NCA Canadian Criminal Law — Information & Free Practice

About NCA Canadian Criminal Law

NCA Canadian Criminal Law · CA

Key exam facts

Provider

National Committee on Accreditation (NCA), Federation of Law Societies of Canada

Format

Online, open-book, fact-based long-form written answers. This multiple-choice practice bank is not an exact simulation.

Time limit

Maximum 3 hours (standard sitting).

Passing score

50 percent (pass/fail).

Exam fee

CAD 500 plus applicable taxes per exam, for sittings from April 2025; registration fee effective February 7, 2025.

Topics covered

• GENERAL OVERVIEW AND PRELIMINARY MATTERS

  • The Sources of Criminal Law
  • The Power to Create Criminal Offences and Rules of Criminal Procedure
  • Constitutional Division of Powers Introduced
  • The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
  • The Procedural Classification of Offences
  • Interpreting Criminal Provisions
  • Definitions
  • Purposive Interpretation
  • French/English
  • The Charter

• THE ELEMENTS OF A CRIMINAL OR REGULATORY OFFENCE

  • The Actus Reus
  • Acts and Statutory Conditions; Acts Must be Voluntary or Willed
  • The Act of Possession
  • Consent as an Element of the Actus Reus
  • Causation
  • Omissions
  • Subjective Mens Rea
  • Intention, Purpose and Wilfulness
  • Subjective Mens Rea with Objective Features
  • Knowledge
  • Willful Blindness
  • Recklessness
  • Objective Mens Rea and True Crimes
  • Regulatory Offences

• EXTENSIONS OF CRIMINAL LIABILITY

  • Aiding and Abetting
  • Counselling
  • Attempts
  • Corporate and Association Liability

• SELECT CRIMINAL DEFENCES

  • Mental Disorder
  • Automatism and Involuntary Acts “Negativing” the Actus Reus
  • Simple Intoxication and Specific Intent Crimes
  • Extreme Intoxication and General Intent Crimes
  • Defence of the Person
  • Necessity
  • Duress
  • Provocation
  • Entrapment
  • Error of Law and Colour of Right

• THE ADVERSARIAL PROCEEDING

  • The Adversarial Process
  • The Presumption of Innocence and the Ultimate Standard of Proof
  • Other Burdens
  • The Neutral Impartial Trier
  • The Role of the Prosecutor
  • The Role of the Defence

• GETTING TO THE TRIAL: THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION

  • Police Powers

• GETTING TO THE TRIAL: TAKING CONTROL OVER THE ACCUSED

  • Securing Jurisdiction over the Accused and Interim Release

• GETTING READY FOR TRIAL

  • Disclosure and Production
  • Preliminary Inquiries
  • The Jury Trial
  • Pre-Trial Motions
  • Trial Within a Reasonable Time Applications

• SENTENCING

  • General Principles of Sentencing

• APPEALS AND REVIEW

  • Appeals of Final Decisions and Judicial Review of Interim Decisions

How to prepare

Work through the topics, read the explanation after each answer, and revisit the areas where you miss questions. Use the official outline and reference materials below to guide your study.

These independent practice questions are not actual exam items and do not guarantee a passing result.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources and references

• NCA Canadian Criminal Law syllabus

  pp. 3–26

• NCA Exam Information

  Results

• NCA Criminal Law sample examination

  p. 3, Instructions specific to this exam

• NCA Exam Information

  Exam format

• NCA Exam Information

  Fees

Confirm current exam arrangements with the exam provider.