Minister Fraser Unveils New Hate Crime Legislation in Canada

New Bill to Amend Criminal Code

The Honourable Sean Fraser, Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General, is holding a media availability today, Friday, September 19, 2025, to discuss a new bill aimed at strengthening the country's hate crime legislation. The bill, titled 'An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places),' seeks to introduce significant changes to address a documented rise in hate-motivated incidents across Canada.

The media availability is scheduled for 12:30 PM at the 135-B Press Conference Room, West Block, Parliament of Canada, in Ottawa, Ontario.

Key Legislative Changes Proposed

The new legislation is designed to go beyond previous commitments, aiming to address hate more broadly within communities. It proposes several new offenses under the Criminal Code, providing law enforcement with enhanced tools to combat hate-motivated acts. These include:

• A wilful intimidation offense, making it illegal to intimidate individuals attempting to access facilities used by identifiable groups, such as religious or cultural buildings, community centres, places of worship, and schools.
• An obstruction offense, prohibiting the wilful blocking or obstructing of access to these designated facilities.
• A standalone hate offense, which would apply to any crime motivated by hate, irrespective of its proximity to specific facilities. This offense could encompass crimes driven by factors like race, religion, or sexual orientation.

Minister Fraser emphasized that the government's objective is to ensure that changes in criminal law offer protection to individuals subjected to hate crimes, 'no matter where they take place.'

Context and Broader Impact

The introduction of this bill comes in response to a notable increase in police-reported hate crimes, particularly since the October 7, 2023 attacks against Israel and the ensuing conflict in Gaza. Statistics Canada data indicates that the number of hate crimes reported to police has nearly doubled since 2020. Jewish leaders and other groups have specifically called for the federal government to establish 'safe access zones' around places of worship, schools, and community centres.

Elements of the new bill may draw from provisions previously outlined in the Online Harms Act (Bill C-63), which did not pass in its original form. These provisions included stiffer penalties for hate-related offenses and the inclusion of online hate speech as a form of discrimination. The new legislation also aims to streamline the legal process by potentially removing the requirement for provincial attorney general's consent to lay charges for certain hate propaganda crimes.

Enhanced Penalties and Prevention

The proposed amendments also seek to increase maximum punishments for hate propaganda offenses, with the potential for sentences up to life imprisonment for advocating genocide. Furthermore, the bill intends to create a new peace bond mechanism, designed to prevent and deter hate propaganda offenses and hate crimes. This would allow a court to impose conditions on an individual if there are reasonable grounds to fear they will commit such an offense.

While the government aims to accommodate Canadians' right to free expression, civil liberties groups have previously raised concerns about similar legislative measures potentially infringing on free speech. Minister Fraser stated that Ottawa is operating on guidance from the Supreme Court of Canada regarding 'hate-oriented crime' and 'the right to free expression,' asserting that they have 'done a good job to specifically accommodate Canadians' right to free expression.'