Quebec’s COVID curfew headed back to court in Charter challenge
Residents in Quebec were unable to leave their homes between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. during the curfew beginning January 9, 2021.
Quebec’s controversial COVID-era curfew is headed back to court, with lawyers seeking permission to appeal a ruling that upheld the province’s unprecedented restrictions on leaving home at night.
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) announced that lawyers it funds filed an application with the Quebec Court of Appeal on behalf of Stéphanie Pépin, who was ticketed while participating in a peaceful anti-curfew demonstration in January 2021.
The Justice Centre announces that lawyers have filed an application for permission to appeal a decision upholding Quebec’s 2021 Covid curfew. This appeal raises a key question about whether the Quebec government had legal authority under the Public Health Act to impose a curfew… pic.twitter.com/PAl2DVhwAw
— Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (@JCCFCanada) August 26, 2026
Quebec imposed the curfew under its Public Health Act beginning January 9, 2021, prohibiting residents from being outside their homes between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m., subject to limited exceptions.
Quebec was the only Canadian province to impose a COVID curfew.
The four-day trial for Stéphanie Pépin, who was charged with violating the Public Health Act after protesting Québec's Covid curfew mandates, is taking place this week. https://t.co/IfcW3Ja70W pic.twitter.com/utPnjoOkQb
— Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (@JCCFCanada) September 19, 2023
Pépin challenged the measure on constitutional grounds, but her case was dismissed by the Court of Quebec in January 2024. The Quebec Superior Court upheld that decision on July 29, 2026.
A #Quebec court has upheld Quebec's draconian #curfew law against the challenge of Stéphanie Pépin, whose legal battle against the curfew has been supported by @JCCFCanada for three years.
— Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (@JCCFCanada) January 30, 2024
The decision will be appealed. #Freespeech and freedom of assembly matter. pic.twitter.com/gUSuBMue0S
Now her lawyers want the province's highest court to consider whether Quebec actually had the statutory authority to impose a curfew restricting Charter freedoms partly for what a trial judge found was a disciplinary purpose.
According to the JCCF, the trial court concluded one purpose of the curfew was to send Quebecers a “clear message” and encourage compliance with other pandemic restrictions.
Pépin's lawyers argue the lower courts failed to properly address whether emergency powers granted under public health legislation could legally be used to restrict Charter rights for that purpose.
“Emergency powers are not a blank cheque,” said constitutional lawyer Olivier Séguin.
“If the government invokes public health legislation to restrict Charter freedoms, it must act within the powers that legislation gives it,” Séguin added.
The application for permission to appeal is scheduled to be heard at the Quebec Court of Appeal in Montreal on October 9.
Sheila Gunn Reid
Chief Reporter
Sheila Gunn Reid is the Editor-in-Chief, Alberta Bureau Chief, member of the board of directors, and host of The Gunn Show at Rebel News. Sheila also serves as President of the Independent Press Gallery of Canada. A mother of three and longtime conservative activist, Sheila is the author of bestselling books, including her most recent release, Independence Blueprint: What Alberta Can Learn From Quebec.
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