A written response from the Government of Canada to a question from Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu states that Ottawa is “not implementing a federal or national digital identification credential,” pushing back on claims that Canadians will be required to use a federal digital ID to access services or pay taxes.
Gladu’s question asked about the government’s “implementation of a digital identification that will be mandatory to access government services and pay taxes,” including the plan, progress and timelines. The response, published January 26, frames the federal approach as voluntary and service-specific rather than a single, mandatory national credential.
Instead of a centralized digital ID, the response points to shared infrastructure being developed by the Canadian Digital Service, including GC Issue and Verify, a platform intended to let departments issue and validate digital versions of credentials they already provide, such as permits and licences. In that model, departments choose whether a given program offers a digital credential at all, and the holder controls when and where it is shared.
Ottawa also continues to build a modernized sign-in experience through GC Sign in, positioned as a common authentication layer that departments can integrate rather than running their own fragmented login stacks. The response emphasizes that digital channels remain optional, with people and businesses able to keep using existing service paths and physical documents.
The clarification lands amid ongoing experimentation across Canada’s identity ecosystem, including federal work on digital credential infrastructure and procurement, such as the selection of a vendor to support a digital credential platform initiative, and targeted program pilots that use digital credentials for specific use cases.
At the provincial level, identity policy and credential strategy continue to evolve independently, including Quebec’s new legal framework for a provincial digital ID anchored in voluntary use and privacy safeguards. Separately, Canada is also participating in cross-border discussions on wallet interoperability through the EU-Canada digital partnership.
The written response does not describe a universal biometric requirement tied to GC Issue and Verify or GC Sign in. It instead describes digital credentials as optional, consent-based tools attached to existing credentials and service journeys, with decisions about assurance and onboarding remaining with the programs that deliver each service.
Sources: Parliament of Canada, Government of Canada, Canadian Digital Service
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By Cass Kennedy
