Advocates for women’s safety are praising the federal government’s plan to explicitly name femicide in the Criminal Code—a change they say is long overdue after years of calls for stronger legal recognition of gender-based killings. The proposed reforms, introduced in Bill C-16 this week, would define several scenarios that qualify as femicide, including killings of intimate partners motivated by hatred based on sex or gender. Under the bill, femicide would automatically be classified as first-degree murder, even when the act was not premeditated.
The legislation also proposes criminalizing coercive control—behaviours such as threats, financial domination, and psychological manipulation—with penalties of up to 10 years in prison. For long-time advocates like Megan Walker, former director of the London Abused Women’s Centre, the combined reforms mark a significant leap forward: “These are really serious steps,” she said.
The federal push comes after years of recommendations from advocacy groups and public inquiries. One notable example is the Renfrew County inquest into a 2015 triple femicide, which urged Ottawa to add both femicide and coercive control to the Criminal Code. The urgency is underscored by alarming statistics: a recent analysis from Statistics Canada revealed that 81 women were killed by intimate partners in 2024—a more than 50-per-cent increase from the previous year.
Bill C-16 represents the Liberals’ second major crime bill this fall and fulfills a campaign promise to strengthen protections for women. For Walker, officially naming femicide communicates an unambiguous message: “We will not tolerate men killing women any longer.”
While the proposals have been widely welcomed, not all groups are fully on board. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association raised concerns about categorizing all femicide as first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence with no parole eligibility for 25 years. Still, experts say the changes place Canada ahead of many peer nations—such as the U.S., Australia, and the U.K.—and align it with countries like Costa Rica and Italy, which have already adopted specific femicide laws.
Myrna Dawson, director of the Canadian Femicide Observatory, emphasized the importance of the bill’s broad definition, which goes beyond intimate-partner contexts. But she also noted that the reforms’ real impact will depend on consistent application across provinces and territories, which administer the justice system. Raising public awareness about femicide and its meaning, along with comprehensive training for police, lawyers, and judges, will also be crucial.
The inclusion of coercive control revives provisions that nearly became law before Parliament prorogued earlier this year. Often described as a form of “silent violence,” coercive control involves patterns of psychological abuse that frequently precede physical harm. England and Wales have already enacted similar measures. However, legal experts warn the definition may invite litigation due to its complexity and lack of an objective test.
Some advocates caution that courts alone cannot solve the deep-rooted problems of intimate-partner violence—especially given that many victims, particularly Indigenous and racialized women, distrust the justice system. Statistics Canada estimates that 80 per cent of women facing spousal violence do not report it to police. Still, researchers like Carmen Gill of the University of New Brunswick believe careful implementation can address these concerns. She welcomed the revival of the measure, saying it reinforces that “violence against women is serious and it is punishable.”
Momentum is already building within policing. Gill has worked with police leadership nationwide, and this summer the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police released a national framework to guide intervention in cases of coercive control. “At different levels, they are already moving forward,” she said.
