Canada

NIST bloc Standard-taker

Canada's transition is led by the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, which has published a roadmap for migrating Government of Canada non-classified IT systems to post-quantum cryptography, with the Treasury Board Secretariat issuing the matching policy implementation notice. The Cyber Centre's cryptographic algorithms standard now names the NIST-standardised post-quantum algorithms ML-KEM for key establishment and ML-DSA and SLH-DSA for digital signatures as the baseline for the migration, and its recommended procurement contract clauses require cryptographic modules to support post-quantum cryptography by the end of 2026. High-priority government systems are to be migrated by 2031 and the remainder by 2035. The Cyber Centre aligns with the NIST standardisation process, having reviewed the NIST candidate algorithms.

Governance credibility

Governance credibility scores for Canada, each out of two. Hover or focus a row to highlight its axis.
Criterion	Score	Confidence
Relevance	2.0 / 2	High
Coherence	2.0 / 2	High
Effectiveness	1.5 / 2	High
Efficiency	2.0 / 2	High
Governance	2.0 / 2	High
Impact	2.0 / 2	High

Regulatory basis

Treasury Board Security Policy Implementation Notice: Migrating the Government of Canada to Post-Quantum Cryptography (2025) national Binding (market access)
Canadian Centre for Cyber Security cryptographic algorithms standard ITSP.40.111 (Version 5, 2026) national Guidance
Canadian Centre for Cyber Security Recommended Contract Clauses for Cryptography ITSM.00.501 (2025) national Guidance
Canadian Centre for Cyber Security roadmap ITSM.40.001 and guidance ITSAP.00.017 national Guidance

Legal status: Binding

Federal departments only: the Treasury Board Security Policy Implementation Notice, effective 9 October 2025 under the Policy on Government Security and the Policy on Service and Digital, requires Government of Canada systems that use cryptography to migrate to post-quantum cryptography, with a high-level migration plan due by April 2026, high-priority systems migrated by the end of 2031 and all remaining systems by 2035. The Cyber Centre roadmap (ITSM.40.001) and quantum-threat guidance (ITSAP.00.017) set the recommended method and align to the NIST standards. There is no economy-wide mandate on private organisations.

Standards and algorithms

Standard families: NIST-standardised post-quantum cryptography algorithms (per Cyber Centre ITSP.40.111)
Algorithms: ML-KEM, ML-DSA, SLH-DSA

Hybrid stance

None stated

Migration timeline

today

2026

2031

2035

20252036

2026Cryptographic modules in new procurements to support post-quantum cryptography for key establishment and digital signatures (Cyber Centre contract clauses ITSM.00.501)
2031High-priority Government of Canada systems migrated to post-quantum cryptography
2035Remaining Government of Canada systems migrated to post-quantum cryptography

Target completion: 2035

Governmental and standards bodies

CCCS Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, publishes the migration roadmap (ITSM.40.001), the approved cryptographic algorithms standard (ITSP.40.111) naming ML-KEM, ML-DSA and SLH-DSA, the recommended cryptography contract clauses (ITSM.00.501) and quantum-threat guidance, and reviewed the NIST PQC candidates
TBS Treasury Board Secretariat, issues the policy implementation notice requiring migration of government systems
ISED Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, National Quantum Strategy roadmap and national quantum-readiness best practices
SSC Shared Services Canada, campaign material on quantum computing and cybersecurity
NRC National Research Council, Quantum Safe Technologies Initiative supporting testing and integration of post-quantum cryptography

Key institutional documents

Cryptographic algorithms for UNCLASSIFIED, PROTECTED A, and PROTECTED B information (ITSP.40.111) CCCS · 2026 · T1
Recommended Contract Clauses for Cryptography (ITSM.00.501) CCCS · 2025 · T1
Cryptography and quantum computing (technical advisory services) NRC · T4
Quantum Safe Technologies Initiative NRC · T4
Canadian National Quantum-Readiness: Best Practices ISED · 2024 · T2
National Quantum Strategy Roadmap: Quantum communication and post-quantum cryptography ISED · T1
Looking ahead: Quantum computing and cybersecurity SSC · T2
Migration to post-quantum cryptography for the Government of Canada (policy implementation notice) TBS · T1
GC Migration to Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) - Course CRY102S CCCS · T2
Cyber Centre's summary review of final candidates for NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography standards CCCS · T3
Preparing your organization for the quantum threat to cryptography (ITSAP.00.017) CCCS · T1
Roadmap for the migration to post-quantum cryptography for the Government of Canada (ITSM.40.001) CCCS · T1

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