Canadians push back against intrusive gov’t census asking for personal information

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms asked the federal court to 'rule that portions of the long-form census,' including questions about religious beliefs, 'are unjustified violations of our Charter rights and freedoms.'

(LifeSiteNews) — One of Canada’s top constitutional freedom groups is gearing up for a legal fight against the Canadian federal government for what it said was an intrusive census that “forced” people to “disclose” to authorities their personal “religious” beliefs. “What should you have to tell the government?”

the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) said in a recent email to LifeSiteNews and supporters. “Should you be forced to disclose to the government your commuting habits, mental health conditions, or religious beliefs? That is exactly what the 2026 long-form census requires.”

Canada’s most recent census was mailed to Canadians in May. About 25 percent of census recipients were sent what is known as a “long-form” census that asked questions such as “What is your gender (defined as your ‘personal and social identity’ as a man, woman, non-binary, agender, gender fluid, queer or Two-Spirit)?” The census also asked people’s religion, if they had any mental health or emotional or psychological issues, their rent or mortgage payment, and “What was your sex at birth?”

Many Canadians who refused to answer the census faced fines of $500 as well as in-person visits from officials asking why the census was not completed. The JCCF said that due to the census’ intrusive nature it heard from “hundreds” of Canadians “expressing their opposition to this violation of their privacy and security.” “No government has the right to this kind of information.

That’s why we are asking the Federal Court to strike down the long-form census as unconstitutional,” the JCCF said. The JCCF noted that in June it had filed an application for judicial review on behalf of Bradley and Linda Osborne of Foothills County, Alberta. The JCCF asked the federal court to “rule that portions of the long-form census are unjustified violations of our Charter rights and freedoms.”

The JCCF said its lawyers are arguing that forcing Canadians to disclose “deeply personal information violates their right to life, liberty, and security of the person (Charter section 7) and their right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure (Charter section 8).” “The Supreme Court of Canada has stated that ‘respect for individual privacy is an essential component of what it means to be free’ and that ‘the infringement of this right undeniably impinges upon an individual’s ‘liberty’ in our free and democratic society.’” The JCCF acknowledged that a census is a valid and important tool for governments, it should not be used to “peer into the private lives of citizens.”

“Our lawyers argue that the government acted beyond its authority by forcing Canadians to answer far more questions than necessary,” the JCCF said. The Liberal federal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney has in recent months introduced multiple laws and past several that impact Canadians’ freedoms online and regarding religious speech.