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Canadian Blasphemy Law In Context: Press, Legislative, And Public Reactions, Jeremy Patrick

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

Canada has always outlawed blasphemy. From the earliest days of the New France period, through the era of “Upper” and “Lower” Canada, past Confederation and the eventual enactment of the original Criminal Code, and still today, blasphemy has been considered a criminal offence in the Canadian legal system. However, this prohibition, whether expressed through common law or statute, has rarely been enforced through actual prosecution. In the 117 years since the Criminal Code was enacted, its prohibition on blasphemous libel has been enforced only five times in reported cases. A study of the Criminal Code provision and these five prosecutions …