A discharge is a legal sentence in Canada that a judge can order when a person has been found guilty or has pled guilty. It leads to no criminal conviction and so no criminal record.
There are two types of discharges:
- An absolute discharge means there are no court orders or conditions the person needs to comply with.
- A conditional discharge means the person must abide by a probation period. If the person successfully completes the probation period, they are discharged (and so will not have a criminal record).