Bill C-9

Combatting Hate Act

An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places)

Sponsor

Sean Fraser  Liberal

Status

This bill has received Royal Assent and is, or will soon become, law.

Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament has also written a full legislative summary of the bill.

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to, among other things,
(a) create an offence of wilfully promoting hatred against any identifiable group by displaying certain symbols in a public place;
(b) repeal the defence based on the expression of opinions on religious subjects or texts in relation to the offences of wilful promotion of hatred or antisemitism;
(c) create a hate crime offence of committing an offence under that Act or any other Act of Parliament that is motivated by hatred based on certain factors;
(d) create an offence of intimidating a person in order to impede them from accessing certain places that are primarily used for religious worship or by an identifiable group for certain purposes; and
(e) create an offence of intentionally obstructing or interfering with a person’s lawful access to such places.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other C-9s:

C-9 (2021) Law An Act to amend the Judges Act
C-9 (2020) Law An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy and Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy)
C-9 (2020) An Act to amend the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act
C-9 (2016) Law Appropriation Act No. 1, 2016-17

Votes

June 17, 2026 Passed Motion respecting Senate amendments to Bill C-9, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places)
June 17, 2026 Failed Motion respecting Senate amendments to Bill C-9, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places) (amendment)
June 15, 2026 Passed Time allocation for Bill C-9, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places)
March 25, 2026 Passed 3rd reading and adoption of Bill C-9, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places)
March 25, 2026 Failed Bill C-9, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places) (recommittal to a committee)
March 23, 2026 Passed Concurrence at report stage of Bill C-9, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places)

Justice and Human Rights Committee, on Oct. 9, 2025

  • Sean Fraser, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
  • Ripley, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Department of Justice
  • Wells, Senior Counsel, Criminal Law Policy Section, Department of Justice
  • Breese, Counsel, Criminal Law Policy Section, Department of Justice

Justice and Human Rights Committee, on Oct. 23, 2025

  • Bussières McNicoll, Director, Fundamental Freedoms Program, Canadian Civil Liberties Association
  • Alford, Professor, As an Individual
  • Pardy, Professor of Law, Queen's University, As an Individual
  • Al-Azem, Director of Legal Affairs, National Council of Canadian Muslims
  • Sandler, Chair, Alliance of Canadians Combatting Antisemitism, As an Individual
  • Hallett, Executive Director, Canadian Teachers' Federation
  • Butler, Associate Professor, Network of Engaged Canadian Academics
  • Kogan, Professor, Network of Engaged Canadian Academics
  • Silver, Director of Policy and Projects, Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights

Justice and Human Rights Committee, on Oct. 30, 2025

  • Chapdelaine, Deputy Chief, Edmonton Police Service
  • Ross, Executive Director, Christian Legal Fellowship
  • McSorley, National Coordinator, International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group
  • Sikkema, Director, Law and Policy, Association for Reformed Political Action Canada
  • Nadeau, President, Barreau du Québec
  • Jain, Director, Canadian Hindus for Harmony
  • Shack, Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs
  • St-Jacques, Member, Criminal Law Expert Group, Barreau du Québec

Justice and Human Rights Committee, on Nov. 6, 2025

  • Symonds, Director, Engagement and Justice Initiatives, African Nova Scotian Justice Institute
  • Van Geyn, Litigation Director, Canadian Constitution Foundation
  • Flores Echaiz, Lawyer, Ligue des droits et libertés
  • Khelil, spokesperson, Ligue des droits et libertés
  • Lee, Lawyer, The Canadian Bar Association
  • Brown, Mayor, City of Brampton
  • Johnson, Deputy Chief of Police, Toronto Police Service
  • Beisel-Cobb, Accounts Receivable, Western Financial Group, As an Individual
  • Alexander, Founder, End Violence Everywhere
  • Broadfoot, As an Individual
  • Wamback, Co-Founder, Canadian Crime Victim Foundation

Justice and Human Rights Committee, on Nov. 27, 2025

  • Breese, Counsel, Criminal Law Policy Section, Department of Justice
  • Ramcharan, Deputy Director General and General Counsel, Criminal Law Policy Section, Department of Justice

Justice and Human Rights Committee, on Dec. 9, 2025

  • Breese, Counsel, Criminal Law Policy Section, Department of Justice
  • Wells, Senior Counsel, Criminal Law Policy Section, Department of Justice
  • Ali, Senior Counsel, Criminal Law Policy Section, Department of Justice

Justice and Human Rights Committee, on Feb. 23, 2026

  • Breese, Counsel, Criminal Law Policy Section, Department of Justice

Justice and Human Rights Committee, on Feb. 25, 2026

  • Wells, Senior Counsel and Team Lead, Criminal Law Policy Section, Department of Justice
  • Ramcharan, Deputy Director General and General Counsel, Criminal Law Policy Section, Department of Justice

Justice and Human Rights Committee, on March 11, 2026