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“God keep our land glorious and free” ~ Canadian national anthem 

“Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law…” ~ Preamble to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms 

“Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: freedom of conscience and religion” ~ Section 2(a) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms 

“Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on… religion” ~ Section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms 

Canada has a long Christian tradition of religious freedom. But Quebec has in some ways long been, and continues to be, an outlier. Quebec’s new secularism bill, Bill 94, is the latest example of this.  

The Seeds of Change: The Quiet Revolution  

For the first 400 years of its existence, Quebec was deeply Catholic. On the very first European visit to what is now Quebec, in 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier planted a 10-meter wooden cross on the shores of the Gaspe peninsula, claiming the land not only for the King of France but also for the Catholic church. Cartier, his expeditionary force, and later French missionaries such as the Jesuits prioritized sharing the Catholic faith with the local Indigenous nations. 

Most of the French settlers to what would be called New France were also Catholic, ensuring that the Catholic church dominated the province. The Catholic church not only operated the parishes around the province but also ran most of the schools and hospitals. Even organizations that were not formally affiliated with the church – such as businesses and unions – often openly professed their Catholic convictions. For these first 400 years, the French-Canadian identity was based around three things: French ethnicity, French language, and Catholic religion.  

All of this changed during the Quiet Revolution in Quebec during the 1960s, a time of massive cultural change in the province. In protest to the Catholic church’s dominance in the province, hundreds of thousands of Quebeckers shed their affiliation with the Catholic church and began calling for a secular province and secular public institutions run by the state. 

Over the past 50 years, this is precisely what happened, with efforts to transform Quebec into a secular province accelerating in recent years. 

Bill 21: An Act Respecting the Laicity of the State 

In 2019, Quebec passed Bill 21: An Act Respecting the Laicity of the State. For the first time, it declared Quebec to be a “lay state” and affirmed that state laicity is of fundamental importance to the Quebec nation in their Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms (not to be confused with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms).  

But what does “laicity” or “lay state” mean? 

The bill describes the laicity of the state as including four characteristics: the separation of state and religions, the religious neutrality of the state, the equality of all citizens, and freedom of conscience and of religion. 

This definition of laicity might not strike Reformed Christians as problematic. We too believe in the separation of (the institutions of) Church and state, the equality of all citizens, and freedom of conscience and religion, although we believe no state can be entirely religiously neutral. For the most part, we might think of these principles as essentially the same as the ones that undergird how the rest of Canada approaches religion in political life. 

But Quebec interprets these principles very differently than English Canada does. Instead of promoting freedom of religion, Quebec has shifted to promoting freedom from religion. 

Bill 21 requires government employees and employees of any private institution that receive government funding – politicians, judges, bureaucrats, police officers, bus drivers, teachers, early childhood educators, professors, nurses, and doctors – to practice religious neutrality in all their official actions. There is not much in the way of an explanation of what this means in the bill, but presumably it would forbid such an employee from making any reference to their faith in any of their official actions. 

Most controversially, the law forbids a narrower set of government employees – police officers, lawyers, school principals, teachers, and certain bureaucrats – from wearing any religious symbols while on the job. For example, a Sikh police officer may not wear a turban at work. A Muslim teacher may not wear a hijab or burqa in the classroom. A Christian lawyer would have to remove her cross necklace before arguing in court.  

It also requires some people who provide a government service – including politicians, police officers, doctors, dentists, midwives, and early childhood educators – to uncover their face while providing that government service. Any member of the public who wants to receive government services from them must also have their face uncovered if their identity needs to be verified. The provisions particularly target Muslim women wearing a burqa or niqab. While wearing such dress, these women wouldn’t be allowed to, for example, work as early childhood educators. 

Bill 21 also authorizes government officials to enter regulated institutions to enforce the law. During the debate on the bill, Liberal MNA Marc Tanguay decried how “The secularism police… can now send inspectors into organizations to ensure people submit to the rules.” 

Most English-speaking Canadians denounced the passage of the bill as a violation of freedom of religion. This includes Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, who spoke against this bill in recent interviews in Quebec. The Quebec National Assembly, however, invoked the notwithstanding clause in this bill. This means that, even if a judge finds that the law’s provisions violate Canada’s constitution, the law would remain in force. 

Bill 94: An Act to Reinforce Laicity in the Educational Network 

Even with the controversy it caused, the Quebec government doesn’t think Bill 21 goes far enough. In March 2025, it introduced Bill 94: An Act to, in particular, reinforce laicity in the education network and to amend various legislative provisions. The sponsor of the bill, Education Minister Bernard Drainville, stated that “the bill aims to protect kids from indoctrination, from religious influence.” 

Bill 94 says the “public school system is founded on… [the principle of] State laicity.” As such, all studies and activities in the school must keep religious neutrality in mind. If the bill passes, teachers will be evaluated each year on whether they follow the rules of secularism in the classroom. 

The bill requires all students to attend school with their faces uncovered. Even any homeschooled child interacting with public school teachers or coaches must have their face uncovered. Bill 94 also extends the prohibition on principals and teachers covering their faces on the job or wearing religious symbols to include all school staff: janitors, educational assistants, school nurses, counsellors, and administrators. 

Bill 94 also forbids any school from being used for any religious practice. For example, a local church looking for a place to rent for worship would not be allowed to rent the local public school. Schools with a dedicated prayer room would have to repurpose them. A Christian club at school would not be allowed to pray or sing hymns anywhere in the school. 

Bill 94 also bans all forms of bullying and violence, in particular those motivated by homophobia or targeting sexual orientation or gender identity. This is reminiscent of the actions and languages of other provinces such as British Columbia, which initially introduced its entire sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) ideology in schools through anti-bullying policies. 

A Sign of the Times? 

Many of us might dismiss Quebec’s new secularism laws as something unique to an increasingly liberal, secular, and nationalist province. But don’t be so sure. Quebec might be the forerunner of what’s coming for the rest of Canada. Canada continues to secularize and manifest hostility to religion. (Check out, for example, this government-funded report on how homophobic and transphobic places of worship are.) Many progressive politicians see orthodox Christianity as preventing progress and wish to curb its cultural and political influence. We’ve already seen hints of this with the federal finance committee suggesting that the advancement of religion be removed as a charitable purpose.  

As late as 1961, over 95% of Canadians identified as Christian, even if a substantial portion of those were just nominal Christians. In the last sixty years, Christianity has been on the decline, with just a slim majority of Canadians (53%) claiming to be Christian and more than one third (35%) claiming to have no religion. As you can see, the trend has been accelerating. 

Christians in Canada need to be prepared for the possibility that our national or provincial governments may follow Quebec’s lead. But we also need to do our part now to try to reverse this growing secularization. Pray that God would send religious revival in churches and across this country. Share the gospel and a Christian perspective on the political issues of the day with your neighbours. Advocate for a robust forms of religious freedom in the public square. 

Not only is this a faithful witness from the Church to the world, but our religious freedom might depend on it.