Canada has quietly but decisively raised the bar for digital identity assurance, with the Digital Governance Standards Institute confirming that CAN/DGSI 103-0:2025, Digital Trust and Identity (Part 0: Techniques, Code of Practice), has been adopted as a National Standard of Canada. The document, approved by DGSI’s Technical Committee 4 and recognised by the Standards Council of Canada, is positioned as a practical code of practice for organisations implementing digital identity, credential and wallet systems and sits within the broader DGSI 103 series on digital trust and identity.
DGSI describes CAN/DGSI 103-0 as a reference set of atomic and compound processes for building trustworthy identity systems. It provides definitions and conformance criteria for digital entities, credentials and relationships, and is written to be technology agnostic while remaining aligned with the Pan-Canadian Trust Framework, the federated model for digital identity developed by the Digital ID and Authentication Council of Canada. The standard also maps to international regimes and principles, including the European Union’s eIDAS framework, Financial Action Task Force guidance on digital identity and relevant UNCITRAL work on electronic transactions, which makes it easier to situate Canadian digital ID schemes within a global context.
From a security and risk perspective, 103-0 gives CISOs and governance teams a nationally endorsed checklist of controls and techniques that can be used both in design and in assurance. It establishes a common vocabulary for digital trust, identity, credentials and wallets that can be shared between security teams, policymakers and vendors. It sets out process level techniques for identity proofing, credential issuance, binding, lifecycle management and revocation in ways that are intended to be auditable. It also provides a structure for mutual recognition and interoperability between identity providers and relying parties, with explicit attention to cross jurisdictional use and cross sector adoption across government, financial services, healthcare, education and other verticals.
Because CAN/DGSI 103-0 is now a National Standard of Canada, it can be referenced directly in procurement, regulatory guidance and independent assurance work. That raises the prospect of auditors and third party assessors using it alongside DGSI’s broader digital governance standards and existing conformity assessment frameworks when they evaluate digital identity programmes. For identity vendors and service providers, this formal status has two immediate implications. Canadian public and private sector customers now have a domestic standard to cite when they demand design transparency, test evidence and governance structures in proposals and contracts, and as DGSI expands the 103 series, including work on age assurance and sector specific guidance, alignment with this canon is likely to become an informal requirement for participating in trusted digital ecosystems both within Canada and in cross border schemes that look to the Canadian model.
Sources: Digital Governance Standards Institute, Standards Council of Canada
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By Cass Kennedy
