OTTAWA — The House of Commons is set to adjourn for its six-week winter break as early as Thursday, December 11, 2025, leaving several key pieces of Liberal legislation, including the lengthy Budget Implementation Bill, unpassed. Members of Parliament are not scheduled to return until January 26.
Despite the unfinished legislative business, Liberal House Leader Steven MacKinnon declared that the government had “accomplished an incredible amount” during the fall sitting. Prime Minister Mark Carney, in his first full sitting since taking office, noted that while the minority government faced challenges, things were “functioning well” and he expected more progress on outstanding crime legislation.
Unpassed Bills
Several significant bills remain in limbo:
- The Budget Implementation Bill: Passed second reading but heads to committee for study in the new year.
- Bill C-14: A bill to impose stricter bail rules for violent and repeat offenders.
- Bill C-16: Legislation that would restore mandatory minimum sentences previously struck down by the courts, and introduce new measures to address hateful and controlling behavior toward women and shield children from online predators.
- Revised Border Bill: Includes new measures to help the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) combat drug/gun smuggling and auto theft, but also contains controversial changes to Canada’s refugee and asylum seeker regimes, which NDP MPs and advocates have called an “attack on vulnerable people.”
Parties Trade Blame
The opposition Conservative Party and the Liberal government traded accusations over the legislative delays. Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer accused the Liberals of delaying their own agenda through “procedural tricks and games” and failing to tackle pressing affordability concerns. Scheer suggested the decade-old government was “still not very good at governing.”
MacKinnon, in turn, blamed the Conservatives for obstructing the process. He specifically accused them of attempting to “talk out” Bill C-4, a bill that would legislatively end the consumer carbon price. The House is now scheduled to remain adjourned until it officially resumes on Monday, January 26.
