Ottawa Has Spent $6.4 Million Developing ‘Optional’ National Digital ID

A man is silhouetted as buildings cast their shadows in front of the Peace tower on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, on Nov. 27, 2024. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Canadian federal agencies have spent roughly $6.4 million since 2019 on research and development of a national digital ID program. The government says there is currently no plan to roll out a digital ID system.

The funds have been spent on research and development of digital identification technology, according to records tabled on Dec. 16 in Parliament, as first reported by Blacklock’s reporter. The figures were submitted by all government departments in response to Conservative MP Ben Lobb’s Oct. 30 inquiry about federal spending on such technologies in the past five years and Ottawa’s plans for their use.

Liberal MP Stéphane Lauzon, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Citizens’ Services Terry Beech, wrote in the response the government has no plans to launch a digital ID system or to make such a system mandatory.

“There are no plans to consider or introduce a federally issued digital ID,” he wrote. “Furthermore options that result in making the use of digital credentials being made mandatory are also not being considered. The digital, self-service delivery channel is optional.”

Spending on the program included $1.5 million by the Canada Revenue Agency, $1.4 million by the Department of Transport, $1 million spent by the Departments of Immigration and Fisheries, another million by the Treasury Board, $150,000 by the Correctional Service of Canada, $106,398 by the Public Service Commission, and $62,780 by the Canada Border Services Agency.

Other departments such as environment and climate change, indigenous services, the department of finance, and Global Affairs Canada reported no spending on digital identification technologies.

Lauzon said the government has been exploring such technologies for “quite some time,” but did not provided further details on the time frame. He said Ottawa has not fully developed a strategy for a federal approach to the use of digital IDs.

The Canadian Digital Service (CDS) is working on a commitment set out in Budget 2024 to “establish a modern, single sign-in portal for federal government services” to support the “fast and efficient delivery of government services,” said Lauzon in the response.

The CDS has established an office to research, pilot, and implement a single sign-in platform, and a digital credential Issue and Verify platform for the government of Canada, according to Lauzon. More than 30 employees currently work in that office.

The Canadian government said it is “working on a unified approach to online sign-in and digital credentials” to make access to services faster and more secure. It likens digital credentials to online versions of documents such as work permits and boating licenses.  

“Instead of only having physical credentials in their wallets, people will also be able to securely store their digital credentials on their mobile devices,” the federal government says.

“They can share them online or in-person when needed, making it easy for departments, organizations, and businesses to validate their information.”

Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis has been critical of digital IDs, saying it can be be abused by the government.

“The problem that most Canadians have with this expansion and globalization of digital credentials and technologies is that the government can abuse its power when it has access to all that of that information,” she said in a video in November.

“Given the amount of information stored in these digital IDs, there’s fear that if it’s not properly regulated, digital information can be collected and it may get into the hands of a bad actor, or government could flip a switch and lock you out of access to key services or use your information without obtaining your expressed consent.”