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Claim: A widely circulated claim has suggested that Canada’s new hate-speech bill (Bill C‑9) criminalises quoting the Bible or other holy scriptures as “hate speech.”
Verdict: Misleading! DUBAWA’s checks show that this claim is misleading and misrepresents the intent and provisions of the proposed legislation.
Full Text
A viral social media post accompanied by an image of the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, claims that Canada has passed a law that makes quoting the Bible illegal by categorising it as “hate speech.”
The narrative suggests that Canada is suppressing religious freedom.
The claim shifts the conversation away from legitimate debates about regulating harmful online content to a manufactured culture war.
Similar claims are found here and here. Misinformation of this nature is often weaponised for political or ideological mobilisation.
DUBAWA decided to fact-check it because of its potential to mislead the public.
Verification
Bill C‑9 (the Combating Hate Act) amends Canada’s hate-propaganda laws, but it does not ban or criminalise quoting scripture. The Bill introduced on Sept. 19, 2025, passed the House on Mar. 25, 2026 (no Royal Assent yet as of April 2026).
The new Bill creates hate-crime and intimidation offences, and strengthens hate-propaganda laws.
Crucially, it repeals the narrow religious-opinion defence in current law but adds explicit clarifications protecting religious/educational speech.
It also codifies a definition of “hatred” (requiring “an intense and extreme” emotion) and reaffirms that merely “hurting or offending” a group is not hatred.
Social media posts (often showing Mark Carney’s photo) exaggerate the bill’s effect.
Flyer of image of Mark Carney with claim
In reality, the bill itself says nothing about banning religious texts, and government statements emphasise that faithful sermons in good faith would not meet the hate-speech threshold. The law targets extreme, wilful hatred, not sincerely held religious messages.
The viral claim misreads the bill. The confusion stems from removing a seldom-used legal defence for hate-speech defendants, not from creating a ban on scripture.
Quoting scripture alone would not run afoul of the new law.
Legislative Context and Status
Bill C‑9 (Combatting Hate Act) was introduced in the House by Justice Minister Sean Fraser in 2025. Its full title is “An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places)”.
After debate and committee review, the House passed it at Third Reading on Mar. 25, 2026. The vote was 186–137 in favor.
Quoting Scripture vs. Hate Speech
Under Canadian law, hate propaganda requires willful promotion of hatred against a protected group (race, religion, etc.). Courts have held that this requires extremely offensive language.
For example, R. v. Keegstra and later cases only convicted speech that portrayed a group as “subhuman” or advocated their harm. Simple religious beliefs or moral teachings, even if unpopular, are not usually punished.
Bill C‑9 does not change the intent or public nature requirements.
The final House-passed text includes the words “intense and extreme”. This ensures consistency with past jurisprudence.
Merely quoting or reading Scripture is not the type of “hate propaganda” this bill targets. The bill’s language and government statements confirm that benign religious discourse is explicitly allowed.
The viral claim conflates zealously worded sermons with the legal definition of hate; they are not the same under Canadian law.
Conclusion
The claim that Canada has passed a law criminalising the quoting of the Bible is misleading.
Bill C-9 targets harmful online behaviour, not religious doctrine. While it strengthens laws against hate speech, it does not prohibit quoting scripture, unless such use crosses into clear incitement of harm, which is already regulated under existing law.
