Topic: Suspensions & Penalties

Medical conditions – temporary or permanent – can affect your ability to drive.

If you pose an immediate risk to yourself or others while driving based on your cognitive, physical or visual abilities, we may suspend your licence until further evaluation can be completed.

If you have been evaluated and do not meet the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators’ Medical Standards for Drivers, we may suspend your driver’s licence.

Learn more about the process, including ongoing reporting requirements and appeal options.

Aside from medical, impaired and distracted driving suspensions, there are a number of other reasons your driver’s licence can be suspended or restricted.

Criminal Code conviction suspensions

Driving a vehicle in Manitoba is a privilege. If you are convicted of certain offences under the Criminal Code you will lose that privilege. Some examples of these offences are:

  • dangerous driving
  • criminal negligence
  • flight from police
  • auto arson
  • auto vandalism
  • taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent
  • auto theft
  • possession of property obtained by crime
  • possession, selling or purchasing master keys

If you are convicted of any of these offences, you will receive an automatic driver’s licence suspension and you may lose your eligibility to obtain a licence in the future. It also disqualifies you from operating an off-road vehicle, agricultural equipment and infrastructure equipment.

If you are convicted of any of these offences, you will face a suspension ranging from one year to life. For offenders under 16 years of age, the suspension starts on their 16th birthday.

Note: A discharge under the Criminal Code for certain driving related offences may be treated as a conviction under The Highway Traffic Act.

Street racing

If you are suspected by police of street racing, you can receive an immediate seven-day administrative suspension. The suspension can be issued with or without any accompanying charges of street racing under The Highway Traffic Act.

You would be required to pay a driver’s licence reinstatement charge once you have served your suspension.

Family maintenance

Your driver’s licence may be suspended due to an order from the Department of Justice, because you have outstanding family maintenance payments (The Family Maintenance Act).

For more information, visit the Maintenance Enforcement Program at 100-352 Donald Street in Winnipeg or call 204-945-7133. Once you settle the matter, Maintenance Enforcement will notify us. You can then apply for a driver’s licence.

Infrastructure and agricultural equipment

If your driver’s licence is suspended for any reason, you may not operate infrastructure and agricultural equipment on provincial highways and urban roads. These vehicles include self-propelled farm equipment, such as combines, and heavy equipment such as front-end loaders, cranes, forklifts and graders. You may be able to obtain a conditional licence, allowing you to operate this type of equipment.

For further information on obtaining conditional licences, contact the Licence Suspension Appeal Board.

Depending on the type of driver’s licence suspension you have received, you may be able to apply to appeal or ask to have it reviewed.

Please note: 24-hour and distracted driving suspensions are not eligible for appeal or review.

See information on the fees associated with appeals and reviews.

Impaired appeals

If you are convicted of impaired driving or other alcohol and/or drug related offences, you may apply for an appeal with the Licence Suspension Appeal Board (LSAB). Your appeal allows you to ask for a conditional driver’s licence during your suspension.

If the appeal is successful, the LSAB may grant you a conditional driver’s licence with an Ignition Interlock restriction. The incident will remain on your record and will count if a future incident occurs. LSAB appeal applications are available here.

Administrative licence suspension reviews

Tiered Administrative Licence Suspensions and three-month Administrative Licence Suspensions are eligible for Registrar Review.

If the Registrar of Motor Vehicles determines that your suspension was not justified, the incident will be removed from your record. To apply for a review, you must fill out the applicable application:

You may only apply for this review within one year of being served your suspension.

Driver Fitness appeals

If you have received notice from Driver Fitness of a suspension, cancellation, or been denied a licence, you may have options to appeal the decision, depending on your situation. Learn more.

Medical suspension appeals

If your driver’s licence has been cancelled or declassed as a result of a medical or vision condition that affects your ability to drive safely, you may have the right to appeal. Learn more.

In Manitoba it’s illegal to use hand-operated electronic devices, such as cellphones, smartphones and tablets, while driving.

If you are caught violating this law, you’ll receive a three-day licence suspension for a first offence and a seven-day suspension for subsequent offences. Upon conviction, you will also receive a $672 fine and move five levels down the Driver Safety Rating (DSR) scale.

If a distraction causes you to violate traffic laws or end up in a collision, you can be charged with a number of offences, including driving imprudently, careless driving or dangerous driving. These can result in fines, demerits and other driving interventions. You can also be charged with whatever offence the distraction caused you to commit, such as failing to obey a traffic signal. Fines and moving down the DSR scale also apply to these offences.

Impaired driving is a crime. If convicted, you’ll face serious consequences under the Criminal Code of Canada.

Manitoba’s impaired driving laws apply when operating all motor vehicles including infrastructure equipment, agricultural equipment and off-road vehicles, as well as vessels on water, aircrafts and railway equipment, while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Manitoba continues to have among the toughest penalties in Canada for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. They include:

24-hour roadside suspension for drug impairment

If you are suspected by police of being under the influence of any drug, you can receive an immediate 24-hour roadside licence suspension. See more information on drug impairment.

Immediate Roadside Prohibition

As of Dec. 16, 2019, The Highway Traffic Act is amended to adopt an immediate roadside prohibitions approach to deal with persons driving under the influence of alcohol. This new approach and tough new sanctions take effect right at roadside, based upon the results of an approved screening device (ASD). See more information below on registering a “warn” or a “fail” on an ASD.

Tiered Administrative Licence Suspensions

If you operate a motorized vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration between .05 and .079, register a warn on an approved screening device, or fail a drug screening test, physical coordination test or drug recognition evaluation, you can receive an immediate Tiered Administrative Licence Suspension. Tiered Administrative Licence Suspensions are progressively longer suspensions ranging from 72 hours to 60 days depending on how many suspensions you have received within a 10-year period.

This suspension moves you down the Driver Safety Rating scale by five levels. If you receive one, you may also be subject to a Driver Improvement & Control intervention.

If you register a warn on an ASD, you will face enhanced roadside sanctions, including an administrative penalty of at least $400 and vehicle impoundment of three days on a first offence. Sanctions increase with subsequent offences.

If you receive two or more suspensions within a 10-year period, you are also required to complete an assessment through the Impaired Driver Program at the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba at your own expense.

Three-month Administrative Licence Suspension

You will receive a three-month Administrative Licence Suspension if:

  • Your blood alcohol concentration is equal to or over .08.
  • You register a fail on an ASD.
  • Your blood drug concentration is over five nanograms (ng) of THC.
  • Your combined blood alcohol concentration is over .05 and your blood drug concentration is more than 2.5 ng of THC.
  • You refuse to provide a breath, saliva or blood sample to police.
  • You refuse to perform a physical coordination test or drug recognition evaluation, or refuse to follow a police officer’s instructions regarding either test.
  • You have any concentration of illegal drugs in your system.

This suspension lowers your rating on the Driver Safety Rating scale by five levels and you will be required to pay a driver’s licence reinstatement fee

Additional consequences include:

If you fail or refuse an ASD, you may face enhanced roadside sanctions, including an administrative penalty of $700, vehicle impoundment, mandatory Ignition Interlock participation for one year, an impaired driver assessment and movement of 10 levels down the Driver Safety Rating scale.

Criminal Code offences

Criminal Code offences include the following:

  • Driving, or having care and control of a vehicle, while impaired by drugs or alcohol
  • Impaired driving causing bodily harm or death.
  • Driving with a blood alcohol concentration equal to or over .08.
  • Driving with a blood drug concentration over five ng of THC.
  • Driving with a combined blood alcohol concentration over .05 and blood drug concentration over 2.5 ng of THC.
  • Driving with any concentration of illegal drugs in your system.
  • Refusing to provide a breath, saliva or blood sample to police upon request.
  • Refusing to perform a physical coordination test or drug recognition evaluation, or refusing to follow a police officer’s instructions regarding either test.

If you are convicted of an impaired driving-related Criminal Code offence, you will face sanctions such as:

Note: A discharge under the Criminal Code for certain driving-related offences may be treated as a conviction under The Highway Traffic Act.

Graduated Driver Licensing

New drivers who violate any Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) Program restrictions or are convicted of a driving offence may have their driving record reviewed by our Driver Improvement & Control Program to determine if an additional suspension or other sanctions should apply. Learn more.

Depending on the type of driver’s licence suspension you have received, the requirements to have your licence reinstated may vary.

For the charges or requirements for your specific suspension, visit an MPI Service Centre or call us at 204-985-7000 or 1-800-665-2410. Once you’ve fulfilled all of the requirements, you can re-apply for your driver’s licence.

Impaired driving-related suspensions

If you have received an alcohol and/or drug-related suspension, you will be required to provide an impaired driver’s assessment from the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba’s Impaired Driver Program. In addition, if you receive two or more Tiered Administrative Licence Suspensions within a 10-year period, you will be required to complete an assessment of alcohol/drug use from the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba’s Impaired Driver Program.

When the assessment has been approved and your suspension is over or has been successfully appealed, you can have your licence reinstated at an MPI Service Centre. You may be subject to participation in Manitoba’s Ignition Interlock Program.

If you have not been licensed for over four years, you will have to complete the required driver testing process.

You’ll also need to pay several charges, including:

  • A $625 charge for the mandatory Impaired Driver Program assessment
  • A $50 reinstatement charge
  • An additional driver’s licence premium

All charges, additional premiums and fines are subject to change.

Overdue tickets and fines

If you have overdue provincial fines or traffic tickets, Manitoba Justice can place a hold on your driver’s licence and vehicle registration. Manitoba Public Insurance cannot remove the hold from your account until you pay them. Information on how to pay for fines and traffic tickets can be found on the Manitoba Justice website or by calling 1-800-282-8069 ext. 3156.

When your fines have been paid in full, the hold will usually be removed from your file within 14 days. If you wish to make changes to your account before the hold is removed, you can bring your original copy of the certified receipt (from Manitoba Justice) to any Autopac agent or MPI Service Centre.

Please note: If you receive a ticket outside of Manitoba, we are legally obligated to show out-of-province convictions on your driver record.

Incorrect convictions

If there is a conviction on your driver record that does not belong to you, you must contact the police agency that issued the ticket or the office of the court that issued the conviction. If you are successful in having it removed, the appropriate court will notify us. Once we receive the proper documentation from the court, the conviction will be removed from your driver record.

Consequences of driving while suspended

If you drive while suspended, the consequences can include:

  • Imprisonment for up to five years and/or fines of up to $2,000.
  • A non-appealable licence prohibition under the Criminal Code, which means you are not able to get a conditional licence.
  • A lifetime driver’s licence suspension under The Highway Traffic Act.
  • Additional driver’s licence premiums once the driver’s licence is reinstated.

Vehicle impoundment

If you drive a vehicle or off-road vehicle while suspended, disqualified or prohibited from driving, it will immediately be impounded for a minimum of 30 days.

The vehicle will be impounded, even if it is owned or registered by someone other than the operator at the time of the offence. It is the owner’s responsibility to ensure that the operator is not suspended, prohibited or disqualified. Vehicle owners will be responsible for the costs of towing and storage, plus an impoundment fee, which must be paid before a vehicle is released.

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