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Religious Freedom Alert

The Bible Under Siege in Canada

Christians face prison as Bill C-9 criminalises the public reading of Scripture — and the West remains silent.

By: Collen Makumbirofa

Published: June 2026

Topic: Religious Freedom · Free Speech

Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of conscience are now under direct assault in Canada. What was once unthinkable in one of the world’s most celebrated liberal democracies has become legislative reality: a law that places Christians at risk of criminal prosecution simply for quoting the Bible in public.

Bill C-9, introduced by Justice Minister Sean Fraser, marks a defining moment in Canada’s deepening legal hostility toward religious expression. Under its provisions, publicly declaring biblical teachings on fundamental matters of morality and human sexuality could be classified as hate speech — an offence carrying serious criminal consequences, including imprisonment.

The Church Sounds the Alarm

The religious community has not been silent. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops issued an open letter formally opposing the changes, warning that the legislation strikes at the heart of Christian witness in the public square. Cardinal Frank Leo, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto, personally urged senators to reconsider before the bill advanced further — a rare and solemn intervention from one of Canada’s most senior Catholic leaders.

“This is a dark day for religious freedom and free speech in Canada. The passage of this deeply troubling legislation… will not stop us from speaking the Word of God, even when biblical truths are increasingly being labelled as hateful… God will not be mocked.”

— Jeff Gunnarson, National President, Campaign Life Coalition

Campaign Life Coalition, one of Canada’s most prominent pro-life and religious freedom advocacy organisations, strongly condemned the vote. National president Jeff Gunnarson delivered a defiant statement, declaring that no legislation would silence the proclamation of Scripture.

Citizens Take to the Streets

Public outrage has spilled beyond the halls of Parliament. Protesters have gathered outside the offices of Liberal Members of Parliament across the country, including outside Prime Minister Mark Carney’s own constituency office. Demonstrators have described the bill as an assault on foundational freedoms — freedoms that Canadians have long taken for granted.

Provincial Resistance

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has publicly issued a formal warning against any future government “monitoring” of church services within her province — a statement that signals the growing constitutional showdown between federal overreach and provincial jurisdiction over religious life.

A Warning From the Global South

For those of us watching from Zimbabwe and across Africa, this is a moment of profound mourning — and profound irony. We, who have lived under authoritarian governments that suppressed speech, crushed dissent, and silenced the Church, never imagined we would one day watch a Western democracy travel the same road.

Canada and the Western world have long held themselves up as beacons of freedom. Missionaries from these nations came to Africa carrying the Gospel — and the conviction that freedom of conscience was a universal human right. Today, those same nations are criminalising the very Book those missionaries preached from.

Editorial ReflectionWe mourn for Canada and for those Western nations which are turning away from God’s love, freedom, and the prosperity that flows from honouring His Word. In our countries, we have never had the chance to fully experience those blessings. It is a grief beyond words to watch those who possess them willingly cast them aside.

The silencing of Christian voices is never merely a religious issue. It is a civilisational one. When a government claims the authority to determine which words from an ancient and sacred text are permissible in the public square, it has assumed a power that belongs to no earthly authority. The consequences of such overreach do not end with the Church — they end with the freedom of every citizen.

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Canada must reverse course. The voices of Cardinal Leo, Archbishop’s conferences, provincial premiers, and thousands of ordinary citizens gathering in the cold outside their representatives’ offices are not the voices of hatred — they are the voice of a nation fighting for its soul. The world is watching. And history will judge.

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