How much is bail in Ontario?
Many people assume that the bail procedure in Canada is similar to that in the United States, where an accused is required to post a specified amount of money ("a bond" ) in order to obtain bail. However, this is not how the procedure works in Canada.
In Canada, you do not have to give a cash deposit to the court, in most cases. However, the accused or his or her surety is required to "pledge" a certain amount of money to the court. The amount pledged is not paid up front, but is a promise that if the accused breaches a condition of his or her bail, the surety may be liable for the amount pledged.
The court may ask for a cash deposit if the accused lives more than 200 km from where they are in custody and/or if he or she is not normally a resident of the province of Ontario.
