Digital Government Outlook 2026: Canada
Table of contents
This country note presents an overview of the digital government landscape in Canada drawing on the results of the 2025 OECD Digital Government Index (DGI) and the 2025 OECD OURdata Index. The note outlines key policy developments in the country observed during the assessment period. It aims to inform policy dialogue and support Canada in advancing a whole-of-government approach to digital transformation in the public sector.
In the 2025 edition of the OECD Digital Government Index, Canada attained a score of 0.67, below the OECD average of 0.70. This represents a 0.01 increase since 2023 (Figure 1).
Canada recorded higher scores in User-Driven (0.80), Digital by Design (0.76) and Open by Default (0.74), compared with OECD averages of 0.71, 0.75 and 0.59, respectively. These results show that Canada performs well in placing user needs at the centre of service design and in promoting the openness and transparency of government data and processes.
Canada scored below the OECD average in Government as a Platform (0.54 vs 0.71), Data-driven Public Sector (0.59 vs 0.74) and Proactiveness (0.59 vs 0.67). This means that Canada still has room for improvement in developing shared platforms for government-wide use, leveraging data as a strategic asset, and adopting proactive approaches to service delivery.
In the 2025 edition of the OECD OURdata Index, Canada attained a score of 0.48, below the OECD average of 0.53 (Figure 2). This represents a 0.12 decrease since 2023.
Canada recorded a higher score in Data availability (0.58), above the OECD average of 0.53. This reflects Canada's efforts in ensuring a broad range of government datasets are made available to the public.
Canada scored below the OECD average in Data accessibility (0.55 vs 0.67) and Government support for data re-use (0.33 vs 0.40). This means that Canada has room for improvement in enhancing the accessibility of open data and in strengthening mechanisms to promote data re-use.
Canada has established a digital government governance structure led by the Office of the Chief Information Officer of Canada under Canada's Digital Ambition (2023–2024, with update in 2024-2025). Co-ordination is ensured through the Deputy Minister Committee on Enterprise Priorities and Planning, succeeded by the Deputy Minister Committee on Digital from 2024.
Systematic measurement of user needs is embedded across Canada’s service lifecycle. The administrative policy framework, which includes the Policy on Service and Digital, requires departments to collect feedback through usability testing, client surveys, and iterative design practices. This is supported by cross government mechanisms such as the Canada.ca Feedback tool for continuous in-context feedback. At the service level, the Old Age Security Benefits Estimator, with approximately 1.2 million unique visitors, provides post-launch assessment through dedicated user research and iterative refinement. The Top 50 Tasks tracking and the GC Service Inventory further support government-wide performance monitoring.
Digital skills development across Canada’s public service is supported by the Canada School of Public Service. The Digital Academy recorded thousands of registrations across 91 courses in 2024–2025, covering disciplines from AI to cybersecurity and service design. Talent development initiatives include the IT Community Training and Development Fund, which supports IT-classified employees through targeted learning opportunities. The IT Apprenticeship Program for Indigenous Peoples provides a structured learning pathway into digital roles in the federal public service for Indigenous peoples. Mobility and recruitment mechanisms include the GC Digital Talent Platform which supports recruitment, matching, and deployment of digital practitioners to roles across the federal public service.
While Canada performs well in areas such as project management and monitoring, opportunities remain to strengthen the broader approach to digital investments across the full investment lifecycle. In particular, more formalised approaches to ex-post cost-benefit analysis, a central government-wide fund for digital projects, and a dedicated GovTech strategy could further strengthen strategic prioritisation and accountability.
Canada's digital public infrastructure also presents opportunities for development. While notification capabilities, payment infrastructure, and data-sharing initiatives exist across federal programs and services, gaps remain in their integration at the government-wide level. A unified digital post system for delivering official communications, a common platform for issuing and managing digital payments, and a data interoperability system are not yet reported at the federal government level. Establishing shared infrastructure in these areas could enhance the coherence and reach of digital service delivery.
The OECD Digital Government Outlook (DGO) provides a comprehensive assessment of digital government policies across OECD Members and accession candidate countries. It draws on the results of the 2025 OECD Digital Government Index (DGI) and the 2025 OECD Open, Useful and Re-usable Data (OURdata) Index to evaluate progress and identify persistent gaps in digital transformation across the public sector.
The DGI assesses the enabling foundations for digital transformation across six dimensions: Digital by Design, Data-driven Public Sector, Government as a Platform, Open by Default, User-Driven and Proactiveness. Rather than measuring the digitalisation of specific services, the DGI focuses on the strategies, policy levers, implementation practices and monitoring mechanisms that enable coherent, whole-of-government digital transformation.
The OURdata Index benchmarks the robustness of open government data policies across three pillars: data availability, data accessibility and government support for data re-use. It supports policymakers in monitoring the design and implementation of national open government data policies.
Both indices were developed with OECD Member countries through the OECD Working Party of Senior Digital Government Officials (E-Leaders) and approved by the OECD Public Governance Committee.
Figure 1: The 2025 DGI OECD average does not include Germany and the United States. 2025 data cover the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024. The 2023 OECD average does not include Germany, Greece, Slovakia, Switzerland and the United States. 2023 data cover the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 October 2022. The composite score is the unweighted average of the six-dimension scores.
Figure 2: The 2025 and 2023 OURdata Index OECD average does not include Denmark, Hungary and the United States. 2025 data cover the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024. 2023 data cover the period from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021. The composite score is the unweighted average of the three-pillar scores.
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The full book is available in English: OECD (2026), Digital Government Outlook 2026: From Foundations to Transformational Impact, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/0496b2bc-en.
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