In Canada, criminal laws can only be created by the federal government. This is unlike the United States, where both the federal and state governments can make laws in the criminal realm.
Because criminal law is the same in all provinces and territories, criminal defence lawyers can travel to different areas to defend criminal charges.
There are subtle differences in how the law is interpreted in each province, territory, city, and town. For example, sentences for drug offences, including drug trafficking, in British Columbia are much more lenient than in other provinces, especially Alberta.
In Alberta, the starting point sentence for trafficking in hard drugs on a more than minimal scale is three years. This is for somebody with no criminal record.
In British Columbia, however, probation is sometimes ordered for drug trafficking offences.
Your search for a criminal defence lawyer should not be confined to the town, county, or province in which you reside or are charged. You should expand the scope of your search as necessary to find the best criminal lawyer you can afford.