Canada’s Liberal government is moving to strip religious speech protections from criminal law, threatening pastors and faith leaders with potential jail time for preaching traditional Christian doctrine from their pulpits.

Religious Freedom Under Assault

The Liberal government introduced Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act, in early 2025, ostensibly to address rising antisemitic incidents. On December 9, 2025, the House of Commons justice committee voted to remove section 319(3) of the Criminal Code, eliminating long-standing protections for good-faith religious expression. This exemption has shielded pastors and religious teachers from hate-promotion charges when expressing beliefs based on interpretation of religious texts. The Bloc Québécois demanded this removal as a condition of supporting the bill, and the Liberals complied, prioritizing political expediency over constitutional protections for religious freedom.

Vague Standards Create Prosecution Risk

Liberal MP Fraser Lattanzio proposed an amendment on February 23, 2026, attempting to clarify that religious and public-interest speech would not be prohibited under hate-promotion provisions. However, his sub-amendment to remove the qualifier “if they do not willfully promote” was defeated two days later. This failure leaves a dangerous loophole: prosecutors can now determine whether religious speech serves the “public interest,” creating uncertainty about what pastors can say from the pulpit. Christian Legal Fellowship argues this vague standard will lead to overcharging and pressure religious leaders into plea bargains, chilling constitutionally protected speech without a single trial.

Government Overreach Disguised as Protection

The Liberal government justifies Bill C-9 by citing a 124-percent increase in antisemitic incidents from 2022 to 2024, according to B’nai Brith Canada data. While combating genuine hate crimes is legitimate, using this concern to eliminate religious-speech protections reveals government overreach. Paul Marshall of the Hudson Institute warns the bill loosens and inflates the definition of “hate,” threatening religious freedom by subjecting biblical teaching to state censorship. The Supreme Court of Canada established in R. v. Keegstra that “hatred” must be “intense and extreme,” associated with vilification and detestation—standards far removed from traditional Christian teaching on marriage and sexuality.

Constitutional Crisis Looming

Bill C-9 remains in clause-by-clause consideration as of March 2026, with no final vote scheduled. Religious groups continue lobbying for explicit protections for worship, sermons, and religious education, recognizing the bill’s threat to Charter-protected freedoms of religion and expression. If the bill passes in its current form, constitutional challenges are inevitable. The Canadian Constitution Foundation opposes the bill’s expansion of hate-speech provisions, arguing it risks limiting constitutionally protected speech and protest. This battle represents a fundamental clash between government power and individual liberty, with the Liberals siding with state control over religious conscience.

Pastors Face Self-Censorship

The immediate impact of Bill C-9 is already evident: pastors and faith leaders are self-censoring to avoid potential prosecution. Religious institutions must now review sermons, educational materials, and public statements for legal risk, diverting resources from ministry to compliance. This chilling effect undermines the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the Charter. Christian communities holding traditional views on sexuality and gender face particular targeting, as government bureaucrats and activists can weaponize hate-speech provisions against biblical teaching. Catholic and Christian organizations appreciate some government refinements to Bill C-9 but demand clearer protections in the legislative text before passage.

Sources:

Canada’s Bill C-9: A Growing Threat to Religious Freedom – Hudson Institute

Religious groups seek more clarity in amended Bill C-9 – Catholic Register

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