Canada Combatting Hate Act (C-9)
- Introduced
- Passed Commons
- Passed Senate
- Royal Assent
Royal assent June 18; in force July 18, 2026
The speech-offense half of the dead Online Harms Act, passed on its own: a hate-crime offense with maximums up to life imprisonment, pre-crime peace bonds, and buffer offenses around places of worship and schools. In force since July 18.
Latest update
Royal assent
The bill
Read the full billOfficial bill recordKey facts
- Where
- Canada
- Bill number
- Bill C-9 (45th Parliament)
- Status
- Law
- Introduced
- September 19, 2025
- Takes effect
- July 18, 2026
- Threat
- Medium
- Last update
- June 18, 2026
Topics
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What it does
C-9 amends the Criminal Code with new offenses for obstructing or intimidating people at places of worship, schools, and community institutions, plus a standalone hate-crime offense that attaches to any underlying crime and raises its maximum, up to life imprisonment at the top end. The peace-bond power from C-63 survived into it: a court can impose conditions on someone it fears will commit a future hate offense, with four years for breaching them. Royal assent came June 18, 2026, with the provisions in force from July 18.
What’s at stake
The provisions that drew the loudest condemnation in C-63, maximums up to life where hate is found and court orders restraining people over crimes not yet committed, passed this time with little fight, split off from the censorship bill that had made them visible. The offenses also reach conduct around protests near listed institutions, which is where hate-crime law and assembly rights collide.
Our take
Splitting C-63 worked: the life maximums and the pre-crime peace bonds that helped kill the parent bill are law now, under a title nobody wants to vote against. The first prosecutions will show what Parliament actually built, starting with which demonstrations count as intimidation.
Timeline
Royal assentLatest
Passed the Senate
Second reading (Senate)
First reading (Senate)
Passed the Commons
Second reading (Commons)
First reading (Commons)
The record
Sponsor
Sean Fraser
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