Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault stated yesterday that cabinet will introduce its third censorship bill in four years. It will resemble the “overbroad and incoherent” 2021 legislation that failed, according to Blacklock’s. 

“We have made a commitment to combat online harms,” Guilbeault told the Commons heritage committee. “I have myself worked on that in my first passage at the Department of Heritage between 2019 and 2021.”

Guilbeault noted his colleagues continued the unspecified work of the lapsed Bill C-36 from 2021. It collapsed after then-prime minister Justin Trudeau called a snap election that summer.

Bill C-36 proposed banning legal internet content that could incite hatred, although it failed to define it, with penalties up to $70,000 or house arrest. It was to be ultimately enforced by a new bureaucracy overseen by the Digital Safety Commissioner.

Trudeau sacrificed our freedoms for his censorship agenda

"We have a job to do on behalf of the people who sent us here," Pierre Poilievre once told the House of Commons. "We're going to give them back control of their lives in the freest country on earth, Canada."

Believe it… pic.twitter.com/IDZopabmMN

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) January 1, 2025

Most of the 9,218 groups and individuals who petitioned Heritage Canada on Bill C-36 opposed it. Critics, including lawyers and free speech advocates, claim the bill would quash political dissent.

In 2021, the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab criticized the heritage department's censorship bill, calling its proposals “aggressive,” “punitive,” and “disturbing.” They argued it lacked safeguards for free expression, including journalism and academic research, deeming Bill C-36 “potentially exploitive and unconstitutional.”

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Trudeau's censorship regime ended on January 6 when he prorogued Parliament. Bill C-63 expired and requires a majority vote for revival.

The now defunct Online Harms Act would have amended the Criminal Code to define “hatred” and clarify “hate speech” as discrimination, allowing complaints against “intimidating” social media posts. Perpetrators faced life imprisonment or house arrest with an ankle bracelet, while victims would have received $20,000, and the federal government an additional $50,000.

Cabinet will reintroduce an internet censorship bill, its 3rd try in 4 years. @CdnHeritage Minister @s_guilbeault says pending bill would be similar to 2021 legislation, a failed bill critics called “overbroad and incoherent.”https://t.co/jNBgFDmCpZ #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/AWn5OWvrfA

— Holly Doan (@hollyanndoan) September 25, 2025

Minister Guilbeault testified Wednesday at heritage committee hearings that attacks on public institutions' credibility could not be allowed. This follows a department briefing note urging censorship on views that “undermine Canada’s social cohesion.” 

Guilbeault stated that all Canadians, particularly elected officials, have a duty to protect institutions and should not diminish them for political gain. He believes there are alternative ways to achieve political objectives.

In 2023, former attorney general Arif Virani warned the Commons justice committee that the internet "terrifies" him and brings “unchecked dangers and horrific content,” while advocating for its regulation.

Virani prioritized combating online “hate speech,” prohibited since 1970 under the Criminal Code, despite emphasizing freedom of expression.

Prime Minister Mark Carney campaigned in April to censor the internet due to “online pollution,” but no new Liberal legislation has been implemented. Last week, the Liberals proposed a bill to criminalize obstructing places of worship, schools, and community centers.