One of the most consequential updates to Canada's Criminal Code in generations to better protect children and respond to modern threats is now law

OTTAWA, ON, June 19, 2026 /CNW/ - "Predators prey on the most vulnerable among us, committing some of the most horrific crimes imaginable against children. Yesterday, mandatory minimums were restored to help keep criminals behind bars and keep our kids safe. Those protections are now law," said the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. The Protecting Victims Act (Bill C-16) received Royal Assent yesterday, as the Government of Canada will continue to move with urgency to keep kids safe as part of our larger commitment to strengthen community safety.

This is one of the most consequential reforms of the Criminal Code in a generation to protect children in the real world and online. These changes will help put child predators behind bars, crack down on online sextortion, strengthen tools to investigate and prosecute child sexual exploitation, protect youth from being recruited into criminal activity, respond to modern threats like non-consensual sexual deepfakes, and ensure mandatory minimum penalties of imprisonment remain strong, enforceable, and constitutional.

Strengthen and restore mandatory minimum sentences

The law ensures that mandatory minimum penalties of imprisonment remain strong, enforceable, and constitutional. The Criminal Code includes approximately 60 offences punishable by mandatory minimum penalties, including numerous serious child sexual offences.

Some mandatory minimums had previously been struck down by courts, meaning that these penalties could no longer be enforced. These changes restore those penalties and ensure that offenders will be sentenced to a period of imprisonment.

At the same time, these changes provide judicial discretion to order another sentence of imprisonment in rare cases where applying the specific mandatory minimum would be grossly disproportionate for the offender before the court. This ensures that mandatory minimum penalties will remain strong, enforceable, and constitutional.

Keep children safe from sexual exploitation and predators

The law gives police, prosecutors, and courts stronger tools to protect children from sexual exploitation, online abuse, and predators who target kids in Canada and abroad. More specifically, the changes:

• increase penalties for serious sexual offences, including sexual assault, indecent exposure, voyeurism, non-consensual distribution of intimate images, including sexual deepfakes, and obtaining sexual services from a person under 18
• crack down on online sextortion by creating new offences for threatening to distribute child sexual abuse and exploitation material and distributing bestiality depictions, which can be used to manipulate children for sexual purposes
• strengthen Canada's ability to prosecute Canadians who sexually abuse or exploit children abroad
• give law enforcement and prosecutors more time to investigate and lay charges by extending the limitation period for prosecuting Internet service providers that fail to meet mandatory reporting requirements from two years to five years
• require Internet service providers to preserve data for 365 days instead of 21 days, helping ensure critical evidence is not deleted before police and prosecutors can act
• protect youth from being recruited, pressured, or groomed into criminal activity by creating a new offence of recruiting youth into crime

In less than a year, Canada's new government has delivered one of the most ambitious criminal justice reform agendas in recent memory, with three major bills to strengthen protections against hate crimes, make bail laws stricter and toughen sentences, better protect victims and survivors, and keep kids safe from predators.

As threats evolve, the Government of Canada will continue to move with urgency to strengthen Canada's laws and keep Canadians safe.

Quotes

"Predators prey on the most vulnerable among us, committing some of the most horrific crimes imaginable against children. Yesterday, mandatory minimums were restored to help keep predators behind bars and keep our kids safe. Those protections are now law.

Canada's new government is delivering on its promise with urgency. These reforms strengthen the Criminal Code, crack down on online sextortion, give police and prosecutors stronger tools to investigate and prosecute child sexual exploitation, protect youth from being recruited into criminal activity, and respond to modern threats like sexual deepfakes.

This is one of the most consequential reforms of the Criminal Code in a generation, and the third major criminal justice bill we've delivered to better protect Canadians. As threats evolve, we will keep strengthening Canada's laws, keep our kids safe from predators, and ensure those who exploit or abuse children face serious consequences."

The Honourable Sean Fraser, P.C., K.C., M.P.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

"Protecting children means standing with victims and taking strong action against those who harm them. The Protecting Victims Act gives law enforcement tougher tools to go after offenders, strengthens penalties for sexual exploitation, and helps us better combat abuse, including online. Together with the newly proposed Safe Social Media Act, our government is taking action to keep children safe from the harms of today's world, support victims, and hold offenders accountable."

The Honourable Gary Anandasangaree
Minister of Public Safety

"Every child deserves to grow up safe from exploitation, abuse, and violence. The Protecting Victims Act strengthens Canada's response to those who prey on children, including online predators and those who seek to exploit young people for criminal activity. These reforms send a clear message: protecting children and supporting victims and survivors will always be a priority. By strengthening our laws and giving law enforcement and prosecutors better tools to act, we are helping build safer communities for children, women, and families across Canada."

The Honourable Rechie Valdez
Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)

"Bill C-16 strengthens the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights and introduces important reforms to improve victims' experiences with police, courts and corrections. The measure of success will be whether these changes are consistently implemented and accessible to victims across Canada."

Benjamin Roebuck
Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime

"The passage of Bill C-16 is a historic moment. This legislation exists because for decades, survivors, advocates, and communities across Canada refused to be silent. Naming femicide in law, criminalizing coercive and controlling behaviour, and centring victim/survivor rights and trauma-informed approaches throughout the justice system reflects a significant shift in understanding: that gender-based violence is systemic, patterned, and too often invisible to the law, and the work of implementing true accountability begins now."

Nneka MacGregor, LL.B.
Executive Director, WomenatthecentrE

"This is a major step in prioritizing the rights and safety of Canadian children. The risks of online sexual violence against children continue to rise in frequency and intensity and we need legislation now more than ever to help protect our most vulnerable population."

Lianna McDonald
Executive Director, Canadian Centre for Child Protection

"Children, youth, and families impacted by abuse and violence deserve a justice system that supports their healing and promotes accountability. Bill C-16 advances these goals and reflects a commitment to responding to emerging harms while strengthening protections for victims."

Leah Zille
Co-Chair of the Board of Directors, Child & Youth Advocacy Centres of Canada

Quick Facts

• Most of these changes will come into force after 30 days, on July 18, 2026.
• The Protecting Victims Act works in concert with Bill C-225, Bailey's Law, which also aims to strengthen Canada's Criminal Code response to intimate partner violence. Bill C-225 enacts stronger criminal measures to address intimate partner violence by:
  • treating murders that occur within a pattern of coercive or controlling behaviour toward an intimate partner as murders in the first degree
  • requiring courts to consider life imprisonment, with parole ineligibility of 10 to 25 years, when manslaughter is committed against an intimate partner in the context of such a pattern
  • creating a new offence for violent, threatened, or attempted violence against an intimate partner
  • extending the maximum period for detaining seized items
• The Protecting Victims Act fulfills recommendations in the Mass Casualty Commission's final report, the Renfrew County inquest, the Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime's report entitled Rethinking Justice for Survivors of Sexual Violence: A Systemic Investigation, and various parliamentary reports.
• The 2026 Spring Economic Statement announced an investment of $105.5 million over five fiscal years and $21.1 million per year thereafter through Justice Canada to support victims and survivors of gender-based violence. This includes funding to provide independent legal advice and independent legal representation to survivors and victims of sexual violence and intimate partner violence, to support victims of intimate partner violence navigating the family justice system, and to support provinces and territories to deliver supervised parenting time services in cases of separation and divorce.
• On October 29, 2025, the Government of Canada committed $660.5 million over five years for the Department for Women and Gender Equality to ensure sustained progress toward equality and safety for women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people. This includes $44.7 million to strengthen federal action in response to gender-based violence in support for populations that are at risk of GBV or underserved when they experience these forms of violence.

Related products

• Backgrounder: Legislation to protect victims and keep kids safe from predators
• Backgrounder: Mandatory minimum penalties of imprisonment and Bill C-16
• Backgrounder: Changes to sentences in Bill C-16

Associated Links

Victim services

• Victims Services Directory
• Gender-based violence – Get help now

Information on gender-based violence

• Federal action on gender-based violence
• The federal Gender-Based Violence Strategy
• The National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence

Information on the criminal justice system

• Fact sheets - Victims' Rights in Canada
• Backgrounder: Bail and Sentencing Reform Act: Proposed legislation to make bail laws stricter and toughen sentencing laws
• Infosheet: Federal, Provincial and Territorial Responsibilities in Canada's Criminal Justice System
• Victims Fund

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SOURCE Department of Justice Canada