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By the time you read this, it’s likely the federal government has passed Bill C-9. The law specifically removes a clause that allows Canadians to use a religious exemption as part of their legal defence against accusations of “hate speech.” The problem, of course, is that “hate speech” is so broadly defined that those prone to be offended by religious objections to unbiblical sexual behaviours or beliefs will accuse innocent people of fostering “hate.”[1] Even the minister of Canadian Identity has openly stated that texts from Leviticus and Romans contain “hateful” statements on homosexuality.[2] Ironically, this clause has never been used in law. Examples given by politicians and groups lobbying for this change cite cases where those who were charged of “hate speech” never actually successfully used this clause.[3] This is why I think our biggest concern is the direction that the government is heading with these legal changes, not the removal of this specific clause. It proves that preventing hurt feelings is more important than the rights of religious people to practice our faith.

Canadian Policy: Feeling Safe over Being Safe

Hate speech laws are supposed to prevent the feelings of harm. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to create a society where people feel safe, per se. Laws against advocating for the death of a group, for example, are legitimate limits to free speech and were already in place before the change in law. The problem is when a society prioritizes feeling safe more than being safe. An honest examination of our culture will show that we don’t live in a healthy environment where accusations of hate will be assessed wisely. Right now, simply arguing  that God designed sexuality for one genetic male and one genetic female for one lifetime can be deemed as “hateful” in Canada. This has already happened in BC where the BC Human Rights Tribunal fined a retired Christian school board trustee $750K for insisting that there are only two genders and that transitioning children harms them.[4]  This ruling came down despite the fact that there is no evidence that the trustee has ever threatened anyone. He just disagreed with LGBTQ ideas. It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that other Christian ministries, churches, and other religious groups will be dragged through expensive court cases when someone feels “unsafe.” Other laws targeting “hate speech” include internet censorship laws and government access to Canadians’ personal emails. There’s even a ban on public prayer in Quebec that the government alleges will protect Quebec culture.

In response to the legal challenges, Christians have begun to ask, “How do we fight persecution?” Christian groups and leaders have begun to mobilize in ways we have not seen before. Their political work at Parliament is critical and needs to be supported. However, there is too much work to be done in order to reverse these legal actions against Christians before these laws are passed. I don’t think we have enough time before we can prevent direct persecution. Because persecution is coming, the more important question we need to ask is, “What do Christians need to become to prepare for this age of persecution?”

Past Responses to Christian Persecution

Thankfully, the church has thrived despite a long history of persecution. This means we can learn from earlier times about what God’s people did to outlast their persecutors and continue to share the gospel. Christian historian, Larry Hurtado, looked to the first-century church in Jerusalem to study how the very first Christian community grew so fast in the very heart of early persecution. He found that they grew despite the persecution because they could not deny the truth of the deity of Jesus, and they lived out a sacrificial love modelled by Him.[5]

Both traits are critical now as we face our own age of persecution. First, Hurtado says truth matters. Hurtado writes that the first Christians could not be swayed away from believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus. In fact, he reminds us that we have no record of any Christian renouncing their faith in the face of persecution for the first two centuries of the church. How could they? If they personally saw Jesus die on the cross and then had breakfast with him the following week, there would be no way to deny His ability to overcome death, thus proving His deity. Even their grandchildren would have been told about their family’s interactions with the risen Lord. This confident faith is evident in every part of the New Testament—these people truly believed their claims of the empty tomb. 

In order to fight Christian persecution, Hurtado argues that we must again instill a confidence in believers that we can trust the eyewitness accounts from the first century. We cannot teach Christianity as a form of feel-good beliefs; our teaching must start with what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, that if Christ had not been raised, our faith is worthless (1 Corinthians 15:17). In other words, if we want to be Christians that thrive in this age, we need to be steeped in apologetics, trained to be discerning about secular and religious claims against the faith while being confident that what we believe is true.

However, the truth of what we believe cannot just be accepted with head knowledge. Hurtado points out that love matters too. My pro-life mentor, Scott Klusendorf, warned me when I chose a career in apologetics that those who are successful in this kind of ministry need both the knowledge of our faith and also passion to do the work. And that’s what Hurtado said the early church also had in their age of persecution: a love that radiated the love of Christ. Hurtado says this love was unlike anything the Roman world offered and so it helped believers resist persecution and grow their numbers. Many were attracted to the faith that led Christians to selflessly take care of widows, orphans, the poor, and the sick.

Hurtado wrote that many Christians know the early church rescued abandoned babies in ancient Rome. What is lesser known was that in some Roman provinces, rescuing babies was actually a capital offence. Christians could be crucified for saving unwanted babies. Hurtado says it makes a lot of sense that Christians were willing to risk their lives to save others because Jesus had already done that for them first. This is the kind of love Canadians need to see in us. Whether it’s the preborn child or the patient scheduled for euthanasia, we need to be the people who protect and speak out for those no one else does.

I would add a third trait to Hurtado’s list: the early church shared the truth of Christ and the love of Christ in everyday conversations. Christians would find opportunities to talk about their Saviour in the marketplace, barracks, and homes. They didn’t have the right to free speech, to assemble in churches, or even to openly pray and worship. But they did have opportunities to speak one-on-one with thoughtful people who needed to hear what Jesus taught. The Holy Spirit used these everyday conversations to overcome persecution and to grow the church. As we move towards a society that censors speech, it’s critical that we again empower each Christian to winsomely and wisely engage in conversations about our faith. Christian apologist Greg Koukl writes that we may be the only living bible our friends ever read.[6] Each Christian then needs to learn how to talk about their faith, knowing that someday the Canadian government may end up banning evangelism as “hate speech” (as some countries already do). 

Speaking the Truth in Canada

The need to empower Christians in everyday conversations is why we’re starting the Cornerstone Institute. We’ve been organizing the Canadian Religious Freedom Summit in Ottawa for the last six years. It’s the largest Christian gathering about religious freedoms in Canada—over 1300 joined us this year from all over Canada. As part of our work, we offer consulting for Christian ministries and churches to help them strategize on how to do ministry under these laws. We’re also starting a new seminar titled, Is the Bible Hate Speech? A Christian Response to Hate Speech Laws (www.cornerstonteinstitute.ca).

Christians who speak truth, radiate God’s love, and engage in everyday conversations, are the kind of people who have survived persecution throughout history. Whether it’s the believers in the first century or those struggling in North Korean camps, the Christians who thrive in persecution find no reason to be enticed to abandon their faith because they know Jesus’ teachings are objectively true and morally good. Despite the discouraging political changes, we need to remember that God did not place us in Canada by accident. Whether we are to live in a time of peace or persecution, God has placed us at the right time and place for Him to use us to transform the world. As Mordecai told Esther, God has brought us here for such a time as this (Est. 4:14). Bill C-9, and other laws like it, should challenge us to ask ourselves: are we discipling Christians who are prepared for our age of persecution?

[1] – The Supreme Court has ruled that, “hatred means the emotion that involves detestation or vilification and that is stronger than disdain or dislike” (Saskatchewan (Human Rights Commission) v. Whatcott, 2013, SCC, Decision #11 at para VI, 13).

Bill C-9 does provide a helpful clarification that states, “For greater certainty, the commission of an offence under this Act or any other Act of Parliament is not, for the purposes of this section, motivated by hatred based on any of the factors mentioned in subsection (1) solely because it discredits, humiliates, hurts or offends.” (Bill C-9, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places), 1st Sess, 45th Parl, 2026). However, by defining hate as an “emotion,” the courts risk policing Canadians’ activities based solely on how other Canadians feel about those activities, despite the fact that no one can control how others react to their ideas or behaviour.

[2] – Nunavut Paa, “What Minister Marc Miller said about the Holy Bible”, YouTube video, [1:19], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESiqg3xGyvQ.

[3] – Canadian Justice, Bill C-9 and Mark Carney’s Censorship Agenda, YouTube video, November 2, 2025, [19:03], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHqzoaxfRok.

[4] – Matthew Sellers, $750,000: B.C. Human Rights Tribunal orders payout in ruling against former school trustee, Canadian HRR Reporter, Feb 20, 2026, https://www.hrreporter.com/focus-areas/diversity/750000-bc-human-rights-tribunal-orders-payout-in-ruling-against-former-school-trustee/394094.

[5] – Larry Hurtado, Destroyer of the Gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World, (Baylor University Press, 2017).

[6] – Greg Koukl, “Your Life is a Letter”, Stand to Reason (blog), July 2, 2013, https://www.str.org/w/your-life-is-a-letter.