OTTAWA — One advocate says new statistics indicating crime has dropped almost everywhere in Canada show the Liberal government’s three tough-on-crime bills were not based on facts. Statistics Canada says both the rates and severity of reported crime were down almost across the board in 2025. Parliament passed three bills last month that introduced new offences to the Criminal Code, made it more difficult to get bail for a variety of crimes and restored mandatory minimum prison penalties. Catherine Latimer, executive director of the John Howard Society of Canada, says Ottawa lacked evidence to show that the three bills actually addressed a public safety problem or would do anything to make people safer in the long term. Latimer says the politicization of criminal policy has led some Canadians to believe crime rates are higher than they are. The Liberals introduced the three bills after the 2025 federal election campaign, during which the Conservative party campaigned heavily on cracking down on crime. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2026. Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press
