Ottawa, September 12, 2025 — The Europe Today: Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is set to introduce legislation as early as Tuesday aimed at cracking down on individuals who willfully intimidate or obstruct access to places of worship, cultural community centres, and schools, media has learned.
According to sources familiar with the plans, Ottawa will propose three new offences under Canada’s Criminal Code, including a distinct hate crime offence. The move responds to what Carney has described as a “horrifying rise in hate,” including antisemitism and Islamophobia, which he highlighted during his election campaign.
“All Canadians must be able to get up, go to work, go to their church, temple, mosque, community centre, and then come home and sleep soundly at night,” Carney told MPs in Edmonton on Wednesday. “And when our laws repeatedly fail to protect those basic rights, we need new laws. This fall we will deliver them.”
The legislation is expected to create new tools for police and prosecutors to protect individuals accessing religious and cultural buildings. Sources cited a rise in attacks on such institutions, including gunshots at religious schools, bomb threats at cultural centres, and other acts of harassment. Police-reported hate crimes increased to 4,882 incidents in 2024, up from 4,828 in 2023, with an 85 percent rise since 2020, according to Statistics Canada.
Justice Minister and Attorney General Sean Fraser emphasized that while the federal government cannot restrict individuals from being present at specific locations, it can criminalize morally culpable behaviour occurring in proximity to these sites. Proposed offences include intimidation—targeting attempts to scare people away—and obstruction, which would penalize deliberate attempts to block access. The legislation will include exemptions for lawful advocacy and protest to safeguard Charter rights.
A separate offence will be proposed to address crimes motivated by hatred based on race, religion, or sex, including acts committed outside the immediate vicinity of faith-based institutions. To address previous criticisms of similar legislation, the government is expected to implement an escalating sentencing structure, while clearly defining “hate” to exclude mere dislike, offense, or humiliation.
The legislation follows growing calls from religious and community leaders, including Jewish and Muslim organizations, to create protective “bubble zones” around places of worship, in light of increased harassment linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
