cases involving injuries or death. Our DUI lawyers in Edmonton and across the province are familiar with the breath and blood testing, the drug recognition evaluations, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter) issues that decide most impaired driving cases.

Our impaired driving defence work is built around trials. We run impaired driving and DUI trials in the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench. Every file is prepared as if it will be tried, from day one, whether it is a first-offence Criminal Code prosecution, a refusal charge, a drug-impaired driving file, or an impaired driving causing bodily harm or death matter. There is a practical reason for this approach. The Criminal Code sets mandatory minimum penalties for impaired driving convictions, which leaves limited room to negotiate a better result on a guilty plea. For many clients, setting the matter for trial and running it is often the best path to the best possible outcome. Where negotiation is the right call, we negotiate from the strength of being fully trial-ready. Where the case should go in front of a judge, that is what we do.

Criminal Code Impaired Driving Offences

The Criminal Code of Canada was significantly rewritten in 2018 when Parliament repealed the older driving provisions and replaced them with a comprehensive new regime that came into force on December 18, 2018. The new framework is federal. It applies to every alcohol and drug impaired driving prosecution in Canada, including the files Davidson Gregory handles in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories. The most common impaired driving charges we defend are described below.

Impaired Operation

Impaired operation is the charge for driving a vehicle when your ability to drive has been affected by alcohol, a drug, or both. The police case usually combines what the officer saw and heard, and how the vehicle was being driven. These cases often turn on how strong the impairment evidence really is and on whether police followed the Charter rules during the investigation.

Over 80 (Blood Alcohol Concentration at or Over 80)

Over 80 is the charge for driving with a blood alcohol concentration at or over 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The blood alcohol concentration is normally measured through breath samples on an approved instrument at the police detachment, or, in cases involving an accident, through a blood sample. Over 80 cases are highly technical and produce a significant share of the Charter litigation in the criminal courts of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories.

Refusal to Provide a Breath or Blood Sample

Refusing or failing to provide a breath sample when police lawfully demand one is a separate criminal charge with its own mandatory minimum penalties. The minimum fine for a first-offence refusal is higher than the minimum for impaired driving or over 80. There can be a defence in some circumstances, but whether one is available depends on the specific facts and should be assessed with an experienced impaired driving lawyer.

Drug-Impaired Driving and Cannabis-Impaired Driving

Drug-impaired driving in Canada covers two related offences: the long-standing charge of operating a vehicle while impaired by a drug, and the newer set of offences for having more than a set amount of certain drugs in the blood. Cannabis-impaired driving falls under both. Davidson Gregory defends drug-impaired and cannabis-impaired driving cases across Alberta.

Care or Control

The Criminal Code does not require that the vehicle actually be moving for an impaired driving charge to be laid. Someone sleeping in a parked car, sitting in the driver’s seat with the engine running, or otherwise in a position to set the vehicle in motion can face charges. Sleeping-it-off cases continue to produce charges across Alberta, especially in winter when drivers retreat to their vehicles for shelter.

Impaired Driving Causing Bodily Harm or Death

Where an impaired driving offence is alleged to have caused injury or death to another person, the consequences are significantly more serious. The maximum penalty is 14 years in jail for impaired or over 80 causing bodily harm and life imprisonment for impaired or over 80 causing death. Davidson Gregory has experience defending the most serious impaired driving cases, including impaired driving causing bodily harm and impaired driving causing death.

How Police Investigate Impaired Driving in Alberta

Police have the power to issue a mandatory screening demand to any lawfully stopped driver. Depending on the results of the roadside screening device, the Police may choose to lay Criminal charges against you.

The 3 most common Criminal charges relating to alcohol impairment include:

Impaired operation (impairment of any degree)
Having a Blood Alcohol Concentration at or over 80mg per 100 mL of blood (the police usually take breath samples but in some cases, like a motor vehicle accident, may make a blood demand or obtain a warrant for blood samples)
Refusal to provide a breath sample

Penalties Under the Criminal Code for Operation While Impaired

Most impaired driving investigations follow a recognizable sequence. The driver is stopped at the roadside or at a Check Stop, asked for licence and registration, and watched for signs of alcohol or drug use. Depending on what the officer sees, the driver may be required to provide a breath sample on a small handheld device at the roadside (an approved screening device). If the device registers a fail, or if there are other grounds, the driver is normally arrested and taken to the detachment for breath samples on a larger machine (an approved instrument). Where breath samples cannot be obtained, for example because of an injury, police can require a blood sample or apply for a warrant. The driver’s rights, including the right to counsel under the Charter, change as the investigation moves through these steps.

Each step is regulated by the Criminal Code and the Charter, and each step can raise issues that decide a case at trial. The strength of any impaired driving defence depends on a careful review of the police narrative, the body-worn-camera and in-car video footage, the breath-testing records, the qualifications of the breath technician, and how the right to counsel was actually carried out. The experienced impaired driving lawyers at Davidson Gregory will go through the disclosure with these issues in mind.

If You Were Also Issued a SafeRoads IRS

Many alcohol impaired driving cases in Alberta also generate a SafeRoads Alberta Immediate Roadside Sanction (IRS) alongside the criminal investigation. An IRS is a non-criminal penalty issued by police at the roadside under Alberta’s Traffic Safety Act. It is decided through SafeRoads Alberta on the lower balance of probabilities standard, not the criminal beyond a reasonable doubt standard. The driver receives a Notice of Administrative Penalty (NAP) setting out what the police say happened and what the consequences are. The vehicle is seized, the licence is suspended on the spot, and, if the driver files a review within the time limit, the case moves to a SafeRoads hearing.

SafeRoads issues penalties in five categories:

IRS: Fail (impaired, over 80, or refusal/failure to provide a sample),
IRS: Warn (blood alcohol concentration between 50 and 79 milligrams in 100 millilitres of blood),
IRS: 24-hour (24-hour licence suspension and possible vehicle seizure on suspected medical or substance impairment),
IRS: Novice (for new drivers in the graduated licensing program), and
IRS: Commercial (for commercial drivers).

Refusal/failure to provide a sample is a type of IRS Fail; it is not a separate category. Each category has its own grounds for review.

On a first IRS Fail, the driver receives an immediate 90-day driving suspension, then enters a 12-month period of continued suspension. During those 12 months, the driver can choose to drive on the Ignition Interlock Program (the so-called blow box) or stay fully suspended. The Interlock choice under SafeRoads is up to the driver; it is not required. The vehicle is also seized for 30 days. The driver pays a $1,000 fine plus a $200 victim fine surcharge, has to complete an impaired driving education course, and has to pay a reinstatement fee before getting back on the road. The IRS shows up on the driving record and usually causes significant insurance increases.

The deadline to file a SafeRoads review is seven days from the date the NAP was issued. The review fee is $150. Missing the deadline normally ends the chance to fight the SafeRoads driving suspension, even if the related criminal charge is later dropped. Paying the fine before filing the review or during the review can also cause serious problems, although the file is sometimes still recoverable. Davidson Gregory regularly handles SafeRoads impaired driving hearings alongside the related criminal case.

If the SafeRoads adjudicator decides against the driver, the next step is judicial review at the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. Judicial review is a separate process with its own rules and timelines, and it is the only way to challenge an adjudicator’s decision once the SafeRoads hearing is over. For more on how the IRS framework works, see our SafeRoads Alberta page.

Penalties for an Impaired Driving Conviction Under the Criminal Code

A criminal impaired driving conviction in Canada carries mandatory minimum penalties that increase with each prior conviction. For impaired driving, over 80, and refusal cases that do not involve injuries or death:

First offence: a mandatory minimum fine of $1,000 for impaired driving or over 80, and a mandatory minimum fine of $2,000 for refusal.
Second offence: a mandatory minimum of 30 days in jail.
Third or further offence: a mandatory minimum of 120 days in jail.

The minimum fine on a first-offence over 80 conviction increases with the blood alcohol concentration. The Criminal Code sets a tiered minimum fine for first-offence over 80 cases:

Blood alcohol concentration at or over 80 but less than 120 milligrams in 100 millilitres of blood: $1,000 minimum fine.
Blood alcohol concentration at or over 120 but less than 160 milligrams in 100 millilitres of blood: $1,500 minimum fine.
Blood alcohol concentration at or over 160 milligrams in 100 millilitres of blood: $2,000 minimum fine.

The maximum penalty for a simple impaired driving, over 80, or refusal offence is 10 years in jail when the case is prosecuted in the more serious way (by indictment).

Cases involving injury or death are much more serious. Impaired driving, over 80, or refusal causing bodily harm carries a maximum of 14 years in jail. Impaired driving, over 80, or refusal causing death carries a maximum of life in prison. Davidson Gregory has defended impaired driving cases at every level of seriousness, including impaired driving causing bodily harm and impaired driving causing death cases.

A Criminal Code impaired driving conviction also comes with a mandatory federal driving prohibition. The minimum length of the prohibition increases with each prior conviction. The federal prohibition runs at the same time as any provincial suspension under the Traffic Safety Act and can also extend your license suspension if the driving prohibition does not overlap with the SafeRoads license suspension.

A criminal impaired driving conviction in Alberta also triggers a mandatory Ignition Interlock requirement. Unlike the SafeRoads system, where the blow box is a choice, a driver who is criminally convicted of impaired driving must install an approved ignition interlock device in their vehicle and complete the Ignition Interlock Program. The driver’s licence remains suspended until the Interlock Program is completed. The driver pays for installation, monthly monitoring, and removal. This is one of the most important practical differences between dealing with a file at the SafeRoads level and being criminally convicted.

Other Consequences of an Impaired Driving Conviction

The penalties in the Criminal Code are only part of the picture. An impaired driving conviction in Alberta has knock-on effects that an experienced impaired driving lawyer should walk you through before you make any decision on how to resolve the file.

Immigration and Travel to the United States

Under Canada’s immigration law, impaired driving is now treated as serious criminality. A conviction can put permanent resident status at risk and can cause problems for foreign workers and visitors. Crossing the United States land or air border with an impaired driving conviction can also be a problem. Travellers can be turned away, and re-entry sometimes requires a US waiver. If your status or your US travel matters, raise it with your impaired driving lawyer at Davidson Gregory at the very start of the file, not after a guilty plea has been entered.

Employment, Insurance, and Commercial Licences

Drivers who hold a Class 1, Class 2, Class 3, or Class 4 commercial licence face career-ending consequences from an impaired driving conviction. A criminal conviction or, in some cases, even a SafeRoads IRS Fail can mean being fired, losing the ability to drive for the trucking company, being denied US entry for cross-border work, and struggling to find future commercial driving jobs. Insurance premiums often significantly increase, and some insurers will not renew. Drivers in regulated jobs, drivers who need security clearances, and anyone whose job depends on a clean record need to think hard about these consequences when deciding how to defend the case.

Driving Record and Reinstatement

Both a SafeRoads IRS and a Criminal Code conviction show up on the driving record and bring their own reinstatement requirements. Getting back on the road after a Criminal Code conviction or an IRS Fail normally means completing the provincial education program, paying reinstatement and Interlock setup fees where Interlock applies, and following the rules for the full length of the prohibition or suspension.

How Davidson Gregory Defends Impaired Driving Cases

Every impaired driving file at Davidson Gregory starts with a careful review of the disclosure (the police materials the Crown shares with the defence). The defence approach is built around the facts of the specific case, not from a template. We run impaired driving trials regularly in the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench. Where the file is best resolved by negotiation, we negotiate from the position of being trial-ready. Where the file should be tried, we take it to trial. Charter issues are central to impaired driving defence in Alberta, and our lawyers have the experience to spot and run the ones that matter on your file.

Where a SafeRoads IRS has been issued at the same time as the criminal charge, we handle both files together. Treating the criminal case and the SafeRoads case as one defence problem usually produces better results than running them separately.

Where We Serve

Davidson Gregory’s impaired driving and DUI lawyers represent clients in the Alberta Court of Justice, the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta, the Alberta Court of Appeal, and SafeRoads Alberta hearings across the province. We regularly appear in the following Alberta cities:

We also represent drivers facing impaired driving and SafeRoads files in Sherwood Park, Stony Plain, Hinton, Jasper, Lethbridge, and other Alberta communities, as well as in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories. SafeRoads hearings can be run from anywhere in Alberta because they take place remotely.

Contact an Impaired Driving Lawyer at Davidson Gregory

If you have been issued a SafeRoads IRS or charged with impaired driving in Alberta, the decisions you make in the first seven days will shape the outcome of your file. Davidson Gregory has decades of experience defending impaired driving and DUI cases across Alberta. Call 780-482-5496 or contact us online to speak with an impaired driving lawyer about your case. Our DUI lawyers serve Edmonton, St. Albert, Calgary, Red Deer, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, and surrounding communities throughout Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories.

Frequently Asked Questions About Impaired Driving in Alberta

What is the difference between impaired driving and over 80?

Impaired driving is about whether your ability to drive was affected by alcohol or a drug. Over 80 is a strict reading charge based on the blood alcohol number alone. Many files involve both charges in the alternative. Which one to defend, and how, depends on the disclosure and the circumstances. An experienced impaired driving lawyer at Davidson Gregory can advise on the right path for your file.

Is refusing a breath sample a separate criminal charge?

Yes. Failing or refusing to provide a breath sample when police lawfully demand one is a separate criminal charge with its own mandatory minimum penalties. The minimum fine for a first-offence refusal is higher than the minimum for impaired driving or over 80. Whether a defence is available depends on the specific facts of the demand and the driver’s circumstances.

Can I be charged criminally with impaired driving if my BAC was below 80?

Yes. The impaired operation charge is about whether your ability to drive was affected, not about a specific BAC number. A high BAC reading does not automatically mean the impaired charge will stick, and a low BAC reading does not automatically mean it will not. An experienced impaired driving lawyer at Davidson Gregory can review the disclosure and assess how the impairment case looks on the specific facts of your file.

What happens if the impaired driving allegation involves a collision?

Where an impaired driving offence is alleged to have caused injury or death, the Criminal Code creates more serious charges with much higher maximum penalties. These are among the most serious files Davidson Gregory defends and they call for an early, focused defence strategy.

Will an impaired driving conviction affect my ability to travel to the United States?

It can. US border officers have wide discretion to turn travellers away based on impaired driving convictions, and the practical impact depends on the circumstances of the conviction and the type of travel. Impaired driving is also treated as serious criminality under Canadian immigration law, which can matter for permanent residents and foreign workers. If your status or your US travel is on the line, raise it with your impaired driving lawyer at Davidson Gregory at the start of the file, not after a plea has been entered.

Can I get my charges withdrawn?

No criminal lawyer can promise that charges will be withdrawn in any specific case. What we can promise is a careful review of the disclosure, a defence theory built on the facts and the Charter issues your file presents, and a real willingness to take the case to trial. We run impaired driving trials regularly. The strongest results, whether at trial or in a negotiated outcome, come from being properly prepared from day one.

Do I have to get a blow box installed if I am suspended under SafeRoads?

No. The Ignition Interlock Program is optional under the SafeRoads system. After the first 90-day suspension following an IRS Fail, the driver enters a 12-month continued suspension. During that 12 months, the driver can choose to install an approved ignition interlock device (the blow box) and drive on a restricted licence or stay fully suspended. Many drivers do choose the Interlock because they need to drive for work or family, but the SafeRoads sanction itself does not require it. The driver pays for installation, monthly monitoring, and removal.

What about after a criminal impaired driving conviction? Is the blow box mandatory then?

Yes. After a criminal impaired driving conviction in Alberta, a driver who wants to drive at all during the federal prohibition period has to install an approved ignition interlock device and complete the Ignition Interlock Program. The driver’s licence remains suspended until the Ignition Interlock Program is completed. The blow box is mandatory after a criminal conviction in a way it is not under SafeRoads. That is one of the most important practical reasons the criminal side of the file matters, even when there is a SafeRoads IRS in play.

What happens if I miss the seven-day SafeRoads deadline?

Missing the seven-day window to file a SafeRoads review normally ends the right to fight the IRS at SafeRoads. The driver is still suspended, the vehicle is still seized, the fine is still owed, and the license reinstatement conditions still apply. That is why a same-day call to an IRS: Fail lawyer at Davidson Gregory matters.