Canadian Government to Introduce Tougher Bail and Sentencing Rules for Violent and Organized Crime

New Legislation Targets Violent and Organized Crime

Ottawa, Canada – Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Thursday, October 16, 2025, that the Liberal government will introduce new legislation next week aimed at implementing tougher bail and sentencing standards for individuals involved in violent and organized crime. The announcement, made in Toronto, signals a significant push to enhance public safety and address concerns regarding repeat offenders across Canada.

Justice Minister Sean Fraser is expected to table the bill, which builds upon previous bail reforms and responds to persistent calls from provincial premiers and policing communities for stricter measures.

Expanded Bail Provisions and Reverse Onus

A central component of the forthcoming legislation is the expansion of 'reverse onus' bail provisions. Under these new rules, individuals accused of certain serious violent and organized crime offenses will bear the burden of proving to the court why they should be released, rather than the prosecution having to demonstrate why they should be detained.

The offenses targeted by these expanded provisions include:

• Violent auto theft
• Break and enter
• Human trafficking and smuggling
• Assault and sexual assault
• Extortion involving violence or violent threats

These changes are intended to ensure that 'violent repeat offenders of these crimes' are kept 'off our streets and out of our communities,' Prime Minister Carney stated.

This initiative follows the passage of Bill C-48 in 2023, which received Royal Assent on December 5, 2023, and came into effect on January 4, 2024. That legislation also expanded reverse onus provisions for repeat violent offenders, firearms offenses, and cases involving intimate partner violence.

Tougher Sentencing and Additional Measures

The proposed legislation will also introduce several key changes to sentencing guidelines:

• Consecutive Sentencing: The bill will allow for consecutive sentencing for violent and repeat offenders, meaning that multiple sentences for different crimes would be served one after another, rather than concurrently.
• Elimination of Conditional Sentences: Conditional sentences, which allow offenders to serve time in the community, will be eliminated for sexual assault offenses. Prime Minister Carney emphasized, 'If you commit sexual assault, you will serve your sentence in a correctional facility.'
• Increased Penalties: Sentences will be toughened for repeat offenders involved in auto theft, organized crime, and home invasions, and more punitive sentences will be introduced for organized retail theft.

In addition to legislative reforms, the government plans to allocate $1.8 billion over the next four years to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). This funding aims to bolster its federal policing mandate and includes the hiring of 1,000 new RCMP personnel, with 150 specifically dedicated to combating financial crime, money laundering, organized crime, online fraud, and asset recovery.

Balancing Public Safety and Rights

The government has indicated that it consulted with various stakeholders, including constitutional experts, to ensure the proposed changes align with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) has expressed strong opposition, arguing that there is 'no evidence that bail causes crime' and that the measures risk exacerbating the overrepresentation of marginalized individuals in correctional facilities.

Prime Minister Carney acknowledged that the Supreme Court of Canada has previously ruled some consecutive sentences unconstitutional, but affirmed that his government would abide by any such rulings, stating, 'If there's a judgment of the Supreme Court that something is illegal, you follow it. This is Canada. It's a country of the rule of law.'