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Freedom on the Net 2025

Canada

Free
85
100
A Obstacles to Access 22 25
B Limits on Content 32 35
C Violations of User Rights 31 40
Last Year's Score & Status
86 100 Free
Scores are based on a scale of 0 (least free) to 100 (most free). See the methodology and report acknowledgements.
Canada_hero

header1 Key Developments, June 1, 2024 – May 31, 2025

Canada hosts one of the most open online environments in the world. Internet access is reliable and affordable for most of the population, but a notable digital divide persists in which urban users have greater access than rural users.1 Canadians enjoy strong protections for free expression on the internet. While the country’s federal data-protection framework has shortcomings, stronger safeguards have been enacted at the provincial level.

  • In August 2024, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) expanded a November 2023 decision ordering large telecommunications companies to offer smaller providers “workable wholesale access” to their existing fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) networks in Ontario and Quebec to apply nationwide by February 2025.2 In August 2025, after the coverage period, the Governor in Council declined a November 2024 petition to alter the ruling from Eastlink, Cogeco, the Competitive Network Operators of Canada, and Sasktel, compelling providers to provide mandatory access outside of their “core regions” (A1 and A4).3
  • In July 2024, the Federal Court issued a permanent injunction on behalf of Canadian rightsholders that required internet service providers (ISPs) to block illegally streamed live sports broadcasts for a two-year period under the Copyright Act. Previous rulings had required ISPs to block livestreams of certain sports during more limited periods (B1).4
  • An August 2024 study from the Media Ecosystem Observatory at McGill University found that after Meta blocked news content on Facebook and Instagram in August 2023 in response to the Online News Act, a 2023 law that requires large online platforms to negotiate with Canadian media companies to compensate them for news content that appears on their platforms, the overall engagement with Canadian news outlets decreased by 43 percent, and 30 percent of local media outlets were no longer active on social media (B6 and B7).5
  • A March 2025 report from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Monk School of Public Affairs identified “possible links” between the Ontario Provincial Police and the Israeli spyware company Paragon. The Ontario Police neither confirmed nor denied the allegations (C5).6

header2 Political Overview

Canada has a strong history of respect for political rights and civil liberties, though in recent years citizens have been concerned about laws relating to the administration of elections, government transparency, the treatment of inmates in prisons, and restrictions on public sector employees wearing religious symbols. While members of minority groups, including Black and Indigenous Canadians, still face discrimination and economic, social, and political challenges, the federal government has acknowledged these problems and made some moves to address them.

This report has been abridged for Freedom on the Net 2025 due to ongoing budget constraints. Please consider making a donation to support future editions of this vital resource.

For additional background information, see last year’s full report.

A Obstacles to Access

A1 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Do infrastructural limitations restrict access to the internet or the speed and quality of internet connections? 6.006 6.006
A2 1.00-3.00 pts0-3 pts
Is access to the internet prohibitively expensive or beyond the reach of certain segments of the population for geographical, social, or other reasons? 2.002 3.003
A3 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does the government exercise technical or legal control over internet infrastructure for the purposes of restricting connectivity? 6.006 6.006
A4 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Are there legal, regulatory, or economic obstacles that restrict the diversity of service providers? 4.004 6.006

Score Change: The score declined from 5 to 4 because of continued reports that the market share of smaller ISPs has decreased in recent years.1

A5 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do national regulatory bodies that oversee service providers and digital technology fail to operate in a free, fair, and independent manner? 4.004 4.004

B Limits on Content

B1 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does the state block or filter, or compel service providers to block or filter, internet content, particularly material that is protected by international human rights standards? 5.005 6.006
B2 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do state or nonstate actors employ legal, administrative, or other means to force publishers, content hosts, or digital platforms to delete content, particularly material that is protected by international human rights standards? 3.003 4.004
B3 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do restrictions on the internet and digital content lack transparency, proportionality to the stated aims, or an independent appeals process? 4.004 4.004
B4 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do online journalists, commentators, and ordinary users practice self-censorship? 4.004 4.004
B5 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Are online sources of information controlled or manipulated by the government or other powerful actors to advance a particular political interest? 4.004 4.004
B6 1.00-3.00 pts0-3 pts
Are there economic or regulatory constraints that negatively affect users’ ability to publish content online? 3.003 3.003
B7 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Does the online information landscape lack diversity and reliability? 3.003 4.004
B8 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Do conditions impede users’ ability to mobilize, form communities, and campaign, particularly on political and social issues? 6.006 6.006

C Violations of User Rights

C1 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Do the constitution or other laws fail to protect rights such as freedom of expression, access to information, and press freedom, including on the internet, and are they enforced by a judiciary that lacks independence? 5.005 6.006
C2 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Are there laws that assign criminal penalties or civil liability for online activities, particularly those that are protected under international human rights standards? 2.002 4.004
C3 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Are individuals penalized for online activities, particularly those that are protected under international human rights standards? 5.005 6.006
C4 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Does the government place restrictions on anonymous communication or encryption? 4.004 4.004
C5 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does state surveillance of internet activities infringe on users’ right to privacy? 4.004 6.006
C6 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does monitoring and collection of user data by service providers and other technology companies infringe on users’ right to privacy? 4.004 6.006
C7 1.00-5.00 pts0-5 pts
Are individuals subject to extralegal intimidation or physical violence by state authorities or any other actor in relation to their online activities? 5.005 5.005
C8 1.00-3.00 pts0-3 pts
Are websites, governmental and private entities, service providers, or individual users subject to widespread hacking and other forms of cyberattack? 2.002 3.003

On Canada

See all data, scores & information on this country or territory.

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Country Facts

  • Population

    38,930,000

  • Global Freedom Score

    97 100 free

  • Internet Freedom Score

    85 100 free

  • Freedom in the World Status

    Free

  • Networks Restricted

    No

  • Websites Blocked

    No

  • Pro-government Commentators

    No

  • Users Arrested

    No