The Liberal Legislative Agenda: A Conservative Analysis of Bills C-2, C-3, C-8, and C-9

Executive Summary

Since Mark Carney assumed the Prime Minister's office in June 2025, his Liberal government has advanced an ambitious legislative agenda centered on four major bills: C-2 (Strong Borders Act), C-3 (Citizenship Act amendments), C-8 (Cybersecurity legislation), and C-9 (Combatting Hate Act). While each bill is presented as addressing legitimate concerns—border security, citizenship fairness, cybersecurity, and hate crimes—a closer examination from a conservative perspective reveals troubling patterns of expanded government surveillance powers, erosion of privacy rights, and restrictions on fundamental freedoms guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Bill-by-Bill Analysis

Bill C-2: The Strong Borders Act

Official Narrative: Introduced on June 3, 2025, as a response to U.S. President Trump's tariff threats over fentanyl and border security concerns. The bill purports to strengthen Canada's borders and combat drug trafficking.

Conservative Critique: The 140-page omnibus bill contains sweeping surveillance provisions that have nothing to do with border security. According to University of Ottawa Professor Michael Geist, the bill represents an effort to "sneak" old surveillance provisions from failed legislation into new law.

Key Concerns:

• Warrantless Data Access: Police and CSIS can demand information from hospitals, banks, hotels, and internet providers without a warrant, based merely on "reasonable suspicion"
• U.S. Data Sharing: The bill prepares Canada to ratify a CLOUD Act agreement with the United States, enabling American law enforcement to demand data from Canadian companies in secret
• Encryption Backdoors: Despite government denials, the bill allows regulations that could compromise encryption standards
• Immigration Powers: The Immigration Minister gains sweeping authority to cancel, suspend, or modify immigration documents without due process

Over 300 civil society organizations have demanded the complete withdrawal of Bill C-2, calling it "a multi-pronged assault on the basic human rights and freedoms Canada holds dear."

Bill C-3: Citizenship Act Amendments

Official Narrative: Introduced on June 5, 2025, to address a court ruling that found the first-generation limit on citizenship by descent unconstitutional. The bill expands citizenship eligibility for Canadians born abroad.

Conservative Critique: While addressing a legitimate court ruling, the bill raises questions about the dilution of Canadian citizenship and creates complex new requirements that could be selectively enforced.

Key Provisions:

• Allows citizenship to pass beyond the first generation for those born abroad
• Requires proof of "substantial connection" (three years physical presence in Canada)
• Restores citizenship to "Lost Canadians" and their descendants retroactively

Pattern Analysis: This bill, while seemingly benign, fits into a broader pattern of the Liberal government using courts and legislation to reshape Canadian identity and immigration policy without meaningful public debate.

Bill C-8: Cybersecurity Legislation

Official Narrative: Introduced on June 18, 2025, to protect critical infrastructure from cyberattacks by establishing the Critical Cyber Systems Protection Act (CCSPA).

Conservative Critique: This bill revives the controversial Bill C-26 that died when Parliament was prorogued in January 2025. Despite being presented as cybersecurity legislation, it grants the government unprecedented powers over telecommunications networks.

Key Concerns:

• Ministerial Orders: The bill empowers the federal government to secretly order telecom providers "to do anything or refrain from doing anything" with no limits preventing surveillance obligations
• Encryption-Breaking Powers: Citizen Lab researchers warn that "secretive, encryption-breaking powers" threaten the online security of all Canadians
• Warrantless Seizure: The Intelligence Commissioner of Canada warned the bill would authorize warrantless seizure of sensitive private information
• Limited Oversight: Conservative Senator Denise Batters noted the government failed to include her proposed amendment requiring notification to the Privacy Commissioner when Canadians' information is released in breaches

Bill C-9: Combatting Hate Act

Official Narrative: Introduced in fall 2025 to address hate crimes, ban hate symbols, and protect places of worship from intimidation.

Conservative Critique: This bill represents the most direct assault on free speech and religious freedom in recent Canadian history.

Key Concerns:

• Religious Exemption Removal: The Justice Committee voted on December 9, 2025, to remove the longstanding Criminal Code exemption that protects good-faith religious speech based on religious texts
• Broad Hate Definition: The bill redefines "hatred" as "detestation or vilification," a subjective standard that could criminalize legitimate religious teachings
• Chilling Effect: Civil liberties groups warn the bill could criminalize peaceful protests and push activists into silence
• Criminal Penalties: Violations carry penalties of up to ten years in prison

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has warned that the amendment would "criminalize sections of the Bible, Qur'an, Torah and other sacred texts." The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and religious leaders have submitted letters to Parliament warning about the threat to religious freedom.

The Hidden Connections: A Pattern of Control

From a conservative perspective, these four bills are not isolated legislative initiatives but components of a coordinated agenda to expand government power over Canadian society:

1. Surveillance State Architecture

Bill C-2 + Bill C-8 together create a comprehensive surveillance framework:

• C-2 enables warrantless access to personal data from service providers
• C-8 gives government control over telecommunications infrastructure and encryption
• Combined, they position the government to monitor, intercept, and access virtually all digital communications

2. Speech and Thought Control

Bill C-9 completes the control mechanism by:

• Criminalizing speech deemed "hateful" under vague, subjective definitions
• Removing protections for religious expression
• Creating a chilling effect on political dissent and religious teaching

3. Crisis as Justification

The government has used external crises to justify unprecedented power grabs:

• Trump tariffs: Used to justify C-2's surveillance provisions that "have nothing to do with the border"
• Cyberattacks: Used to justify C-8's sweeping ministerial powers
• Rising antisemitism: Used to justify C-9's restrictions on speech, while paradoxically removing protections for Jewish religious texts

4. Pattern of Secrecy

• C-2 enables secret surveillance and data sharing with foreign governments
• C-8 allows secret government orders to telecommunications companies
• The government has fast-tracked these bills with minimal debate

The Conservative Response

The Conservative Party under Pierre Poilievre has consistently opposed these legislative overreaches:

1. Opposition to C-9: Conservatives have established a "protect religious freedom" campaign and argued the bill attacks free speech

2. Criticism of Surveillance Powers: Conservatives have highlighted the constitutional concerns with warrantless data access in C-2 and C-8

3. Demand for Transparency: Conservatives have called for withdrawal of provisions that enable secret government actions

4. Constitutional Challenges: The party has signaled potential constitutional challenges to provisions that violate Charter rights

What's Really at Stake

For Individual Canadians:

• Privacy: Your medical records, banking information, internet activity, and communications could be accessed by government agencies without a warrant
• Religious Freedom: Teaching traditional religious values could become a criminal offense
• Free Speech: Expressing unpopular opinions could result in prosecution under vague hate speech laws
• Digital Security: Government backdoors could make everyone's encrypted communications vulnerable

For Canadian Society:

• Democratic Accountability: Secret government orders and surveillance undermine transparent governance
• Religious Communities: Churches, mosques, synagogues, and temples face uncertainty about what can be taught
• Civil Liberties: The fundamental balance between security and freedom shifts dramatically toward state power
• Trust: When the government buries surveillance provisions in border security bills, it erodes public trust

Conclusion: A Call for Vigilance

The Carney Liberal government's 2025 legislative agenda represents, from a conservative viewpoint, a fundamental threat to the freedoms that define Canada. While each bill addresses legitimate concerns, the methods chosen consistently expand government power at the expense of individual liberty.

The common thread uniting these bills is not public safety but government control:

• Control over information (C-2, C-8)
• Control over speech (C-9)
• Control over identity (C-3)

Conservatives argue that Canadians must recognize this pattern and demand:

1. Full transparency about surveillance capabilities
2. Restoration of religious freedom protections
3. Meaningful privacy safeguards with independent oversight
4. Constitutional limits on government power over speech and communications

The battle over these bills is not merely partisan—it is a contest over the kind of society Canada will become. Will it remain a nation that values individual liberty, religious freedom, and limited government? Or will it transform into a surveillance state where the government monitors communications, controls speech, and punishes dissent?

The answer depends on whether Canadians pay attention to what their government is doing—and whether they have the courage to say "no" before it's too late.