Canada’s federal government is quietly moving forward with a national digital ID system, slipping the plan into the depths of its 2025 budget where almost no one would notice.
On page 490 of the massive document, the Liberal Party government proposes to “modernize legislative authorities to support information sharing and digital services” within the Department of Employment and Social Development.
However, the bland language masks a sweeping shift toward centralized digital identification.
The plan begins with a seemingly limited pilot: digital IDs for people applying for Employment Insurance and Old Age Security.
But the budget makes clear the ultimate goal is a fully integrated identity system linking multiple benefit programs under a single government-controlled profile.
“This modernization would benefit all Canadians,” the budget claims.
It continues by promising “efficient and convenient government services” and supposedly helping “seniors, newcomers, persons with disabilities, and rural residents.”
But critics note the pattern and warn that governments always pitch digital ID as “convenience,” only for it to expand into a universal surveillance and control tool once the infrastructure is built.
A Slow Creep Toward a Unified, Centralized ID
The federal bureaucracy has floated digital ID schemes before, only to retreat when public backlash erupted over privacy fears.
This time, the rollout is quieter. Narrower.
It’s framed as “modernizing benefits delivery” instead of erecting a national ID regime.
But behind the scenes, the architecture is already taking shape.
In 2024, Employment and Social Development Canada hired private consultants to explore merging its fragmented benefit systems.
Their conclusion was to mandate integration through a single digital identity, serving as a master key granting access to multiple programs, eliminating paperwork, and centralizing personal data in one place.
The department says the goal is “more integrated and efficient services across government.”
In practice, it means creating the largest single repository of citizens’ most sensitive data.
Massive Privacy Risks, Minimal Transparency
Digital identity systems consolidate everything, such as banking details, biometric data, health records, and government history, into a single target.
One breach exposes everything, and the centralized gatekeepers have control over all of it.
Canada’s own privacy commissioner warned in 2024 that public trust in data protection is collapsing, citing “limited trust” and deep concern about how institutions handle personal information.
The report also highlighted the rise of “state-sanctioned” data breaches, a stark reminder that foreign actors, and even governments themselves, see digital ID as a goldmine.
Yet the government insists participation will remain voluntary and that traditional services, whether they’re in-person, mail, or phone, will continue.
But history shows “voluntary” digital systems eventually become impossible to opt out of as analog options are phased out.
Even the budget admits major obstacles: “Digital literacy gaps among seniors,” “connectivity issues,” and “language barriers” for newcomers.
But these warnings haven’t slowed the rollout.
A Global Push Toward Government-Backed Digital Identity
Canada is not alone.
The move comes as governments worldwide are steering citizens toward centralized identification:
• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has revived Britain’s digital ID plans.
• Australia’s 2024 Digital ID Bill advances a nationwide identity system.
• The EU’s Digital Identity Wallet aims to link credentials across borders.
Each initiative is framed as modernization.
Each expands state access to personal information.
And each follows an eerily similar script: convenience first, surveillance potential later.
A Major Shift Hidden In Plain Sight
Whether Canada’s proposal becomes the foundation of a national digital ID will depend on how far the government pushes “information sharing” and “integration.”
For now, the changes are buried quietly in the budget, but the direction is unmistakable.
A slow, steady transformation is underway, redefining how Canadians interact with their government, how their identities are authenticated, and how much control the state has over access to everyday services.
And once a digital ID system is built, history shows it rarely stops at “convenience.”
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