Potential social media and AI chatbot bans for Canadian children and youth are expected to be proposed at the Liberal party policy convention underway in Montreal.
Out of the 24 policy resolutions being brought forward for debate by party members, two are about a potential social media and artificial intelligence chatbot ban for youth.
Those proposals come as a growing number of countries debate similar measures, and after Australia introduced a ban last year.
One resolution from Quebec calls for anyone under the age of 16 to be banned from accessing “all AI chatbots and other potentially harmful forms of AI interaction,” such as ChatGPT.
Another calls for a law similar to one Australia passed late last year that would set a “minimum age of 16 for creating social media accounts” and put the onus on companies that run the platforms to “prevent underage users from holding accounts.”
An Angus Reid Institute poll released on March 30 found that “banning those under 16 from platforms would be well received by the vast majority of Canadians,” with three-quarters (75 per cent) saying they support a “full ban on social media use for anyone under the age of 16.”
Support from parents with kids in their household stands at 70 per cent.
A September 2025 Ipsos poll also found an average of 71 per cent of people across 30 countries believe children under 14 “should not be able to access social media,” with 74 per cent of school-age parents feeling the same.
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Twenty-five per cent of those surveyed also stated that social media is a “top challenge” for young people.
In March, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he had not made up his mind on the issue but that it should be debated.
“I think this is something that merits an open and considered debate in Canada,” he told reporters during his trip to Japan.
“We’re in a position, though, as a country, where our legislation … with respect to online harms, the exploitation of children, is lagging.”
The Angus Reid Institute poll found that support for a ban on social media for under-16s was highest in B.C. at 81 per cent and 77 per cent in Alberta.
Support sat at 70 per cent in Saskatchewan, 72 per cent in Manitoba, 74 per cent in Ontario, 73 per cent in Quebec and 76 per cent in the Atlantic provinces.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said on X that Australia recently implemented a full ban for children under 16 and that Canada should also consider options to limit social media use by minors.
He also said the federal government needs to pass online harms legislation and that the question of an “age of majority” for social media would be part of that discussion.
In addition, a committee of Quebec legislature members recommended last year that social media accounts be barred for youth under 14 unless they have the consent of a parent or guardian.
Australia became the first country to ban social media for children when it made platforms, including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram, liable for fines of up to AU$50 million (C$45.5 million) for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts.
As a result, the eSafety Commissioner reported that platforms had so far removed about 4.7 million accounts held by under-16s.
In addition, the Massachusetts house of representatives voted 129-25 Wednesday night to pass legislation that would ban all children under age 14 from using social media in the state and require kids ages 14 and 15 to get parental consent to use social media, becoming the first U.S. state to implement such a law.
In January 2026, California Sen. Steve Padilla also proposed a bill that would place a four-year ban on the sale and manufacture of toys with AI chatbot capabilities for kids under 18.
The goal is to give safety regulators time to develop regulations to protect children from “dangerous AI interactions.”
— with files from The Canadian Press
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