Three bills to reform bail and sentencing laws, protect victims and survivors of crime, protect kids from predators, and make hate crime protections stronger have been passed in just under 8 months.
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"The Government of Canada is delivering on its promise to protect Canadians from violent crime, intimate-partner violence, femicide, and hate crimes. This is one of the most consequential reforms of the Criminal Code in a generation, and we advanced it with the urgency needed to keep our communities safe," said the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.
Today, the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, highlighted the three pieces of legislation passed in June to reform the Criminal Code in Surrey, British Columbia. The Government of Canada introduced three bills since the fall of 2025 to strengthen criminal laws - the Combatting Hate Act, the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act, and the Protecting Victims Act. Shaped by extensive consultations and close collaboration with partners across the country, including victims and survivors, these measures give law enforcement and the justice system stronger tools to intervene, prevent harm and ensure that serious crimes are met with serious punishments.
Sweeping bail and sentencing reforms
- Stricter bail and sentencing laws for violent and organized crime, home invasion, car theft, and human trafficking.
- Tougher sentencing laws for violent auto theft and break and enter, extortion and arson, repeat violent offending.
- Aggravating factors for cases involving crime against first responders or public transit workers, organized retail theft, damage to essential infrastructure.
Stopping intimate-partner violence and femicide
- Make femicide first-degree murder, the most serious homicide offence.
- Stronger tools to intervene earlier for sexual violence, gender-based and intimate partner violence before that violence turns fatal.
- New Criminal Code offences for coercive control in intimate relationships and threats to distribute non-consensual intimate images, including sexual deepfakes.
Protecting children from predators
- Stronger tools to protect children from sexual exploitation, online abuse, and predators who target kids in Canada and abroad.
- Harsher penalties for serious sexual offences, including sexual assault, indecent exposure, voyeurism, non-consensual distribution of intimate images, including sexual deepfakes, and obtaining sexual services from a person under the age of 18.
- New Criminal Code offences for threatening to distribute child sexual abuse and exploitation material and distributing bestiality depictions.
Restoring mandatory minimum penalties and addressing court delays
- Strong, enforceable, and constitutional mandatory minimum penalties of imprisonment.
- Clearer guidance on how to manage and address court delays, including in sexual assault cases.
- Stronger rights for victims of crime to be treated with respect and have their interests considered in the timely resolution of matters.
Strengthening measures to counter hate and intimidation
- Stronger tools to respond to hate-motivated crime and protect our communities.
- Stronger protections from intimidation and obstruction when accessing places where communities gather, including places of worship, schools, and community centres.
In less than a year, Canada's new government has delivered one of the most ambitious criminal justice reform agendas in recent memory, with three major bills to strengthen protections against hate crimes, make bail laws stricter and toughen sentences, better protect victims and survivors, and keep kids safe from predators.
As threats evolve, the Government of Canada will continue to move with urgency to strengthen Canada's laws and keep Canadians safe.
