23,000 Canadian churches threatened to lose their status

Alert in Canada: Thousands of churches threatened with losing their charity status

L'Evangelical Alliance of Canada (ARC) sounds the alarm in the face of new budgetary measures that could deprive until 23,000 Christian congregations of their charitable status. This worrying situation is currently mobilizing evangelical communities across the country.

Two controversial proposals

The Finance Committee report, published on March 5, 2025, presents two major proposals:

1. The abolition of charity status for groups considered to be “anti-abortion”.
2. The withdrawal of the “promotion of religion” as a criterion of eligibility for charity.

These measures, if adopted, would have important financial consequences For many Canadian churches, jeopardizing their community activities and services.

Mobilization of religious communities

Faced with this threat, the Canadian Evangelical Christians mobilize:

• Of the Online petitions collect tens of thousands of signatures.
• The aerc, representing 140 denominations and 1,000 local churches, published an open letter on February 25, 2025 denouncing an “attack on religious freedoms”.

Issues and perspectives

This situation raises crucial questions about the religious freedom and the Role of churches in Canadian society. The debates intensify as the 2025 federal elections approached, making this subject a major political issue.

Religious communities fear that these measures will lead the closure of places of worship and the reduction of social services provided by the churches.