Police can walk up to your door and knock, the same as any member of the public, but you are not required to open the door or let them in without a warrant. If you do open it, you can still step outside, close the door behind you, and clearly say that you don’t consent to them entering or searching. Unless they have a warrant, are arresting someone, or face exigent circumstances under the Criminal Code, silence is not enough. You have to say it.
The “implied licence” you already gave, and how to take it back
In R. v. Evans, the Supreme Court of Canada recognized that everyone gives an “implied licence” for the public, including police, to approach their front door and knock, the same as a delivery driver or a neighbour would. But that licence only covers a normal knock. If police approach your home to gather evidence against you, or overstay the purpose of a simple knock, they’ve gone beyond what you implicitly permitted, and their presence can itself become an unreasonable search under section 8 of the Charter.
That licence is yours to revoke at any time. Speaking through a closed door, or stepping outside and closing the door behind you, keeps you in control of what they can see and hear. Opening the door wide and letting them look inside gives up part of that privacy voluntarily, even if you never say the word “yes.”
When police actually can enter without your permission
There are only a few situations where police don’t need your consent or a warrant, per CLEO’s guide to police powers and Criminal Code section 529.3:
- They have a warrant. Ask to see it, and check that the address and dates on it are correct before letting them in.
- They’re arresting someone already inside, and reasonably believe entering now is necessary to prevent that person from being seriously injured or killed.
- Exigent circumstances exist, meaning they reasonably believe entering right now is necessary to stop imminent destruction of evidence tied to a serious offence, or to prevent imminent bodily harm or death to someone inside.
A vague statement like “we’re just doing a wellness check” or “we got a noise complaint” doesn’t, by itself, meet that bar. You can ask directly what specific grounds they have, and you’re allowed to keep declining entry while you wait for a real answer.
What to actually say and do
- Don’t assume you have to open the door. You can speak through it, or from a window.
- If you do open it, step outside and close it behind you. This keeps the implied licence limited to the porch or entryway, not the inside of your home.
- Say it out loud, clearly. Something like: “I do not consent to you entering or searching my home. If you don’t have a warrant, please leave.” Per CLEO, staying silent risks being read as agreement, so the refusal has to be spoken.
- If they claim urgency, ask what it is. “What specific information do you have that makes this an emergency?” You’re allowed to keep refusing while they explain.
- If they show a warrant, verify it before stepping aside. Confirm your correct address, and the dates and times it authorizes.
If they enter anyway
Do not physically block or resist them, that can turn into a separate criminal charge regardless of whether their entry was lawful. Instead, state clearly, on the record, that you do not consent, note the time and the officers’ names or badge numbers if you can, and contact a lawyer or legal aid as soon as possible afterward. If police entered without a warrant and without exigent circumstances, evidence gathered during that entry can potentially be excluded later under the Charter, but that’s a legal argument to make afterward with a lawyer, not something to fight about at the door.