Privacy Act modernization
Overview
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) is conducting a review of the Privacy Act to explore potential policy approaches to:
- enable better services to Canadians
- strengthen privacy protections for the digital age
- update the foundation and oversight of the federal government privacy regime
The themes of focus and potential approaches build on previous work and feedback from stakeholders, including Indigenous partners. The review focuses on gaps in the legislative framework and on challenges related to the administration and application of the Act, exploring possible policy options for addressing them.
Why a review
The President of the Treasury Board is the minister responsible for supporting the administration of the Privacy Act across more than 250 federal institutions.
The Act, which came into force in 1983, focuses on the protection of personal information held by federal institutions. It has never been substantially updated.
An effective and efficient federal privacy regime should advance trust in the government’s ability to safely manage the personal data entrusted to it, while enabling timely, efficient services to Canadians, including Indigenous people.
The 2026 review is a chance to take a fresh look at the Act to make sure it meets the needs of Canadians, including Indigenous people, in the digital age.
The Privacy Act is distinct from the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), which defines privacy obligations in the private sector.
Themes and policy approaches
TBS published a consultation paper outlining proposed changes for the purposes of obtaining feedback.
The themes and policy approaches build on internal analysis and feedback from stakeholders over the last decade that called for legislative reform (for example, parliamentary committees, federal institutions, academics, Indigenous partners and civil society organizations).
The 2026 review has six broad themes:
- Enabling integrated services
- Enhancing accountability and transparency
- Advancing safeguards across the spectrum of data sensitivity
- Modernizing the foundation for privacy and trust
- Indigenous peoples’ access to, and protection of, their data
- Updating the compliance framework
The themes and the related policy approaches are not exhaustive or definitive. Feedback received during the public engagement period will inform the government’s way forward.
Feedback and engagement to date
On , TBS launched public engagement activities, inviting people in Canada and Indigenous peoples to provide feedback to help shape the future of privacy in the federal government. The public engagement period closed .
In addition, the 2026 review builds on feedback since 2016 from parties including:
- the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics
- Protecting the privacy of Canadians: Review of the Privacy Act ()
- Collection and use of mobility data by the Government of Canada and related issues ()
- Facial recognition technology and the growing power of artificial intelligence ()
- Device investigative tools used by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and related issues ()
- Federal government’s use of technological tools capable of extracting personal data from mobile devices and computers (; re-tabled )
- Indigenous partners
- Privacy Act Modernization: Engagement with Indigenous Partners – What We Have Learned (so far) and Next Steps (2021)
- Privacy Act Modernization: Report on 2022 engagement with Indigenous partners (2022)
- academics, agents of Parliament, federal institutions, and civil society organizations
- Office of the Privacy Commissioner: Review of the Privacy Act – Revised recommendations (2016)
- Privacy Act review - Information Commissioner submission to the Department of Justice (2019)
- Modernizing Canada’s Privacy Act: What We Heard Report (2019)
- Submission of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada (2021)
- Privacy review - Information Commissioner’s submission to the Department of Justice (2021)
- What we heard report: Online Public Consultation on Privacy Act Modernization (2021)
Next steps
A summary of the feedback received during the engagement period, on the policy approaches, will be included in a report consolidating the findings of the 2026 review.