Conservatives push for a ‘three-strikes’ bail law, tougher sanctions for domestic violence

Conservative MP for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo Frank Caputo rises during question period on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA — The Conservatives are pushing for a “three strikes” law to deny bail to repeat offenders and tougher sanctions for domestic violence.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre made crime a central focus of his election campaign in the spring, and on Thursday he brought that message to the House of Commons.

The Conservatives brought forward a motion calling on the government to introduce what they call a “three-strikes-and-you’re-out” law to prevent people convicted of three “serious” offences from getting bail, probation, parole or house arrest.

Speaking in the House of Commons during his first speech of this parliamentary session, Poilievre blamed the Liberals for laws he said “turn criminals loose on our streets so that they can offend and offend and re-offend with no consequences.”

“If the Liberals are not prepared to reverse their own mistakes, then get out of the way and let Conservatives make Canadians safer,” Poilievre said.

The Conservatives also introduced a private members’ bill in the House of Commons Thursday that would make the murder of an intimate partner a first-degree crime.

Conservative public safety critic Frank Caputo said the bill would treat such crimes the way the Criminal Code currently treats the murder of a peace officer.

Caputo told a press conference on Parliament Hill the bill would create a new offence of assaulting an intimate partner.

He said the bill would also create a mechanism for judges to order a risk assessment of an individual charged with intimate partner violence who is on release.

A Conservative party press release said that means people accused of intimate partner violence could be detained for a risk assessment “at any time.”

Caputo said the bill could move quickly through the parliamentary process and called on the Liberals to help advance it.

Poilievre told the House of Commons the Conservatives are “here to oppose the bad the government does, expose their corrupt behavior, but also propose solutions that will improve the lives of the Canadian people.”

“We call on the government to stop the obstruction, put aside the partisanship, work with us on the solutions that all Canadians have asked for and bring about the real change that Canadians are demanding,” he said.

— With files from Sarah Ritchie

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2025.

Anja Karadeglija and Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press