Montreal, Nov. 29, 2025 – The Quebec provincial government has introduced Bill 9, a far-reaching expansion of the province’s secularism laws that prohibits prayer in public spaces, bans religious symbols in daycares, private schools and universities, and restricts kosher and halal meals in public institutions. Tabled Thursday by the ruling Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), the legislation has triggered immediate backlash from Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, and civil-liberties groups across Canada, who warn it represents the most aggressive state intrusion on religious practice in modern Canadian history.
The new measures build on Quebec’s controversial 2019 Bill 21, which barred public-sector workers in positions of authority (teachers, police officers, judges) from wearing visible religious symbols, and last month’s Bill 94, which extended the ban to all school staff and volunteers. Bill 9 goes significantly further:
- Prayer rooms in universities, CEGEPs, and colleges must close by September 2026.
- Organized prayer is banned on public roads, sidewalks, parks, and squares unless municipalities grant prior authorization for brief events.
- Full face coverings (niqabs, burqas) are prohibited for all individuals—including students—in daycares, schools, and post-secondary institutions.
- The existing ban on religious symbols for public employees is extended to subsidized daycare workers, staff at private schools, and university personnel (with grandfathering for current employees).
- Public institutions such as hospitals, prisons, and daycares may no longer offer exclusively kosher or halal meals; non-religious options must always be available.
- Government advertising and communications are forbidden from displaying religious symbols.
Individuals caught violating the prayer ban face fines of up to C$375, while groups or organizations could be fined up to C$1,125.
Quebec’s Minister Responsible for Secularism, Jean-François Roberge, justified the measures by insisting that public institutions “are not temples or churches.” He specifically cited recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Montreal—some of which included street prayers outside Notre-Dame Basilica—as examples of “provocations” that turn public spaces into places of worship without permits. “It’s shocking to see people blocking traffic and taking possession of the public space without warning,” Roberge told reporters.
Critics were swift and unequivocal. Stephen Brown, CEO of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, called the bill “crass political opportunism” designed to shore up the CAQ’s flagging support ahead of the 2026 election. “This government is doubling down on identity politics because it has failed on healthcare, housing, and the economy,” Brown said. Muslim university students expressed fear and alienation; one hijab-wearing student told journalists, “It’s as if we’re not welcome here.”
The Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Quebec issued a rare public rebuke, describing the legislation as a “radical infringement” on fundamental freedoms and questioning whether such sweeping restrictions are truly necessary. Jewish organizations voiced alarm over the kosher-meal provisions, warning they could disrupt long-standing accommodations at institutions like Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital.
Civil-liberties advocates highlighted the bill’s use of the notwithstanding clause (Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms), which shields it from most constitutional challenges for five years. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association called the move “an attack on the very foundation of rights protection in Canada.”
Even some secularism supporters expressed reservations. Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, whose party has historically pushed for stronger laïcité measures, described Bill 9 as “not well thought out,” though he maintained that religion should not “dictate” behavior in public institutions.
The legislation follows an August 2025 report commissioned by the government that recommended more than 50 enhancements to Quebec’s secularism framework. It also comes after years of escalating measures: Bill 62 (2017) attempted to ban face coverings when receiving public services (later struck down), Bill 21 (2019) survived multiple court challenges thanks to the notwithstanding clause, and Bill 94 (October 2025) closed remaining loopholes in the K-12 system.
For many Quebecers from religious minorities, the cumulative effect of these laws has become unbearable. A 2024 study found that 71% of Muslim women in the province have considered leaving due to secularism legislation. University Muslim student associations report thousands of members who will be directly affected by the loss of prayer spaces, with some warning that students will simply pray in hallways, libraries, or outdoors—risking fines.
As parliamentary hearings are scheduled to begin in February 2026, Bill 9 has reopened a deep fracture in Quebec society between those who see strict secularism as the logical conclusion of the Quiet Revolution and those who view it as state-sponsored discrimination dressed up as neutrality. With the CAQ trailing in polls and facing mounting pressure on cost-of-living and healthcare files, opponents argue the government is deliberately stoking culture-war tensions to distract from its governance record.
Whatever the political calculus, the stakes could not be higher: for the first time, a Canadian province is moving to systematically erase virtually all visible traces of religious practice from public life—from the meals served in hospitals to the quiet moments of prayer on a university campus.
