Canadian elections: a defining moment to hold tech accountable for children’s rights
As Canadians head to the polls, the next Government has the unique opportunity to join international leaders and enact future-proof legislation that holds tech companies accountable and puts children’s rights and safety first.
As Canadians head to the polls next Monday, 28 April, the upcoming Government has a critical opportunity and responsibility to ensure the safety and rights of children in the digital world and align Canada with leading international standards.
The outgoing Parliament made meaningful progress. It introduced legislation on privacy, online safety, and AI that reflects a broad Canadian consensus: children are not negotiable, and tech companies must be held to account. Yet despite this progress, the legislation died on the Order Paper, leaving Canada without the legal frameworks necessary to deliver a safe digital world where children can thrive.
Despite this setback, this remains a mainstream issue among citizens, with 7 in 10 Canadians supporting stronger regulation of digital products and services. The incoming Government must seize this momentum and deliver systemic safeguards mandating the highest standards for children’s privacy and safety by default.
Canada now stands at a crossroads, with a unique opportunity to join international frontrunners by adopting a proactive and upstream approach that places the burden of safety on companies. In line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – ratified by Canada in 1991 – and its General comment No. 25, Canada must enact future-proof legislation that delivers safety and privacy by design.
Encouragingly, there is a growing recognition across party lines that children’s privacy, safety, and well-being must not be compromised by a digital ecosystem designed to prioritise profit and commercial exploitation. This has left children exposed in an environment never built with them in mind.
Speaking at the Privacy and Access Council of Canada’s Privacy & Data Governance Congress 2025, 5Rights Head of International Affairs Marie-Ève Nadeau, remarked:
“We are asking children in Canada to navigate a digital world that was never designed for them, and every day we delay, they pay the price. Without robust, enforceable legal frameworks, young people are exposed to invasive data collection, unchecked AI, and online exploitation. Canada has both the opportunity and the responsibility to lead and put children’s rights at the heart of the digital environment. ”
We are not alone in this call. Alongside more than 50 organisations from across health, education, civil society, philanthropy, academia, and tech policy, we are urging all parties to prioritise children’s online safety in their electoral platforms.
This is a pivotal moment; the next Government and Parliament must not let it pass. Instead, they must commit to ensuring that digital products and services are safe for children by design and holding tech companies accountable for the impact of the systems they create.