“Championing privacy in the age of AI” – the 2025–26 annual report of Philippe Dufresne, Canada’s privacy commissioner — spotlights the new ways that evolving digital technologies have been testing and impacting privacy, including children’s privacy.
“Prioritizing privacy is more important than ever at a time when new technologies are being developed and AI is being integrated into a wide range of applications that we use in our personal and professional lives,” Dufresne said in a news release.
The annual report acknowledged the opportunities arising from artificial intelligence (AI), connected services, online platforms, and immersive digital tools.
However, the report found that these technologies engaged privacy considerations regarding the collection, utilization, protection, and sharing of personal information.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) explained that the annual report touches upon the OPC’s efforts and initiatives to:
- Promote Canadians’ and children’s privacy
- Support Canadians and Canadian organizations in the face of AI and other swiftly evolving technologies
- Tackle the effects of the rapid pace of technological developments
- Adapt to the increasingly complex digital environment, including by creating and implementing an internal AI product to help the OPC better comprehend this technology and optimize its work
- Streamline services and strive for timelier outcomes for Canadians
The annual report stressed the importance of domestic and international collaboration, including through Dufresne’s election as chair of the Global Privacy Assembly.
2025–26 statistics
In the last fiscal year, the OPC wrapped up hundreds of investigations, including a joint investigation with provincial counterparts into TikTok, which has since made efforts to improve its privacy practices in the best interests of children and other users.
In 2025–26, the OPC observed a substantial increase in the number of complaints received under the Privacy Act, 1985, and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, 2000 (PIPEDA).
In its news release, the OPC said it might be able to attribute the doubling of PIPEDA complaints to the rising awareness and ease of access to the OPC’s complaint process following the launch of AI-enhanced search engines in Canada.
Specifically, in the past fiscal year, the OPC saw:
- 3,044 PIPEDA complaints received, a 109 percent increase compared with 2024-2025
- 3,146 Privacy Act complaints received, a 62 percent rise over 2024–25
- a 121 percent increase in time limit complaints under the Privacy Act, relating to federal government institutions that have failed to respond to personal information requests within the statutory timelines
- a 105 percent rise in complaints regarding Privacy Act Extension Order, No.3, which permits foreign nationals and other individuals outside Canada to request information that Canadian federal government institutions hold regarding them
- 975 Privacy Act complaints closed through early resolution
- 302 PIPEDA complaints closed via early resolution
In 2025–26, the OPC received around 450 breach reports from federal government institutions, impacting over 48,000 Canadians, and nearly 700 breach reports from businesses, affecting more than 20 million Canadians.