A total of 14 bills became law the week ahead of the parliamentary summer break, with some poised to reshape the way elections are being run or how criminals are treated in the justice system.
“We are committed to getting things done, and we did that this spring,” Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon said on June 18 in highlighting his party’s accomplishments.
While some of the new laws adopted are run-of-the-mill, such as budget and appropriation bills, others crossed through significant controversy before receiving royal assent.
This is the case for the Combatting Hate Act, formerly Bill C-9, which the Liberal government hopes will help stem hateful acts in Canada against various communities.
The bill creates various new hate-related offences, including using certain symbols to promote hatred against a group and blocking people attempting to access a place of worship.
The Liberals, while in a minority government in late 2025, didn’t have opposition backing to pass the bill and accepted support from the Bloc Québécois in exchange for removing the good faith religious defence to hate speech in the Criminal Code.
Some Jewish advocacy groups like B’nai Brith Canada and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs have called C-9 an “important step forward” to address the rise in anti-Semitic incidents.
Other Criminal Code Changes
Ottawa’s effort to reform the justice system to address rising criminality has received broader support, though some critics like the Conservatives say it doesn’t go far enough. Amendments to the Criminal Code were made through the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act (Bill C-14) and the Protecting Victims Act (Bill C-16).There is also tougher sentencing for repeat and violent crime and the removal of house arrest for certain sexual assault and child sexual offences.
Other provisions add sexual deepfakes under the offence of distributing non-consensual images, and raise the maximum penalty from 5 to 10 years.
Conservatives have not opposed those criminal justice reform bills but in some instances have called for stronger measures against criminals.
The bill aims to address intimate partner violence by creating a first-degree murder offence if the murder is committed against an intimate partner in the context of a pattern of coercive or controlling conduct. The bill has been referred to as “Bailey’s Law” in reference to Bailey McCourt, a mother of two in B.C. who was killed last year, allegedly by a former partner who had been released on bail hours before.
“To get a bill passed within one year of Bailey’s tragic murder, ... it’s something I’ll never forget,” said Caputo, who represents a B.C. riding.
Along the same theme of gender-based violence, another bill passed in June changes how certain types of crimes will be investigated and prosecuted in relation to the military.
Elections
Aside from major changes to the criminal justice system, the Liberal government passed a bill making a number of amendments to the Canada Elections Act. Ottawa says the new measures contained in the Strong and Free Elections Act, formerly Bill C-25, will help protect elections against evolving threats such as foreign interference.One provision in the act aims to mitigate long ballot protests seen in recent years, which have produced metre-long ballots with more than a hundred candidates. Elections Canada in recent races eventually opted for write-in ballots to avoid problems with unwieldy ballots.
The specific provision in Bill C-25 to mitigate long ballot protests stipulates that no person is authorized to sign the nomination paper of more than one prospective candidate.
The act also seeks to address some of the problems seen in party nomination and leadership contests, after they were flagged as easy targets for meddling by the Foreign Interference Commission.
Some clauses touch on the “undue influence by foreigners,” saying that certain non-Canadian entities outside Canada are not allowed to unduly influence a person to vote or refrain from voting in nomination and leadership races.
The act does not bring in new rules to prevent foreigners from voting in party nomination or leadership races.
Other offences relate to offering and accepting bribes, or intimidation, in connection with these contests. Rules around party financing are also tightened to prohibit contributions coming from cryptoassets, money orders, or prepaid payment products.
Conservatives have welcomed aspects of the act, such as aiming to curb long ballot protests, but say it doesn’t go far enough to protect elections against foreign meddling, including around party funding rules.
