Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act

What this document is

This is the text of Bill C-9 as assented to, published by Parliament in its document viewer. Its long title is An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places) and its short title is the Combatting Hate Act S242. The bill was given first reading on 19 September 2025 and received royal assent on 18 June 2026, becoming S.C. 2026, c. 15 S008.

What it establishes

The in-force date is settled by the statute itself and needs no order in council. Section 12 provides that the Act comes into force on the thirtieth day after royal assent, which places it in force on 18 July 2026 S242. No Canada Gazette proclamation is required and none exists.

The Act adds section 423.3 to the Criminal Code. Subsection (1) creates an intimidation offence: conduct intended to provoke a state of fear in order to impede a person’s access to a building or structure used primarily for religious worship, or used by an identifiable group for administrative, social, cultural or sports activities, or as an educational institution, or as a residence for seniors, or to a cemetery S242. Subsection (2) creates an obstruction offence covering intentional obstruction of, or interference with, lawful access to the same places S242. Subsection (3) makes the offence indictable with a maximum of ten years’ imprisonment, or punishable on summary conviction S242.

The statutory language should be tracked rather than paraphrased as “community centres”. What the Act protects is a building or structure used by an identifiable group for administrative, social, cultural or sports activities, which is both broader and differently framed S242.

Key passages

Section 12 provides that the Act “comes into force on the 30th day after” the day it receives royal assent S242. The new offences are grouped under access “to religious or cultural places” S242.

How it is used on this site

The Act is cited on Is BDS legal in Canada?, and the parliamentary record of its passage is used in the key facts table and on the timeline.

Provenance and access

Both the assented-to text and the LEGISinfo record are published by Parliament at parl.ca, both fetch normally, and both have archived copies recorded above. The Department of Justice also publishes an explanatory page on the Act, which this site treats as secondary and does not rely on for the statutory text.

Page history

2026-09-21: First draft.