Who sponsored Bill C-9 and which MPs or senators championed or opposed it?
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Executive summary
Bill C-9 was introduced and is officially sponsored by the Minister of Justice — Justice Minister Sean Fraser — according to parliamentary records and reporting [1] [2]. The bill’s progress in late 2025 was shaped by visible champions and opponents: Liberal ministers and MPs promoted and voted to advance the bill and a Bloc Québécois MP, Rhéal Fortin, acted to amend it; Conservative MPs and several civil-society and faith groups publicly opposed key changes, especially the removal of the long-standing “good faith” religious‑text defence [2] [3] [4] [5].
1. Sponsorship: the government’s bill, filed by the Minister of Justice
Parliament’s official LEGISinfo entry lists the Minister of Justice as the sponsor of Bill C-9, confirming it is a government bill rather than a private member’s initiative [1]. Multiple news outlets also report Justice Minister Sean Fraser introduced the Combatting Hate Act in the House, framing it as the government’s initiative to address hate crimes and related offences [2] [3].
2. Champions inside government: Justice Minister Sean Fraser and Liberal MPs
Sean Fraser carried the bill into the House and has been the clear inside‑government champion by tabling the bill and leading its defence in debates and committee [1] [2]. Reporting shows Liberal MPs on the House justice committee voted to accept a Bloc amendment removing the religious‑text defence, signalling that the government’s MPs were prepared to support the amended text in committee [4] [6].
3. The Bloc Québécois role: amendment proponent and deal‑maker
Bloc Québécois MPs — notably Rhéal Fortin at committee — introduced the amendment to remove the religious exemption from section 319(b) of the Criminal Code; Bloc leader Yves‑François Blanchet publicly framed that move as leverage to secure passage of C-9 [6] [2] [7]. Multiple outlets reported the Liberals and the Bloc struck an agreement to add the amendment in exchange for Bloc support for the bill, a deal first flagged by other media and picked up by CBC and the Catholic Conference [6] [8] [7].
4. Conservative MPs: outspoken opponents in Parliament
Conservative MPs repeatedly opposed the committee votes that removed the religious‑text defence. They criticized Liberal and Bloc MPs for supporting the amendment and staged symbolic protests (for example, placing Bibles on the table) while urging more study or delay of C-9; Conservatives also proposed pausing clause‑by‑clause study in favour of other files [9] [5] [10]. Coverage describes the Conservatives as resisting the amendment on grounds of religious freedom and civil‑liberties concerns [9] [11].
5. Civil‑society and faith actors: public opposition and pressure campaigns
Religious organizations and civil‑liberties groups publicly opposed the removal of the religious‑text defence and lobbied MPs. The Catholic Civil Rights League and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops raised alarms about threats to religious expression; other groups such as the Canadian Labour Congress and rights organizations flagged charter concerns and urged changes or greater scrutiny [7] [12] [13]. These groups characterized the committee vote as a major substantive change with potential consequences for religious discourse [7] [4].
6. Internal Liberal tensions and PMO oversight questions
Reporting by CBC indicates the Justice Minister’s office negotiated with the Bloc without prior sign‑off from the Prime Minister’s Office, creating internal tensions and uncertainty about the bill’s future after the deal surfaced [8]. This episode illustrates that support for the bill within the governing party was not a seamless, centrally driven process and that backstage negotiations materially affected committee outcomes [8].
7. What sources agree on — and what they don’t say
Sources consistently identify Sean Fraser as the bill’s sponsor and the Bloc’s Rhéal Fortin as the amendment mover; they agree Liberals on committee voted to accept the Bloc amendment and Conservatives strongly opposed the change [1] [2] [4] [9]. Available sources do not mention which individual Liberal MPs (beyond ministers or the committee chair) publicly championed the amendment in Hansard snippets provided, nor do they list every MP and senator who voted for or against each clause in a roll call [1] [10].
Limitations and final note: coverage here is drawn from parliamentary records and contemporaneous news and advocacy pieces provided. Reporting documents clear partisan positions and organized campaigning for and against the removal of the religious‑text defence; where roll‑call detail or explicit statements from every MP or senator are not in the supplied sources, that granular voting record is not asserted here [1] [4].