A Review of Saguenay Compliance in Newfoundland and Labrador
October 27, 2026
This report examines the inclusion of prayers in municipal council meetings in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and compliance with the Supreme Court of Canada's 2015 ruling in Mouvement laïque québécois v. Saguenay (Saguenay). That decision found the practice of opening council meetings with a prayer unconstitutional.
A detailed survey of the agendas, minutes, and video recordings of the meetings of Newfoundland and Labrador municipalities with populations over 1,000 revealed no ongoing unconstitutional prayers. Despite being Canada’s most religious province by measure of religious affiliations, Newfoundland and Labrador is the most secular province we have analyzed to date, with no prayers identified in any contemporary regular and inaugural council meetings.
In examining meetings post-Saguenay, we identified instances of secular minutes of silence in regular municipal council meetings in Bishop’s Falls, and an opening prayer in the 2021 inaugural meeting of the Town of Bonavista, which has since ceased this practice. We also highlight the inclusion of Indigenous content in council meetings and the need for municipalities to avoid prescriptive invitations to Indigenous representatives.
The report’s principal recommendation is that local governments continue to keep prayer out of council meetings, as the Supreme Court requires. Doing so upholds their duty of religious neutrality and ensures that everyone is welcome, regardless of their faith or lack thereof.
The Saguenay Project
The BC Humanist Association has been auditing municipal compliance with the 2015 Saguenay decision. "Secular Shores" is our eleventh report in The Saguenay Project.
Learn more about The Saguenay Project and support our continued work defending the state's duty of religious neutrality.