Ontario’s anti-human trafficking strategy 2025–2030

Introduction

Human trafficking is one of the fastest-growing crimes worldwide. In Ontario, the majority of reported cases involve sexual exploitation, which may also be referred to as sex trafficking. Young women and girls are particularly at risk, though boys, men and people who identify as 2SLGBTQ+ are also targeted.

To protect communities, Ontario is renewing its Anti-Human Trafficking Strategy from 2025 to 2030, including a more than $345 million investment over the same period of time. This represents the largest total investment in dedicated anti-human trafficking supports and services in Canada.

The strategy will continue to enhance collective efforts across government to extend and strengthen initiatives that support survivors, including children and youth, and to hold offenders accountable.

In May 2024, Ontario launched a review of its first Anti-Human Trafficking Strategy, including sector specific engagements, public responses, a literature review, performance measurement data, and program assessments.

Overall, the review findings noted significant progress achieved by the 2020–2025 strategy. This feedback is reflected in Ontario’s 2025–2030 strategy as we continue to sustain and strengthen successful approaches.

Working together

Ontario’s anti-human trafficking strategy reflects valuable input from survivors of human trafficking, Indigenous communities and organizations, law enforcement and frontline service providers.

Through the 2025–2030 strategy, the government will work across jurisdictions and with community groups and educators, as well as with Indigenous communities and organizations, to ensure the strategy is meaningful and effective.

As a cross-government action plan, Ontario’s anti-human trafficking strategy incorporates activities across a range of ministries, including:

• Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services
• Ministry of the Solicitor General
• Ministry of the Attorney General
• Ministry of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation
• Ministry of Education
• Ministry of Health
• Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries
• Ministry of Transportation

Ontario’s anti-human trafficking strategy

Ontario’s anti-human trafficking strategy will continue to raise awareness of the issue through training and public awareness campaigns, empower frontline service providers to prevent human trafficking before it occurs and take action early, support survivors through specialized services, and give law enforcement and prosecutors the tools and resources they need to hold offenders accountable.

The strategy takes a proactive approach, and will continue with actions across government focused on the following pillars:

• raising awareness of the issue
• protecting victims and intervening early
• supporting survivors
• holding offenders accountable

Raising awareness of the issue

A range of sectors have identified the need for training on human trafficking to equip frontline service providers with the skills needed to respond to cases of trafficking. Raising general public awareness is also key to helping to prevent trafficking before it occurs.

Since 2020, Ontario continued to raise awareness among the public and equip service providers with specialized skills to better understand, identify, and respond to human trafficking.

Work under this pillar includes:

• approximately 1,100 frontline workers who completed the Sexually Exploited Youth training from 2021 to 2024
• making public education materials available to respond to specific sector needs and expanding distribution of existing awareness materials through partnerships across government and sectors
• delivering new multi-sectoral anti-human trafficking training that is culturally-responsive and survivor-informed, including Indigenous-specific components
• increasing awareness of available training on how to identify and support survivors of human trafficking for Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence healthcare personnel
• continuing to engage at the federal, provincial and territorial levels to share best practices and ensure that preventing and combatting human trafficking is a national priority

The 2025–2030 strategy includes the following enhancements:

• increased access to in-person anti-human trafficking education and awareness events for children and youth in care, and their families/caregivers
• expanded training to build capacity within key sectors (e.g. developmental services; anti-human trafficking)
• knowledge sharing sessions for Service Managers on the Special Priority Policy Guide for Rent-Geared-to-Income assistance

Protecting victims and intervening early

Early intervention and prevention efforts are crucial to effectively combat human trafficking. Ontario’s anti-human trafficking strategy prioritizes initiatives targeted to child and youth prevention and intervention, as well as supports for child victims.

Since 2020, Ontario has increased critical supports for children and youth at risk of and experiencing human trafficking through specialized intervention teams and licensed out-of-home care settings that support children and youth.

On average, each year the Toronto and Durham Children At Risk of Exploitation (CARE) units serve more than 200 children and youth 12 to 17 years of age who are at risk of or being sex trafficked. In addition, all Ontario school boards have established protocols to protect students from trafficking, as directed by Policy/Program Memorandum 166.

Work under this pillar includes:

• multi-disciplinary police and child protection specialized intervention teams called Children At Risk of Exploitation (CARE) units, focusing on at-risk and exploited children and youth in Toronto and Durham, with a third unit being implemented in Kenora
• dedicated out-of-home care settings to provide specialized support for at-risk and exploited children and youth, including those under age 16
• the youth-in-transition worker program expanded to provide supports to youth in care and leaving the care of children’s aid societies, including workers to support specific populations, such as youth at risk of human trafficking and Indigenous  youth
• education and prevention efforts geared to children and youth through Ontario schools, building on the school curriculum.

The 2025–2030 strategy includes the following enhancements:

• enhanced out of home care supports for children and youth who are being trafficked and are in critical danger
• the development of anti-human trafficking community of practice with school boards

Supporting survivors

Survivors of human trafficking require specialized, trauma-informed, community-based supports to help them heal and rebuild their lives, and to reduce the risk of re-exploitation. Since 2020, Ontario has increased critical supports available for survivors of human trafficking, and responded to service gaps and pressures through investments in the Community Supports Fund (CSF) and Indigenous-Led Initiatives Funds (ILIF).

Between 2021–22 and 2023–24, more than 29,000 individuals were served by 52 Community Supports Fund and Indigenous-Led Initiatives Fund (CSF/ILIF) organizations through dedicated services that address the unique needs of survivors and persons at risk of human trafficking.

Work under this pillar includes:

• community-focused anti-human trafficking services and supports designed for, and by Indigenous people through the Indigenous-led Initiatives Fund 
• the Indigenous Anti-Human Trafficking Liaisons program to serve more communities and build capacity to address trafficking and to support Indigenous survivors
• community-based programs that support survivors and individuals at risk of being trafficked through the Community-Supports Fund 
• supports for victims of human trafficking in the justice sector through the Victim Quick Response Program+ (VQRP+) and the Vulnerable Victims and Family Fund (VVFF), and through the Victim Crisis Assistance Ontario (VCAO) program which supports the delivery of community-based victim services
• funding for Indigenous victims' services to provide effective and culturally appropriate supports and services to Indigenous human trafficking victims
• court-based victim/witness services workers in the Victim/Witness Assistance Program (V/WAP) to help meet the complex needs of victims of human trafficking  while cases proceed through the criminal justice system to support holding offenders accountable
• providing the free Human Trafficking Legal Support Program province-wide, including for persons seeking specialized human trafficking restraining orders
• continuation of the Human Trafficking Lived Experience Roundtable to enable direct engagement with, and input from, survivors of trafficking on Ontario’s response to human trafficking

The 2025–2030 strategy includes the following enhancements:

• peer networks established to support survivors and foster a sense of community and mutual support.

Holding offenders accountable

To keep pace with the increasing volume and complexity of human trafficking cases across the province, Ontario’s anti-human trafficking strategy provides a coordinated approach to law enforcement, with increased capacity for policing, Crown prosecutors and intelligence gathering.

Since 2020, Ontario has enhanced justice and policing supports for survivors of human trafficking, and built system capacity to disrupt human trafficking and bring perpetrators to justice.

Intelligence-led Joint Forces Strategy (IJFS) has conducted 65 investigations, assisted 61 victims, laid 72 human trafficking charges and 167 additional charges, and charged 28 people as of February 2023.

Work under this pillar includes:

• Major Case Management enhancements that work to respond to missing persons and human trafficking investigations, as well as software development that assists in meeting specific needs of human trafficking investigators and analysts
• the intelligence-led joint forces investigations team, comprising members from police agencies across Ontario, including the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), municipal police services and First Nations police services
• the OPP Child Sexual Exploitation Unit, which was expanded to investigate sexual offences against children
• investments in institutional security teams, field intelligence officers and intelligence analysts within correctional services to better identify and monitor human traffickers within the correctional system and identify victims in support of criminal investigations
• a specialized Crown prosecution team, which supports sex trafficking survivors through the justice system. The team also holds offenders accountable through vigorous prosecutions of charges laid against members of organized human trafficking networks and individuals charged with human trafficking

The 2025–2030 strategy enhancements include:

• the release of the Handbook for Criminal Justice Practitioners on trafficking in persons

Enhanced supports for children and youth

Ontario’s 2025–2030 anti-human trafficking strategy will continue efforts to protect children and youth.

The strategy includes targeted efforts to build awareness among children and youth, critical intervention tools to protect at-risk youth, as well as dedicated supports for victims and survivors of human trafficking, including those under age 16.

Services and supports that are child and youth specific and are part of the 2025–2030 strategy are:

• a targeted public awareness campaign
• specialized intervention teams
• specialized out-of-home care settings to serve at-risk and exploited children and youth
• specialized youth-in-transition workers
• education through schools
• child-specific programming as part of community-based services
• Ontario Provincial Police Child Sexual Exploitation Unit

By investing in services that prioritize preventing child sexual exploitation before it happens and enhancing capacity to hold offenders accountable, Ontario’s strategy is helping to build healthier and safer communities.

Indigenous-specific services and supports

As Indigenous women and girls are particularly targeted and disproportionately impacted, it is critical that culturally-responsive supports are available. To respond to this need, Indigenous-specific resources are embedded throughout Ontario’s 2025–2030 anti-human trafficking strategy. These resources include supports for Indigenous children and youth in care and leaving care, and Indigenous-led supports for survivors and at-risk youth. They also include Indigenous-specific victim services that take a holistic approach to healing, including support for family members.

Services and supports for Indigenous survivors and youth at risk include:

• public education targeted to Indigenous communities
• multi-sectoral training with Indigenous-specific components
• funding for the Anti-Human Trafficking Indigenous-led Initiatives Fund
• Indigenous Anti-Human Trafficking Liaisons program
• Indigenous-specific victims services
• intelligence-led joint forces team including First Nations police services

Impact on Ontarians

Here’s how the 2025–2030 anti-human trafficking strategy will impact Ontarians:

• victims and people at risk: quicker identification of people at risk or victims and of available and appropriate supports
• survivors: access to specialized and responsive supports to help survivors heal and rebuild their lives
• families: ability to identify human trafficking and to find available supports for victims, survivors and families
• traffickers: resources for law enforcement and the justice sector to identify, investigate, prosecute and hold offenders accountable
• service providers: increased ability to identify and respond to human trafficking, and to provide resources to support persons at risk, victims and survivors
• public: better awareness of and ability to identify and respond to human trafficking

Outcomes

The strength of Ontario’s 2025–2030 anti-human trafficking strategy speaks to the magnitude of this crisis — not only in Ontario, but around the world. The strategy aims to achieve key outcomes through investment in the four key priority areas:

• raise awareness of the issue: Ontarians are better able to identify and respond to human trafficking, and know where to get help
• protect victims and intervene early: service providers have the tools they need to prevent and intervene early, and parents and guardians know where to get help
• support survivors: survivors are connected to responsive supports, including services like transitional housing, counselling and mental health and addiction treatment
• hold offenders accountable: law enforcement and justice sector have increased ability to investigate, charge and prosecute offenders

The ultimate goals of the strategy are:

• reduced incidences of human trafficking in Ontario
• survivors are able to rebuild their lives

As the 2025–2030 strategy is implemented, greater awareness of human trafficking in Ontario may lead to an increase in the number of police-reported cases. However, as human trafficking is a vastly under-reported crime, this will not mean the strategy is not working. As a result of actions in the strategy — if more victims feel supported in coming forward, and law enforcement has increased capacity to target and find perpetrators — an increase in reported cases will be an indication of the strategy’s effectiveness.