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Last Update: 10/27/2026 at 6:00 AM EST
Canadian Privacy and Surveillance Law
Coverage from Michael Geist, Reclaim The Net, and others
Canadian privacy and surveillance law is being shaped by debates over how police and security agencies should obtain digital information and what obligations governments can impose on technology providers.
Bill C-22, also called the Lawful Access Act, is a central focus, with proposed measures involving metadata retention, access to subscriber and location information, ministerial orders, provider confidentiality, and cross-border requests for data. Civil-liberties groups and companies including Apple, Meta, Google, and Shopify have raised concerns about privacy, cybersecurity, and encryption, while government officials defend the framework as a law-enforcement tool.
Looking Back
259 Day Timeline
Feb 19
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All Articles36 articles
Important
Canadian government proposes metadata retention for core providers to store transmission data including location for up to one year in Canada.
3/17/2026 • Data Collection & Surveillance Practices • General
Canada's government introduced Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act, yesterday to limit warrantless subscriber data demands while expanding surveillance capabilities within Canadian networks.
3/13/2026 • Data Collection & Surveillance Practices • General
Gary Anandasangaree defended Canada's Bill C-22, which mandates one-year electronic service provider metadata retention for police and CSIS access.
3/24/2026 • Data Collection & Surveillance Practices • General
Canada expands government surveillance powers via Bills C-2 and C-8 in the 2020s, affecting privacy nationwide.
2/24/2026 • Data Collection & Surveillance Practices • General
Canada's federal government introduced Bill C-36 on June 15, 2026, proposing new privacy obligations and enforcement powers affecting federally regulated employers nationwide.
8/5/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Ron Wyden urged U.S. officials to oppose Canada\u2019s Bill C-22 as police and CSIS access, metadata retention, and possible encryption weakening could affect Apple and Google.
7/17/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Canada introduced Bill C-36 in private-sector privacy reform to expand inferred-information protections, deletion rights, and automated-decision transparency, with stronger safeguards for children.
7/10/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Canada enacted Bill C-16 on June 18, 2026, extending intimate-image offences to sexual deepfakes and increasing platform evidence-handling burdens from July 18, 2026.
7/8/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Canadian privacy advocates urged oversight of federal political parties after Bill C-4 reduced and Bill C-25 restored privacy policy reporting and data breach notification requirements.
6/18/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Canada introduced Bill C-36 to replace parts of the private-sector privacy regime with PPACDA consent, children’s data, cross-border transfer, and enforcement reforms.
6/18/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Canada introduced Bill C-36, creating the Digital Safety and Data Protection Commission with binding private-sector enforcement powers while expanding consent, deletion, and children-focused privacy protections.
6/16/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Canada proposes Bill C-22 to require year-long metadata retention and mandate lawful-access backdoors, with critics citing encryption weakening and increased breach risk.
5/11/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Sen. Ron Wyden told U.S. officials to oppose Canada's proposed Lawful Access Act, warning mandatory metadata retention and backdoor-like requirements could enable surveillance of Americans.
7/16/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Google, Apple, and privacy advocates oppose Canada Bill C-22 because metadata retention and ministerial order powers may undermine encryption and enable surveillance.
6/5/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
While Bill C-22 is before Canada's Senate after passing the House of Commons, the proposed Lawful Access Act would expand government surveillance and metadata-retention powers over digital services across Canada.
10/22/2026 • Regulation & Law & Enforcement • General
Canada is reviewing the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act, proposing a shift of personal information complaints from the privacy commissioner to the information commissioner and raising delay and authority concerns.
7/14/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Canada's Liberal government introduces Bill C-22 in 2026 to compel providers in Canada to retain metadata for one year for law enforcement access.
3/13/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Senate debates removal of privacy exemptions for political parties under Bill C-4 in Ottawa.
2/26/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Senate amends Bill C-4 to sunset party privacy exemptions in Canada after three years.
2/27/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Canada's government advances Bill C-22 toward a June 19 vote, with critics warning metadata retention and demanded encryption backdoors expand surveillance capabilities.
6/18/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Interesting
Bill C-26 would create Canada’s Digital Safety and Data Protection Commission and enable higher privacy fines, alongside AI and children’s data protections.
6/17/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Yanik Guillemette in Montreal criticized Bill C-22 amid signals of amendments from Public Safety Canada over encryption and mandatory one-year metadata retention.
6/1/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Canadian MPs are scheduled to vote on Bill C-22, expanding metadata retention and data handover for police and CSIS amid opposition from major tech firms and U.S. lawmakers.
5/25/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Yanik Guillemette and major tech firms criticize Canada's proposed Bill C-22 in 2026, warning encryption compromise could deter AI and cloud investment.
5/18/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Yanik Guillemette and leaders at Meta, Apple, and Shopify oppose Canada's Bill C-22 after warnings about encryption weakening and surveillance-driven requirements.
5/16/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Windscribe warns Canada Bill C-22 lawful-access proposals may force user logging, driving possible relocation if parliamentary revisions fail.
5/16/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms told a House of Commons committee that Bill C-22 would expand police access to subscriber data and require one-year metadata retention while reducing judicial oversight.
5/15/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Canada seeks to modernize PIPEDA via federal privacy law reform in 2026 in Canada.
2/27/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Senate approves sunset clause in Bill C-4, exempting political parties from privacy laws in Canada as the bill moves to the House.
2/26/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
On 20 February 2026 in Ottawa, Canadian senators signaled plans to amend Bill C-4's political-party privacy exemptions after extensive expert criticism.
2/20/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Philippe Dufresne proposed a privacy regime for political parties in Canada during a Standing Senate Committee hearing to strengthen privacy protections and oversight.
2/19/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Yanik Guillemette said Bill C-22 amendments, discussed after Standing Committee sessions, risk bulk metadata retention and end-to-end encryption weakening in Canada.
6/1/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
ExpressVPN criticized Canada’s proposed Bill C-22 in 2026, warning encryption access and metadata retention requirements would weaken VPN no-logs privacy and security.
5/22/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
OpenMedia and University of British Columbia students surveyed 78 Canadian youth in March 2026, linking privacy rights awareness to Bill C-36 enforcement changes.
6/19/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Canada proposes shifting Privacy Act personal-information requests into the Access to Information Act complaint system, raising concerns over information commissioner capacity, delays, and enforcement scope.
7/14/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General
Senators vote to preserve privacy exemptions for political parties within Bill C-4 in Canada on Thursday.
2/26/2026 • Regulation, Law & Enforcement • General