SENATEINCOMMITTEE

45th Parliament · Session 1

Bill C-8: An Act respecting cyber security, amending the Telecommunications Act and making consequential amendments to other Acts

Introduced

June 18, 2025

Current Stage

SenateInCommittee

Last Updated

April 23, 2026

Sponsor

Gary Anandasangaree

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Bill C-8

Thu Apr 23 2026

An Act respecting cyber security, amending the Telecommunications Act and making consequential amendments to other Acts

Impact Rating

4/5

Short Summary

This bill gives the government broad powers to force telecom, finance, energy, and transport companies to upgrade their cybersecurity and bans high-risk equipment from Canada's critical infrastructure.

Security
Cybersecurity
Telecommunications
Privacy
Economy

This bill significantly strengthens the federal government's authority to protect Canada's vital infrastructure from cyber threats. It gives the government new powers to order telecommunications companies to remove high-risk equipment from their networks. It also creates a brand new law, the Critical Cyber Systems Protection Act, which forces major federally regulated industries, such as banks, airlines, and energy pipelines, to establish strict cybersecurity programs and immediately report any cyber attacks.

Why does this bill exist?

Origin (Public Outcry/Event)

This bill is a direct response to increasing global cyber attacks, ransomware threats against critical infrastructure, and intelligence concerns regarding foreign-made telecommunications equipment.

  • Allows the government to ban specific high-risk products, services, or vendors from being used in Canada's telecommunications networks.

  • Creates the Critical Cyber Systems Protection Act, requiring federally regulated industries (finance, energy, transport, telecom) to implement strict cyber security programs.

  • Mandates that critical infrastructure operators report major cyber security incidents to the federal government within 72 hours.

  • Grants the government the power to issue binding 'cyber security directions' to companies to protect against imminent threats.

  • Allows the government to issue non-disclosure orders (gag orders), preventing companies from revealing they have been targeted by a government security directive.

  • Imposes massive financial penalties for non-compliance, with fines reaching up to $15 million for corporations.

  • Authorizes government inspectors to enter facilities, examine cyber systems, and conduct internal audits to ensure companies are following the rules.

Business owners (Large Infrastructure)

(More Expensive)

Will face strict new federal audits, mandatory cyber incident reporting within 72 hours, and potential orders to replace expensive equipment at their own cost.

Everyday citizens

(Neutral)

While citizens will not have to do anything new, they benefit from safer systems, though their bills could increase if companies pass on compliance costs.

Tech Vendors and Suppliers

(Harder)

Could be arbitrarily banned from selling their products to Canadian critical infrastructure providers by a secret government order.

Provincial Impact

Provincial Impact

Low (Information Sharing) Interaction

The bill primarily targets federally regulated sectors like banks, airlines, telecom, and interprovincial pipelines. It allows the federal government to enter into information-sharing agreements with provincial regulators regarding cyber threats.

Benefits & Pros

Protects essential services that Canadians rely on daily, like banking, internet, and electricity, from devastating cyber attacks.

Ensures that high-risk foreign equipment can be legally and permanently purged from Canadian networks to prevent espionage.

Forces massive corporations to take cybersecurity seriously rather than treating it as an afterthought, backed by heavy financial penalties.

Beneficiaries

Everyday Canadians relying on vital services
Canadian intelligence agencies
Cybersecurity vendors

Risks & Cons

Grants the government sweeping powers to issue secret orders to companies, reducing public transparency about vulnerabilities.

Telecom and infrastructure companies will face significant costs to upgrade systems and replace banned equipment, which will likely be passed on to consumers.

Grants government inspectors broad powers to access private corporate data and systems without a traditional warrant in some non-residential cases.

Affected Groups

Telecommunications companies
Banks and financial institutions
Energy and transportation operators
Banned foreign tech vendors

Before & After

Currently, the government has limited legal authority to force private telecom companies to remove insecure equipment, and cyber incident reporting is largely voluntary. Under this bill, the government can legally order the removal of risky equipment, and critical industries like banks and airlines face multi-million dollar fines if they fail to report hacks within 72 hours.

Real World Scenario

Currently: A major Canadian pipeline operator suffers a ransomware attack but chooses to keep it quiet for weeks to protect its public image. Under this Bill: The operator would be legally forced to report the breach to the government within 72 hours and could be hit with a $15 million fine if they fail to maintain a proper cyber security program.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sponsor

Gary Anandasangaree

Member of Parliament

House of Commons

First reading

Completed on June 18, 2025

Second reading

Completed on October 3, 2025

Consideration in committee

Completed on March 11, 2026

Report stage

Completed on March 26, 2026

Third reading

Completed on March 26, 2026

Senate

First reading

Completed on March 26, 2026

Second reading

Completed on April 23, 2026

Consideration in committee

In Progress

Report stage

Not yet started

Third reading

Not yet started

Abuse Potential

This bill contains significant abuse potential due to the extraordinary secrecy and broad discretionary powers it grants to the government. The Minister can issue binding 'cyber security directions' to private companies and simultaneously issue a 'gag order' prohibiting the company from telling the public that they are being forced to alter their systems or hand over information. Furthermore, the bill allows the government to mandate the removal of specific vendors' equipment without providing financial compensation to the affected companies. While there are clauses protecting 'lawful expression' and preventing the interception of private communications, the ability of the government to secretly dictate the technological architecture of Canada's communications networks creates a massive concentration of opaque executive power that could be misused to target disfavored tech companies.

Implementation Risk

There is a high risk of friction between the government and private industry, particularly over the cost of replacing banned equipment and the tight 72-hour window to report complex cyber incidents while an attack is still actively unfolding.

Broad Economic Impact

Indirect

Everyday Life

Minimal impact

Admin Burden

None for citizens, but enormous new compliance, auditing, and reporting paperwork for designated businesses.

Timeline

Phased in over time, coming into force on days set by the Governor in Council.