Acts and regulations

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada helps make Canadian industry more productive and competitive in the global economy, thus improving the economic and social well-being of Canadians by working with Canadians throughout the economy, and in all parts of the country, to improve conditions for investment, improve Canada's innovation performance, increase Canada's share of global trade and build an efficient and competitive marketplace.

This includes managing Canada's airwaves and overseeing its bankruptcy, incorporation, intellectual property and measurement systems; providing financing and industry research tools to help businesses develop, import and export; encouraging scientific research; and protecting and promoting the interests of Canadian consumers.

What are we doing?

As a department, ISED is responsible for administering acts and regulations, and for implementing government-wide regulatory initiatives.

ISED is responsible for administering certain federal acts and regulations.

Access these federal acts and regulations at the following links:

Planned or anticipated changes to regulations

ISED publishes a public list, with descriptions, of planned or anticipated federal regulatory changes that ISED intends to bring forward over a 24-month period, known as the Forward Regulatory Plan.

View ISED’s Forward Regulatory Plan.

Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada participated in the Targeted Regulatory Reviews focused on the digitalization and technology-neutral regulations, clean technology and international standards to identify and address regulatory barriers to economic growth and innovation.

Timeliness service standards and performance information

ISED publishes timeliness service standards and performance information for its services, including services for regulated parties to obtain regulatory authorization such as a permit or licence to engage in a regulated activity.

View timeliness service standards and performance information at the page on Service Standards for High-Volume Regulatory Authorizations.

How guidance on regulatory requirements is provided (Policy on Providing Guidance on Regulatory Requirements)

ISED’s Policy on Providing Guidance on Regulatory Requirements:

  • outlines the commitments, practices and tools that ISED applies when providing Canadians and businesses with information and guidance on regulatory obligations to be met
  • identifies the conditions under which written responses to questions will be provided

View the ISED’s Policy on Providing Guidance on Regulatory Requirements.

Number of administrative burden requirements in regulations (Administrative Burden Baseline initiative)

The Administrative Burden Baseline initiative requires departments and agencies to:

  • establish a baseline count of federal regulatory requirements that impose administrative burden on business
  • annually update and report publicly on the count of baseline requirements

For more information

View the number of administrative burden requirements in regulations administered by ISED.
All of the Government of Canada’s acts and regulations can be found on the Justice Laws website.

Consult the following for links to the Cabinet Directive on Regulation and supporting policies and guidance, and for information on government-wide regulatory initiatives implemented by departments and agencies across the Government of Canada:

To learn about upcoming or ongoing consultations on proposed federal regulations, visit: