Overview of Human Rights in Canada

Canada is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. The government generally respects the civil and human rights of its citizens with a few notable exceptions.

Violence and harassment against religious minorities and the indigenous (Native Canadian or "First Peoples") population have been noted in some regions.

The government has been negligent in enacting certain provisions under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which would provide asylum seekers with full appellate rights against decisions which denied them refugee status.

There have also been a handful of reported deaths in recent year due to police usage of Taser guns. The government has announced it would review their usage, but has yet to suspend their usage outright.

Overall, however, Canada enjoys one of the world's best records of human rights.

Human Development (HDI) Rank: 6th out of 177

Note: Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite index that measures the level of well-being of nations in the world. It uses factors such as poverty, literacy, life-expectancy, education, gross domestic product, and purchasing power parity to assess the average achievements in each nation. It has been used in the United Nation’s Human Development Report since 1993.