Coercive Control

Coercive Control as a Form of Elder Abuse

Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act
Legislative Developments

On June 18, 2026, Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act, received royal assent. Among its many reforms, the legislation adds an offence of coercive or controlling conduct toward an intimate partner to the Criminal Code. The new offence will come into force in two years (June 2028). The law also mandates a parliamentary review of the offence in five years (June 2031) to consider, among other things, the criminalization of coercive or controlling conduct in relationships other than intimate partner relationships.

ELDER JUSTICE COALITION

The Elder Justice Coalition is an ad hoc group of organizations from across Canada calling for a coercive control offence to protect elder abuse victims. On February 4, 2026, we came together in Ottawa for meetings with members of Parliament, senators, and public servants to discuss Bill C-16. We encouraged lawmakers to follow the example of international jurisdictions that have enacted broader coercive control offences to protect elder abuse victims.

Press Release
June 25, 2026

Press Release
May 21, 2026

Press Release
February 3, 2026

Statement on Bill C-16
December 15, 2025

Press Release
November 12, 2025

Coalition Members

Advocacy Centre for the Elderly (ACE) is the first and oldest legal clinic in Canada with a specific mandate to provide a range of legal services to low-income older adults. Its legal services include individual and group client advice and representation, public legal education, community development and law reform activities.

Alberta Elder Abuse Awareness Council (AEAAC) is a province-wide network of professionals committed to addressing elder abuse and neglect. AEAAC supports prevention and intervention efforts by providing resources and education, and by strengthening Coordinated Community Response (CCR) teams across Alberta. Through these multidisciplinary teams and its Safe Spaces Initiative, AEAAC helps create safe, trusted environments where older adults feel valued and supported.

BC Association of Community Response Networks (BC CRN) is a provincial non-profit dedicated to fostering safe, inclusive communities where vulnerable adults are valued and protected. Through active coordination, advocacy, education, collaboration, and relationship building, it supports local community response networks to create awareness and prevention of adult abuse, neglect, and self-neglect.

Brainwell Institute is an independent think tank that elevates evidence to ignite change and revolutionize thinking about dementia and brain health.

Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health serves as a leader in knowledge transfer and advocacy in the field. Rooted in the passion and expertise of its founders, the Coalition’s growing team remains committed to advancing evidence-based, comprehensive and compassionate care for older adults’ mental health. Through ongoing innovation and collaboration, the CCSMH strives to overcome barriers and ensure that every older adult receives the support they require. The CCSMH’s enduring legacy is one of compassion, understanding, and a relentless commitment to a brighter future for older adults across Canada.

CanAge is Canada’s national seniors’ advocacy organization, working to improve the lives of older adults through advocacy, policy, and community engagement.

Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (CNPEA) builds awareness, support and capacity for a coordinated pan-Canadian approach to the prevention of elder abuse and neglect. It promotes the rights of older adults through knowledge mobilization, collaboration, policy reform and education.

Dementia Justice Canada is a small non-profit dedicated to advocating for the rights and dignity of people with dementia. A particular focus is criminal justice reform.

Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario (EAPO) is a charitable, non-profit organization, recognized for its leadership in elder abuse prevention, providing awareness raising educational forums, training multi-sectoral front-line service professionals, and creating tools/resources for all to better understand and appropriately respond when supporting older adults at-risk or experiencing increasingly complex issues of elder abuse.

Entente Education Canada is a national social enterprise, providing non-profit group insurance designed primarily for people who work in or have retired from the education sector. With more than 88,000 members and 100,000 plan participants across Canada, Entente offers leading group health insurance, meaningful opportunities for community engagement, and advocacy focused on healthy aging and environmental stewardship. Entente is a dynamic, bilingual, member-engaged organization.

HelpAge Canada is the only registered Canadian charity and international NGO focused solely on partnering with communities to improve the lives of older people in Canada and around the world.

International Longevity Centre Canada (ILC-Canada) is a human rights based organization focused on older persons, created in 2015 and situated in Ottawa, Ontario. Its mission is to propose ideas and guidance for policies addressing population aging based on international and domestic research and practice with a view to bettering the lives of Canadians. It does this through a human rights lens, through knowledge development and exchange, recommendations of evidence-based policies, social mobilization, and networking.

National Institute on Ageing (NIA) improves the lives of older adults and the systems that support them by convening stakeholders, conducting research, advancing policy solutions and practice innovations, sharing information and shifting attitudes. Its vision is a Canada where older adults feel valued, included, supported and better prepared to age with confidence.

Prevent Elder Abuse Manitoba (PEAM) is a provincial network dedicated to raising awareness, fostering collaboration, and promoting strategies to prevent the abuse and neglect of older adults across Manitoba.

Sagesse works to disrupt the structures of domestic violence by addressing the underlying social norms, inequities, and patterns of coercive control that limit autonomy and shape people’s lived experiences. We understand abuse as a purposeful pattern of controlling and coercive behaviours that erode a person’s agency, relationships, and sense of self, and our values of courage, vulnerability, curiosity, and equity guide us in challenging those conditions. Our approach is gender‑transformative and trauma‑informed, and we pair system‑level innovation with direct relational work—supporting people through evidence‑based peer support that removes power differentials and strengthening the informal supports most individuals rely on first. Through this combination of upstream change and person‑centered connection, we are creating the conditions for healing, safety, and long‑term societal transformation, working toward a future where respectful, healthy, and peaceful relationships can thrive.

Seniors First BC is a 31-year old charitable, non-profit society that promotes the dignity of older adults, free from abuse of any kind. It provides information, support, legal advocacy, and referrals to older adults across British Columbia with issues affecting their well-being, as well as those who care for them.

Yukon Council on Aging (YCOA) is an organization whose vision is that all Yukon seniors (55+) can flourish and thrive as they age, and age in place for as long as possible. Its services include a home and yard maintenance program; providing information and assistance in applying for Pioneer Utility Grants (home heating); wills and estate planning; presentations on dementia; and more.

Written Submissions to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights (Bill C-16)

Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse

Dementia Justice Canada

National Institute on Ageing

Sagesse Domestic Violence Prevention Society

A full list of Bill C-16 briefs is available on the Committee website.

Further Materials:

Dementia Justice Canada
Letter to senators (August 18, 2024)

Further Reading:

Articles by Heather Campbell Pope

Coercive control: what's next?
Substack
September 20, 2025

A second chance to get it right on coercive control
The St. Croix Courier
May 14, 2025

The political inconvenience of elder abuse victims
Substack
January 4, 2025

Coercive control bill should tackle familial elder abuse
Law360 Canada
August 20, 2024

It's time for Canada to criminalize coercive control by adult children
CNPEA blog
July 30, 2024

Parliament should make coercive control of elders a standalone crime
Canadian Affairs
July 15, 2024