I called the police but they did not arrest the person — can I still apply for a restraining order in Ontario family court?
Yes — in principle. A police decision not to arrest (or the Crown's decision not to charge) does not, by itself, remove your ability to seek a civil restraining order in Ontario's Superior Court of Justice (family branch) when the family-law tests are met. Criminal enforcement thresholds and civil family-court relief are different: someone may never be found criminally guilty while you still present credible sworn evidence of risk under the Family Law Act / Children's Law Reform Act. Whether a judge ultimately grants an order always turns on evidence and legal argument in your specific case.
Key Points
Police non-arrest is not the same question as whether a family judge may grant civil contact limits. Criminal decisions turn on reasonable grounds, charging standards, investigative steps, and prosecutorial discretion; restraining-order motions turn on civil statutory tests about safety, fear, and harassment or violence risk in the family-law context (depending on what you plead).
So even if the other person was not arrested or never convicted, you may still obtain a restraining order if your materials meet the court's requirements. The reverse is also true: criminal activity or charges do not automatically equal a family-court order — each track has its own process and proof.
Detailed Answer
Keep the streams separate. What happened at the police station or in a criminal investigation answers one set of questions. A family-law restraining order answers another: whether, on a civil motion record, a judge should impose court-ordered limits on approach or communication to reduce documented risk.
Non-arrest can reflect many things — timing, evidentiary snapshots available to police, risk assessments, resource constraints, or charging decisions — and it does not silently decide your family-court risk narrative.
On a motion, judges look at sworn affidavits and admissible exhibits tied to the legal tests you invoke. Emotional narratives and what is persuasive in court are not always the same; lawyers help sort relevance, admissibility, and sequencing.
For how urgent motions, timelines, and vocabulary differ between police non-contact conditions and civil restraining orders, read this FAQ on Toronto timelines. On immigration status angles, read If I apply for a restraining order, will it affect my spouse's immigration status — for example a work permit or PR card? For a fuller roadmap, see Restraining orders in Ontario: emergency legal protection and Restraining Order Ontario.
If you are also reviewing what conduct can count as family violence beyond physical assault, see Under Ontario family law, besides physical assault, what kinds of conduct can be considered domestic violence? (Chinese version linked from that page).
If you are also asking how violence allegations intersect with parenting orders, read Does domestic violence affect how Ontario judges decide child custody and parenting time?
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For 24-hour multilingual support, Assaulted Women's Helpline: 1-866-863-0511. For restraining-order strategy and evidence planning, call 647-930-6688 to book a consultation with Miao He.
Still have questions?
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