Securing Canada’s Digital Future

March 19, 2025

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As digital threats become increasingly sophisticated, protecting Canada’s defence supply chains has never been more important. To address this challenge, the Government of Canada introduced the Canadian Program for Cyber Security Certification (“CPCSC”), a multi-faceted initiative designed to help organizations understand cybersecurity risks and implement effective mitigation strategies.

On March 12, 2025, the Government released phase 1, which permits the Standards Council of Canada to begin accepting applications from organizations wishing to become certification bodies. These bodies will play a crucial role in evaluating and certifying compliance with established standards.

The CPCSC is scheduled to roll out over four phases, with the final phase expected to be completed by 2027. Once fully implemented, the program aims to:

• protect federal contractual information held below the classified level on contractors’ systems, networks and applications;

• maintain Canadian industry’s access to international procurement opportunities with similar cyber security certification requirements;

• boost the basic level of cyber security for Canada’s defence industry;

• ensure that the supplier system stays strong and reliable for Canadian Armed Forces capabilities and readiness; and

• increase Canadian industrial participation in the cyber security certification program.

As cybersecurity threats evolve, certification helps businesses remain resilient, secure and competitive in an increasingly interconnected world.

Author: Matthew Stackhouse, 2024/2025 Articling Student-At-Law