Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act, passed third reading in the House of Commons in June 2026 and is now proceeding through Senate review. Among its most significant reforms is the proposed creation of a new Criminal Code offence for coercive or controlling conduct in intimate partner relationships, a development that marks a significant evolution in how Canadian law conceptualizes family violence.

If enacted, proposed section 264.01 of the Criminal Code would represent a significant development at the intersection of family and criminal law. The proposed offence recognizes that abuse often extends beyond discrete incidents of physical violence and may instead consist of patterns of behaviour that undermine a person's autonomy, security, and psychological well-being.

For family lawyers, this development has potentially significant implications for litigation strategy, evidence gathering, and risk assessment.

What Is Bill C-16's New Offence of Coercive Control?

Historically, the Criminal Code has primarily addressed discrete acts, such as assault, threats, and criminal harassment. Coercive control, however, often manifests differently. It frequently consists of repeated behaviours that, taken together, create an environment of fear, dependency, and control.

Bill C-16 seeks to address this gap by introducing a new offence that criminalizes a pattern of coercive or controlling conduct where an individual intends to cause their intimate partner to believe their safety is threatened or knows, or is reckless as to whether, their conduct would have that effect.

Importantly, the proposed legislation expressly confirms that a person's safety includes their psychological safety. This approach reflects a broader recognition already embedded in the Divorce Act, which expressly includes coercive and controlling conduct within the definition of family violence, and requires courts to consider family violence and its impact when determining the best interests of a child.

What Conduct Could Constitute Coercive Control?

The proposed offence contemplates a broad range of conduct and recognizes that coercive control may take many forms. A pattern of coercive or controlling conduct may include:

• Violence or threats, including toward children, third parties, or pets
• Sexual coercion
• Surveillance or monitoring, including digital tracking
• Control over finances, employment, or education
• Restrictions on social interaction and movement
• Control over health care, medication, or bodily autonomy
• Suppression of personal expression, beliefs, or culture
• Threats of suicide or self-harm

The legislation also directs courts to consider the nature of the relationship, and whether the intimate partner was in a position of vulnerability, and whether vulnerabilities were intentionally targeted or manipulated.

What Are the Penalties Under the Proposed Offence?

The proposed offence is hybrid in nature. If prosecuted by indictment, an accused could face a maximum penalty of ten years' imprisonment. The offence may also be prosecuted by summary conviction, providing prosecutorial flexibility across a broad range of circumstances.

How Could Bill C-16 Affect Family Law Cases?

Many forms of conduct identified in the proposed legislation are already regularly raised in parenting disputes and family violence proceedings.

Allegations involving financial restriction, social isolation, monitoring of communications, interference with employment, or controlling behaviours are frequently advanced in family proceedings as evidence of family violence and coercive control. If Bill C-16 becomes law, some of this same conduct may also give rise to criminal exposure.

What Should Family Lawyers Do Now?

Although Bill C-16 has not yet become law, it represents a potentially significant development in the evolving intersection of family and criminal law.

The proposed offence underscores the importance of understanding coercive control as more than a single act or isolated incident. It also highlights the need for thoughtful, contextual analysis when assessing allegations of family violence and advising clients whose family law matters may have potential criminal implications.

Family lawyers should continue to monitor the progress of Bill C-16 through Parliament and begin considering how allegations of coercive control may intersect with family proceedings if the legislation is enacted.