As 2026 brings new compliance challenges and opportunities, Baker McKenzie’s Canadian international trade team is here to help you stay ahead. We are launching our annual series of insights that unpack 2025’s biggest developments and spotlight the trade issues set to define 2026, bringing the clarity needed to navigate the evolving trade landscape.
This article focuses on Canada’s export controls regime.
When multilateral agreement under the Wassenaar regime began to break down, Canada and its allies began to target emerging technologies with unilateral export controls; foreshadowing a new international order of plurilateral controls. In 2025, Canada continued to update its unilateral controls to capture advancements in quantum computing and semiconductors and finally published guidance on controlled information in the Cloud. In this age of geopolitical uncertainty, plurilateral controls, emerging technologies, and growing global manufacturing and data storage options, compliance concerns are heightened. Multinational exporters can no longer rely on the objective ‘simplicity’ of multilateral controls for supply chain planning. Canada, the UK, Australia and other countries have joined the complexities of export control compliance in the proliferation of unilateral controls.
In 2026, we expect plurilateral controls introduced under Group 5 of Canada’s Export Control List to continue, with the possibility of Canada introducing controls on products deemed to be critical for Canadian supply chains under the authority of a pending amendment to the Export and Import Permits Act (EIPA). From an enforcement perspective, we expect the CBSA will continue to conduct export verifications as news reports of proliferation of Canadian technology on to foreign battlefields continues. While Canada has leveraged permitting authority under the EIPAas a foreign policy tool in punishing and rewarding countries for their actions, proposed amendments in a private members bill seeking to curtail exports of arms, ammunition, implements or munitions of war do not appear to have the Parliamentary support necessary to become law. Finally, while Global Affairs Canada has announced a merger of the Trade Controls Bureau and the Sanctions Bureau, we do not expect this will impact the administration of the EIPA.
Exporters should prepare for the remainder of 2026 by:
- Considering whether IT processes meet parameters outlined in newly issued guidance on storage of controlled information in the Cloud.
- Reviewing the updated Guide to Canada’s Export Controls and continue to monitor introduction and implementation of unilateral export controls, considering when product classifications must be reassessed.
- Staying up-to-date on G7 joint guidance on export control anti-circumvention measures and ensure compliance systems and personnel are adequately trained on newly identified red flags. Review recent enforcement actions that have a nexus to Canada to bolster understanding regarding complex anti-circumvention schemes.
- Having ready access to supporting technical specifications in case goods are selected for a trade control verification by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
Canada poised to issue further unilateral export controls
In March 2025, the Government introduced amendments to Group 5 of the Export Control List (ECL), alongside other unilateral Canadian controls on strategic goods and technology. These amendments added to previous amendments in 2024 and targeted goods and technology in relation to quantum computing and advanced semiconductors in addition to metal additive manufacturing and high temperature coatings.
A de facto stalemate continues to plague the Wassenaar arrangement. Its decision making process requires unanimity from its 42 members in order to introduce new controls, meaning that a single member can block additions/modifications to existing controls. In response, like-minded Wassenaar members are introducing plurilateral controls. As a result, these new plurilateral export controls regimes have needed to amend their permitting/licensing processes to both account for new controls, while enabling the efficiencies of general licenses/permits. For example, the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) created a license exception made available to countries that have equivalent controls on the same goods/technologies. To date, BIS has determined that approximately fourteen countries are eligible under this license exception (Finland, Italy, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Denmark, Japan, Spain, Slovenia, New Zealand, Norway, the Netherlands) for various controlled goods/technologies. Canada has yet to introduce an equivalent General Export Permit by regulation in order to account for these new controls.
In May 2025, Global Affairs Canada released an updated version of A Guide to Canada’s Export Control List, incorporating the multilateral commitments and new unilateral controls discussed above. The new Guide was effective July 1, 2025.
Cloud computing guidance
In November 2025, Global Affairs Canada recently issued Notice to Exporters No. 1159 codifying its longstanding positions on controlled technology and Cloud computing. Historically, Canadian exporters have relied on Advisory Opinions to confirm the application of Canada’s export controls to Cloud computing and while this Notice provides long overdue public guidance on this issue, substantive guidance on SasS is noticeably absent. We write about this new guidance in detail here.
According to the guidance, the key factor in determining whether an export permit is required is whether there is a transfer of controlled technology/information from Canada to a foreign state. A transfer in these circumstances hinges on whether there is a “reasonable possibility” (defined by the guidance) that controlled technology may be accessed outside Canada. The guidance importantly delineates the responsibilities of technology holders vs. their contracted cloud service providers – underlining important compliance checks to assess how a cloud service provider could “access” information stored on servers outside Canada.
Critical minerals
While consultations in 2024 focused on economic security measures and noted the possibility of introducing export controls on Canadian critical minerals, Canada made an about-face in 2025. Canada’s Critical Minerals Strategy remains focused on boosting domestic production and infrastructure, but there are no plans to restrict the movement of critical minerals from Canada at this time. At a December 2025 G7 finance ministers meeting, Canada doubled down on the June 2025 G7 Critical Minerals Action Plan , noting that implementing export controls to critical minerals supply chains would restrict growth, increase price volatility and impact economic resilience among G7 nations. Turning away from export controls, which may disrupt global markets, Canada has designated key critical minerals as national security assets, providing for stockpiling and price floors to secure supply.
Enforcement
There remain no current, publicly reported, export controls enforcement cases in Canada, despite reports of Canadian controlled goods used on foreign battlefields. While the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have arrested an charged an individual for export violations, the charges relate to the prohibitions under the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations, and not the Export Control List. Despite a lack of public prosecutions, enforcement of Canada’s export controls have ramped up throughout 2025, with the CBSA’s Counter Proliferation Operations, Intelligence Collection, Analysis & Production Unit engaging in exporter risk analyses and the CBSA undertaking trade control verifications. In 2023, the CBSA acknowledged that officers from the BIS were embedded in CBSA’s counter-proliferation unit; however it remains unclear whether this working relationship has continued under the current US administration.
Canada has worked along its G7 members to publish guidance on export controls circumvention (last updated in 2024). The guidance identifies tell-tale patterns/red flags of known circumvention schemes. Exporters should continue to assess the guidance as it is updated to account for more schemes and update their compliance policies accordingly. Exporters should also continue to review Special Bulletins published by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada on evasion of counter proliferation sanctions. The last report, published in July 2025, discusses exploitation of export controls through similar techniques used in money laundering schemes.
Proposed amendments to Export and Import Permits Act A Member of Parliament has tabled legislation proposing sweeping amendments to the EIPA framework for the export of arms, ammunition, implements or munitions of war (Goods). Currently, exports of controlled goods/technology to the US are largely exempt from the EIPA, permitting the US to re-export Canadian origin goods without further approvals/permits. The amendments propose to eliminate the Minister’s authority to grant country-specific exemptions, in an attempt to establish re-export controls on these Goods. The amendments also proposed to expand the considerations required by the Minister when granting export or brokering permits for these Goods. While the amendments are proposed in the name of peace, it lacks support from both the Conservatives and Liberals and it remains highly unlikely that it will become law as drafted.
