Canada’s Protecting Victims Act Would Reshape Coercive Control Law, Domestic Abuse Cases

Canadian lawmakers are advancing Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act. The legislation would fundamentally reshape how the criminal justice system addresses domestic abuse, moving beyond isolated violent incidents to capture sustained patterns of control within intimate relationships.

As Jeannette Aucoin and Chantal Cattermole write for Cozen O’Connor, criminal law traditionally focuses on discrete acts such as assault or harassment. Abuse that unfolds gradually through repeated behaviors rather than single events can slip through the cracks. Family law recognizes this dynamic.

The Divorce Act incorporates coercive and controlling conduct into its definition of family violence, and requires courts to weigh such conduct when deciding a child’s best interests. The proposed criminal reform extends that recognition into the Criminal Code.

Bill C-16 passed third reading in the House of Commons in June 2026 and is now under Senate review. It criminalizes patterns of coercive or controlling conduct intended, or recklessly likely, to make an intimate partner fear for their safety, including psychological safety.

Qualifying conduct spans violence, sexual coercion, financial control, surveillance, isolation from social contact, restrictions on healthcare decisions, threats of self-harm, and other behaviors.

Courts can also examine relationship dynamics and whether vulnerabilities were deliberately exploited. The offence is hybrid, carrying up to ten years’ imprisonment if prosecuted by indictment, with summary conviction available for less severe circumstances.

Family lawyers should recognize that conduct routinely cited in parenting disputes, such as financial restriction or communication monitoring, may soon carry parallel criminal exposure.

Practitioners handling family violence allegations should sharpen evidence-gathering practices now, anticipating that documentation may eventually support both family and criminal matters.

Enforcement trends will be worth monitoring closely once the bill receives Senate approval. Prosecutorial discretion under the hybrid offence structure could shape how aggressively coercive control allegations are pursued.

Lawyers should factor potential criminal referrals into risk assessments when negotiating settlements involving allegations of controlling behavior.