Are Sex Dolls Legal in Canada?

We at Sex Doll Canada are always asked:

• Is it legal to buy a sex doll?
• What dolls are allowed to import safely?
• Do you have compact dolls?

In general, sex dolls are perfectly legal in Canada and inflatable dolls can be found in any Adult Novelty shop. So, what's the big deal with high end real silicone and TPE sex dolls?

In fact, it has nothing to do with the material the doll is constructed of that could blur the lines of legality - it all has to do with whether or not the doll resembles, or portrays a child.

Sex Doll Canada only sells adult sex dolls that could not be confused to portray the likeness of a child (which is considered "obscene", by legal definition).

There are many models offered by our manufacturers, primarily for the Asia-market, that we simply will not offer in order to protect our customers, and ourselves, from negative potential financial, and criminal, penalties. These are the models that may be considered "obscene".

Because of the Harmonized Tax code used for mannequins (which is how sex dolls are almost always imported), Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has an obligation to inspect the shipments during the import process to ensure they do not contain "obscene content", thereby violating the Criminal Code of Canada.

If you buy from Sex Doll Canada, as the doll *ALWAYS* ships to us first (Standard and Consolidated shipping, not dropship), our customer is completely isolated from this inspection process! Our customers are not identified on any import documentation, and the CBSA works with us directly to resolve any potential issues.

If a Customs Officer examines the doll and believes the doll resembles a child, they will ask for an opinion of a second offer. If both officers agree that the doll being imported resembles a child, then the Importer of Record (i.e. Sex Doll Canada) then faces a serious issue. The burden of proof lays on the Crown to prove, before the Courts, that the material is considered "obscene", by legal definition.

Note that Sex Doll Canada has never had a single doll rejected by customs, or confiscated, as we are extremely careful in what we import.

As per the CBSA Memorandum D9-1-1:

"The courts have ruled that subsection 152(3) of the Customs Act is not to be construed and applied so as to place the onus on an importer to establish that goods are not obscene within the meaning of subsection 163(8) of the Criminal Code. The burden of proving obscenity rests on the Crown, in this case the CBSA, who is alleging it."

Here are some excerpts from a legal battle which has made headlines in Canada:  

"The lawyer for a St. John's man charged with possession of child pornography is suggesting a sex doll depicts an adult woman, not a child. The doll was shipped to a man in St. John's in March 2013.

This man from St. John's is on trial for possession of child porn. Crown alleges he had a child sex doll shipped to him. (Glenn Payette/CBC News).

The man (since acquitted) was charged with possessing child porn, and with violating the Customs Act for smuggling the doll into Canada and is on trial in Newfoundland and Labrador provincial court.

An expert witness called by the Crown, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Peter Collins, has testified that in his opinion the doll is child pornography because it depicts a child and is meant for sexual purposes."

(From CBC - New Article)

January 2021 - Added to this article as two points of clarification:

1. The man referenced in the above article, was not a client of SD Canada and we do not sell any dolls in the likeness of a child; and

2. The man referenced in the article was later acquitted by the Crown and found not guilty, although the Crown did find that a sex doll resembling and marketed as a child would consider Child Pornography
   ( Follow-Up Article by CBC)