Status: Findings report published September 8, 2026
Participating CSA members: British Columbia Securities Commission, Alberta Securities Commission, Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan, Manitoba Securities Commission, Autorité des marchés financiers, Financial and Consumer Services Commission of New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia Securities Commission.
About this project
Data Portability in the investment market was the CSA Collaboratory’s first theme. It explored how data portability frameworks and electronic know-your-client (e-KYC) solutions may affect securities regulation, investor protection and market efficiency.
Data privacy laws in many international jurisdictions are evolving to give consumers and investors greater rights to control their own data. This includes new laws requiring businesses to, upon request by the individual, transfer them their personal data or send it to another organization, in a standard digital format that’s easy to use. This can be a one-time transfer or happen on an ongoing basis.
Although data portability laws have not yet been adopted in most provincial and territorial jurisdictions in Canada, this project helped CSA staff better understand how emerging technological and regulatory changes could affect how market participants comply with securities regulation, with a particular focus on the collection, analysis and transfer of client data using digital means (e-KYC).
What the project involved
The project had two phases:
- Phase 1 — Discussion paper and consultation. The CSA published a discussion paper and 23 consultation questions on data portability and e-KYC. The topics included potential regulatory barriers, privacy and consent issues, data standards, and the CSA’s potential regulatory role in or response to data portability solutions. The CSA received 21 comment letters before the consultation closed in May 2025.
- Phase 2 — Industry engagement. The CSA held thematic industry roundtables and forums, including sessions in Vancouver (May 2025) and Calgary (September 2025), followed by invitation-only roundtables and bilateral meetings in Québec in late 2025. Each session built on the insights of the ones before it to support a progressively deeper discussion of the opportunities and challenges related to e-KYC.
Outcome
The CSA Collaboratory values the perspectives of all stakeholders. The feedback they provided was carefully reviewed to inform whether to proceed with a Phase 3 live testing environment. Based on the feedback received, CSA staff have decided not to proceed with a live testing environment at this time.
Instead, the CSA will use the feedback gathered to inform its rulemaking, supervisory, and policy functions as the data portability landscape evolves. CSA staff expect to continue to monitor developments related to Data Portability. If warranted, CSA staff expect to engage further with market participants on this topic as the data portability ecosystem and related legislative structures evolve.
The feedback gathered through this project and key learnings are summarized in the Data Portability Findings Report, published September 8, 2026.