Impaired driving also known as drunk driving, DUI, driving over .08 miligrams, or driving while ability impaired is among the most common criminal offences in Canada.
Many people don’t even know that its a criminal offence and once convicted will stay on your criminal record forever until a pardon or record suspension is granted. This has huge negative implications when applying for employment, volunteering or traveling as the criminal record will show up when a background check is done and will stop you from being able to get good employment, volunteer work and traveling.
Different provinces have their own rules around drinking and driving. British Columbia (BC) has leaner laws for DUIs where they may not give you a criminal conviction for your first offence depending on the blood alchohol limit they may just give you a roadside suspension. In this case you will not be fingerprinted by the police and you will not have a criminal record. In Ontario and many other provinces the laws around drinking and driving are much more strict and you will be fingerprinted by the police immediately upon being caught drinking and driving.
Alberta has recently changed their rules around drinking and driving allowing for more immediate road side suspensions as well as making it even harder to drink and drive. Here is a recent article in the CBC titled “New Impaired Driving Laws Take Affect in Alberta”.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-new-impaired-driving-law-1.4609654
