The push toward digital identification systems in Canada raises urgent questions about our privacy, civil liberties, and the future of individual freedom. While the Prime Minister has claimed that there are “no current plans” to implement a nationwide digital ID, this reassurance masks a troubling reality. Behind closed doors, federal and provincial governments are developing digital ID initiatives that will fundamentally alter how Canadians interact with government and private institutions.
This approach is presented as a matter of convenience and security, but it carries serious risks. When governments establish centralized digital identities, they create a powerful surveillance tool that can easily be exploited to monitor citizens’ movements, habits, and associations. Past incidents—such as the 2022 Ottawa convoy protests—demonstrate how government overreach can suppress dissent. Had digital IDs been in place, authorities could have instantly identified everyone involved, making it easier to target and silence opposition. Consider this: if you took the time to go to Ottawa during that protest, to understand what was going on you could have been classified as a problem and had your bank accounts frozen just for observing. Such is the power under development right now in the halls of government bureaucracy.
It does not stop there. We are soon to have the integration of digital IDs with digital currencies which will amplify the potential for government overreach that will make the Trudeau government’s imposition of the Emergencies Act mere child’s play in comparison.
Imagine a system where individuals’ ability to buy or sell depends on their compliance with government directives—not on law but on control. This is not science fiction. Many countries, including the United Kingdom, are already moving toward similar systems, citing concerns over illegal immigration and border security. These initiatives are accompanied by widespread opposition, rooted in a deep understanding of how such systems can threaten privacy and civil liberties.
In the Canadian context, provincial programs are already emerging, with several jurisdictions implementing or piloting digital ID projects. The push for a federal digital ID is underway, promising improved service efficiency and security. It opens the door to a new era of data collection, where every transaction, movement, and interaction will be tracked and stored. This broad data collection increases the risk of misuse, breaches, and governmental abuse. No system will be fool proof you can guarantee that there will be professional hackers who will gain access to our most private of information and our whereabouts in real time. Those with nefarious intentions will be able to do us personal harm at will.
Few would argue that a secure and efficient digital system is inherently wrong. However, the crucial question remains: at what cost to our freedoms? History teaches us that once government agencies gain the power to centrally store and access personal data, reversing that power becomes exceedingly difficult. Indeed, like an alcoholic, the binging of government actors on such power will only increase not decrease. The only way to balance security and privacy will be to stop government from getting this power at the outset. All attempts to establish “strict safeguards, transparency, and public oversight” will be dust in the wind. Governments rarely give back power once obtained.
The principles of democracy demand that citizens remain vigilant about how new technologies are deployed. At a bare minimum, very bare minimum we must demand clear, binding protections for personal privacy, transparency about data use, and the option to opt out of intrusive systems. Any move toward mandatory digital ID must be met with outright skepticism. Experience from other nations shows that once such systems are normalized, they will expand beyond their initial scope, increasingly encroaching on personal freedoms.
I no longer have any faith in our courts to protect us from government abuse in this arena. Remember it was the Supreme Court of Canada who told us not to worry about the expansion of euthanasia in Canada a mere 10 years ago when it handed down its disastrous Carter decision authorizing physician assisted killing. Now Canada has the most extensive and fastest growing euthanasia program in the world. The courts, instead of limiting the killing by physicians have expanded it. Disability groups are screaming that this stop. However, it continues unabated.
The only way the abuse of power is stopped is if we, the people, stand up and tell our government and bureaucratic overlords – “Stop!” Otherwise, the grab for power will only increase.
The foundational principles of our society—free speech, freedom of religion and the inviolability of the person as contained in our privacy, and the freedom to dissent—are at stake. The threat posed by digital ID systems is not hypothetical; it is a real concern grounded in our recent experience in 2022 of government overreach and the erosion of civil liberties. Let’s not be fooled, technological advancements, such as the internet lead to increased state control. Consider for example the numerous people jailed in the U.K. for an ill-timed rant on a controversial social policy.
Protecting our freedoms requires active engagement. Citizens must demand accountability and push for policies that prioritize privacy and liberty. We must demand governments be transparent about what they are working on. There must be meaningful oversight when they conspire for more control.
If we value our freedom, it is up to us to uphold these principles.
Technological progress must serve our individual freedoms, not undermine them.
Canadians we have a duty to hold government accountable in protecting our civil liberties, not weaken them. We must question any proposal that threatens to turn us into a fiefdom. Complacency will be our doom. New technology must serve the public good and uphold our first freedoms that define our nation.
