Carney says government will introduce tougher bail, sentencing rules next week

OTTAWA – The Liberal government will introduce tougher bail and sentencing standards for violent crime in a bill being introduced next week, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday.

The legislation would make bail more difficult to get for violent and organized crime offences.

“These changes will keep violent repeat offenders of these crimes off our streets and out of our communities,” Carney said at a press conference in Toronto.

The bill would impose a reverse onus on bail for certain offences. That moves the burden of proof from the prosecutor to the accused — meaning they would have to justify being granted bail.

“These strong new reverse onus bail provisions will apply to violent auto theft, break and enter, human trafficking and smuggling, assault and sexual assault, and extortion involving violence or violent threats,” Carney said.

The bill also would allow for consecutive sentences for violent and repeat offenders, so that multiple sentences can’t be served at the same time. Carney said that means an offender with a seven-year sentence and a five-year sentence must serve a total of 12 years, not seven.

He said his government intends to “toughen sentences for repeat offenders of auto theft, of organized crime, and of home invasion, so that criminals who have repeatedly victimized your community do not have the chance to do so again.”

The Liberals also plan to introduce more punitive sentences for organized retail theft and eliminate conditional sentences for sexual assault.

The Supreme Court has ruled some consecutive sentences are unconstitutional. In 2022, it struck down a provision that allowed a judge to impose a life sentence and parole ineligibility periods of 25 years to be served consecutively, saying the provision violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ guarantee against cruel and unusual treatment.

Carney said the government consulted with various stakeholders while developing the bill, including constitutional experts.

“This is a package that we expect … does what it’s supposed to do. It toughens the rules, punishes criminals, it’ll help keep us safe, but also is consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” he said.

Justice Minister Sean Fraser told The Canadian Press the government developed the legislation based on suggestions from law enforcement and the premiers. Both of those groups have pushed for tougher bail laws.

“We started with an approach to say, unless there are very obvious constitutional concerns, let’s start with the assumption that we want to include the suggestions that come from law enforcement or provincial governments,” Fraser said in an interview.

He said the government also heard from downtown business associations and municipal governments “about the need to address high-volume offenders who commit many crimes that may not always be violent but are calling into question for many Canadians whether they feel safe going out in their communities.” He said “a lot” of those concerns would be reflected in the bill.

“These strong new reverse-onus bail provisions will apply to violent auto theft, break and enter, human trafficking and smuggling, assault and sexual assault, and extortion involving violence or violent threats.”

Fraser said it would be “irresponsible” to seek to adopt laws that would be struck down by the courts.

“Thankfully, the vast majority of the recommendations that we’ve received from law enforcement and provincial governments, I’m confident, pass constitutional muster,” he said.

When Carney was asked what his government would do if the Supreme Court of Canada shoots down the changes to sentencing, he said it would abide by that ruling.

“If there’s a judgment of the Supreme Court that something is illegal, you follow it. This is Canada. It’s a country of the rule of law,” he said.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has consistently accused the Liberals of being lax on crime, said during this spring’s federal election he would be willing to use the Constitution’s notwithstanding clause to make his proposed crime policies law. Such a move by the federal government would be unprecedented.

“It toughens the rules, punishes criminals, it’ll help keep us safe, but also is consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

In a press release Thursday, Conservative justice critic Larry Brock called the bill a “half-baked attempt to copy-paste” the Conservatives’ proposed crime legislation.

“You can’t put a criminal only halfway in jail; halfway measures won’t end the scourge of crime and disorder in our communities,” Brock said.

Denying that the bill was a response to Conservative pressure, Fraser said it’s a “response to a clear call for a change in our laws from Canadians.”

He said he wouldn’t try to predict whether the Conservatives will support the minority Liberals by voting in favour of the bill.

“If their assessment is motivated by what will improve public safety, they will support the bill,” Fraser said. “If their motivation is seeking to have a political wedge for political reasons against the federal government, they could potentially take a different point of view.”

“We do not even have basic numbers, like how many people allegedly commit new offences while on bail.”

Carney said Thursday the government also plans to hire 1,000 new RCMP personnel. They will include 150 RCMP staffers focused on money laundering, organized crime, online fraud and asset recovery.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association said Thursday it “strongly opposes” the proposed changes to the law. Shakir Rahim, director of the group’s criminal justice program, said in a press release there is no evidence bail release leads to crime.

There have been calls for years for the government to make standardized data on bail available, he said.

“We do not even have basic numbers, like how many people allegedly commit new offences while on bail,” Rahim added.

But the Federation of Canadian Municipalities praised the announcement, calling it “a welcome signal that the federal government is listening to the concerns of municipalities.”

Federation president Rebecca Bligh said in a press release bail reform is “an important step toward addressing the public safety challenges communities are facing. Local police are repeatedly arresting the same individuals, emergency services are stretched thin, and residents are feeling the impact.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2025.