Criminalizing Coercive Control

On June 18, 2026, the Canadian Parliament passed Bill C-16, which provides (among other things) for the criminalization of coercive control. The new offense of “control or coercion of an intimate partner” (section 264.01) will take effect two years later, unless an order is issued that could bring the effective date forward, and will not be retroactive.  

To date, criminal prosecutions for domestic violence are mainly pursued in cases of physical violence and when incidents are treated as isolated. The Criminal Code of Canada provides for several offences, such as threats (section 264.1), criminal harassment (section 264), obstruction of justice (section 139), mischief (section 430), or unauthorized use of a computer (section 342.1), which can be applied to certain coercive or controlling behaviours in a relationship. 

When the new offense takes effect, it will cover all the strategies used by the perpetrator to maintain control over the victim, which may lead the victim to believe that her safety — or that of a person or animal she knows — is in danger.  

Since 2015, several countries have taken steps to criminalize coercive and controlling behaviour in intimate relationships. The first countries to legislate in this area were England and Wales (2015), followed by Scotland (2018), Ireland (2019), and since 2020, certain American and Australian states.

Canada has just joined the movement by passing a law in June 2026 that creates the offense of “control or coercion of an intimate partner” in the Criminal Code. 

While all these legislations have criminalized coercive control or are in the process of doing so, it is important to note that not all laws are created equal, and some are more comprehensive than others.   
 
To learn more about the legal practices of countries that have criminalized coercive control : 

• see our literature review (p. 73-77)
• check out our two reports on experiences with criminalization in Great Britain (2024) and Australia (2026) 

Before coercive control was recognized as a crime under the Criminal Code of Canada, certain legislative and policy developments at the national level in recent years have helped advance the rights and remedies available to victims of coercive control.  

Bill C-225  
 
Bill C-225 was passed on June 17, 2026. This bill classifies the murder of an intimate partner committed in a context of coercive control as first-degree murder. This recognizes the pattern of controlling and coercive behavior that very often precedes femicide.  

Supreme Court’s Ahluwalia Decision  
 
The Supreme Court of Canada issued a decision (Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia) that allows victims of domestic violence to seek compensation for harm caused by coercive control. This decision establishes a “tort of intimate partner violence” that applies to common-law provinces (excluding Quebec).   

"Keira's Law"

Bill C-233, also known as the “Keira's Law”, in honour of 4-year-old Keira, who died as a result of post-separation domestic violence, was passed on April 18, 2023. This law aims to improve federally appointed judges' (particularly those of the Superior Court and the Court of Appeal of Quebec) understanding of domestic violence and the central role played by coercive control in this context. To this end, the law provides for seminars on coercive control of intimate partners as part of judicial training. 

Changes to Directive VIO-1 applicable to domestic violence cases (in Quebec)

Since June 2023, the notion of coercive control has been integrated into Directive VIO-1 regarding domestic violence, which applies to all criminal and penal prosecutors across the province of Quebec.

• The directive includes the notion of coercive control in the general definition of domestic violence.
• It specifies that coercive control is a factor to be taken into account when releasing an accused perpetrator on bail.  
• In the event of release, the prosecutor must take into account the context of coercive control to establish the appropriate conditions of release to ensure the safety of victims and their children.

Divorce Act (Canada)

Since March 2021, the presence of coercive control must be taken into account in a divorce proceeding to ensure the physical and emotional safety of the child (Divorce Act RSC 1985, c. 3, section 16 (4)).

Practically speaking:  

• The definition (section 2) contains a non-exhaustive list of behaviours that may be considered as domestic violence: harassment, threats, sexual abuse, economic violence, and also violence against animals.
• The definition clarifies that conduct need not constitute a criminal offence or meet the offence threshold of "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" to be considered domestic violence. 

For years, the Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale has advocated for a coercive control offence in the Criminal Code, while stressing the need for awareness, training, guidelines, and reporting processes for effective implementation.

That is why the Regroupement is advocating for a two-year grace period before the law takes effect. The Regroupement remains fully committed to the important phase of preparing for and implementing the future coercive control offense.  

For more information, consult the Regroupement's Case for Making Coercive Control a Criminal Offence [in French only] : Plaidoyer pour la création d’une infraction criminelle de contrôle coercitif dans le contexte de relations intimes].