What are the four fundamental freedoms in the Charter?

The four fundamental freedoms in section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms are: freedom of conscience and religion (section 2(a)); freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication (section 2(b)); freedom of peaceful assembly (section 2(c)); and freedom of association (section 2(d)). These four freedoms apply to everyone in Canada, citizens and non-citizens alike, and form the foundation of Canadian civil liberties.

Section 2 took effect on April 17, 1982 when Queen Elizabeth II signed the Constitution Act, 1982 in Ottawa. The four freedoms can be limited under section 1 of the Charter ('reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society') using the Oakes test from R. v. Oakes (1986). Section 33 (the notwithstanding clause) also allows Parliament or a provincial legislature to declare that a law operates notwithstanding section 2 for renewable five-year periods.

Each freedom has been the subject of extensive Supreme Court of Canada interpretation. R. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd. (1985) struck down the federal Lord's Day Act under section 2(a). R. v. Keegstra (1990) upheld Criminal Code hate-propaganda provisions under section 2(b). Mounted Police Association of Ontario v. Canada (2015) and Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v. Saskatchewan (2015) recognised robust freedom-of-association rights under section 2(d), including a constitutional right to a process of meaningful collective bargaining and a constitutional right to strike.

Recent applications include Quebec's Bill 21 (the Act respecting the laicity of the State, 2019), which restricts religious symbols for some public-sector employees and is shielded from sections 2 and 7 to 15 challenge by the section 33 notwithstanding clause. The Federal Court of Canada in Canadian Civil Liberties Association v. Canada (Attorney General) (2024) held that the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act in February 2022 (during the Truckers' Convoy) infringed sections 2(b) and 2(c) without section 1 justification. The Hak v. Quebec litigation over Bill 21 was heard at the Supreme Court of Canada from March 23 to 26, 2026 in a four-day hearing, with judgment reserved.