Carney says government will introduce tougher bail, sentencing rules next week

OTTAWA — The Liberal government will introduce tougher bail and sentencing standards for violent crime in a bill being introduced next week, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday.

The legislation will make bail more difficult to get for a half-dozen violent and organized crime offences, Carney told a press conference in Etobicoke, Ont.

Those offences include violent auto theft, break and enter, human trafficking, assault and sexual assault, and extortion.

“These changes will keep violent repeat offenders of these crimes off our streets and out of our communities,” Carney said.

The bill will allow for consecutive sentences for violent and repeat offenders, so that multiple sentences can’t be served at the same time. Carney said that means an offender with a seven-year sentence and a five-year sentence must serve a total of 12 years, not seven.

He said his government intends to “toughen sentences for repeat offenders of auto theft, of organized crime, and of home invasion, so that criminals who have repeatedly victimized your community do not have the chance to do so again.”

The Liberals also plan to introduce more punitive sentences for organized retail theft and eliminate conditional sentences for sexual assault.

The government also plans to hire 1,000 new RCMP personnel. They will include 150 RCMP staffers focused on financial crime, who will target money laundering networks, organized crime, online fraud and asset recovery.

“Financial crimes take many forms, and they are rising with devastating impacts on millions of Canadians. Retired Canadians who spent a lifetime saving carefully are losing thousands of dollars in seconds, sometimes just for answering a call from the wrong person,” Carney said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2025.