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Status and purpose

• Bill C-270, the Stand on Guard Act, was at first reading on March 12, 2026.
• It would amend the Criminal Code’s defence-of-person provisions concerning force used against someone who has entered a dwelling-house without legal entitlement.

Proposed changes

• The bill states that an act covered by the defence may involve force, including lethal force, that a person deems reasonably necessary to protect themselves or another person against an unauthorized entrant. The person using force must be lawfully present in the dwelling-house.
• It would create a presumption that someone who knowingly entered without legal entitlement intended to use force against a person lawfully present. This presumption applies in the absence of evidence to the contrary.
• It would also presume that the conditions for the existing defence are met when a person lawfully present uses force, including lethal force, against an unauthorized entrant.

Who is affected

• The proposed provisions concern people lawfully present in dwelling-houses who use force in the specified circumstances, and people who enter those dwelling-houses without legal entitlement.

The supplied text does not set out the existing defence conditions or specify costs or a coming-into-force date.