Research

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) is mandated to conduct and publish research on a wide variety of privacy issues under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). Developing and disseminating knowledge gained through this research is a crucial feature of the OPC’s mission to promote and protect the privacy rights of individuals.

Our Office generates privacy research in a few ways. We conduct in-house research to build a strong foundation for advising Parliament, developing our policy positions, conducting investigations and promoting public awareness of privacy issues generally. From time to time, we also commission expert research on specific issues to supplement our in-house research.

In addition, our Contributions Program funds independent privacy research and related knowledge translation initiatives to cultivate expertise and knowledge on a broad spectrum of privacy issues. By funding privacy research that draws from and includes Canadian perspectives, we help generate information, insights, analysis, and in some instances, debate—all of which contribute to the protection and promotion of privacy.

All of the privacy research available on the OPC web site can be found in the Privacy Research Topic Index.

Information about specific research initiatives we undertake, and the outcomes that they have generated, can be found on the following web pages: