According to the Broadcasting Act, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

Telecommunication carriers, including internet service providers that own and operate transmission facilities, are subject to foreign investment restrictions if they hold a 10% or greater share of total Canadian communication annual market revenues, as mandated by the Telecommunications Act. According to Art. 16 of the Act, a Canadian carrier is eligible to operate as a telecommunications common carrier if it is incorporated, organised, or continued under Canadian or provincial laws and is Canadian-owned and controlled, operates only a specified transmission facility, or generates less than 10% of its annual revenue from telecommunications services in Canada. To qualify as Canadian-owned and controlled, Canadians must own at least 80% of the voting interests, and the entity must not be controlled by non-Canadians.

Canada requires that Canadian citizens comprise at least 80% of the membership of boards of directors of facilities-based telecommunication service suppliers.

The review of foreign investments in Canada is primarily governed by the Investment Canada Act (ICA), which outlines the procedures for three types of review: economic, cultural, and national security. Under the ICA, foreign investors are required to notify the Canadian government when acquiring a controlling interest in an existing Canadian business or when establishing a new one. Generally, control is defined as acquiring more than 50% of the equity or voting interests of an entity, though in some cases, acquiring more than one-third of the voting interests in a corporation is also considered an acquisition of control.
Investments exceeding these thresholds are typically evaluated on whether they provide a “net benefit” to Canada and must receive affirmative approval before proceeding. The thresholds for this assessment vary depending on whether the investor is a state-owned enterprise or a private entity and on whether Canada has a free trade agreement with the investor’s country, as it does with Israel, the United States, and the European Union. Importantly, the national security provisions of the ICA do not have monetary thresholds; any investment, regardless of its size, may be subject to a national security review.
Since March 2022, with respect to investments by direct or indirect Russian investors, the Minister of Industry (or the Minister of Canadian Heritage, as regards investments in Canada’s cultural sector) can find the acquisition of control of a Canadian business to be of net benefit to Canada on an exceptional basis only, under the Investment Canada Act. On the other hand, with respect to national security reviews, should it be determined that an investment, regardless of its value, has ties, direct or indirect, to an individual or entity associated with, controlled by or subject to influence by the Russian state, this would support a finding by the Minister that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the investment could be injurious to Canada’s national security as set out in Part IV.1 of the Investment Canada Act.

Canada is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Canada has a clear regime of copyright exceptions that follows fair dealing, which enables the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission. Art. 29 of the Copyright Act, as amended by the Copyright Modernization Act, establishes exceptions to copyright for news reporting, criticism, or comment. An intermediary is exempt from copyright infringement if the work is used for research, private study, education, parody, or satire.

There are reports that copyright is not adequately enforced online in Canada. The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) has criticised Canada for its lack of anti-piracy enforcement, mainly because it offers a home to many pirate sites. The IIPA also characterised Canada as a pro-piracy country in general because of the very high download pirated rates per capita. Moreover, the Canadian “notice and notice” system requires service providers to retain records on the identity of subscribers whose accounts have been used for unauthorised file sharing or other infringing behaviours; however, "receiving such notices lacks any meaningful consequences under the Canadian system."

Canada has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

Canada has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Canada is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996 and its 2015 expansion (ITA II).

In March 2014, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), pursuant to subsection 38.1 of the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA), imposed a definitive anti-dumping duty on liquid dielectric transformers having a top power handling capacity equal to or exceeding 60,000 kilovolt amperes (60 megavolt amperes), whether assembled or unassembled, complete or incomplete (HS Code: 850490), originating in or exported from the Republic of Korea. While these products are not directly used to manufacture ICT goods, they are relevant for digital trade as they are used in data centres and telecommunications facilities where servers and digital equipment are housed, playing an important role in ensuring a stable and secure power supply for digital equipment. This measure was reviewed and extended in May 2018. The anti-dumping duty rate on imports from South Korea is 101% of the export price. In February 2023, the Canadian authorities announced the initiation of a sunset review of the definitive duty imposed on imports of the subject goods from South Korea. Additionally, in July 2023, the Canada Border Services Agency concluded that the termination of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal's order from May 2018, during the expiry review RR-2017-002, would likely lead to the continuation or resumption of dumping of specific liquid dielectric transformers from the Republic of Korea. However, the final decision is still pending.

In December 2021, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), pursuant to subsection 38(1) of the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA), imposed a definitive anti-dumping duty on liquid dielectric transformers having a top power handling capacity equal to or greater than 3,000-kilovolt amperes (kVA) (3 megavolt amperes (MVA)), and less than 60,000-kilovolt amperes (kVA) (60 megavolt amperes (MVA)), and having a nominal high voltage rating of greater than 34.5 kilovolts (kV), whether assembled or unassembled, complete or incomplete (HS Code: 850490), originating in or exported from the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (Chinese Taipei), and the Republic of Korea. While these products are not directly used to manufacture ICT goods, they are relevant for digital trade as they are used in data centres and telecommunications facilities where servers and digital equipment are housed, playing an important role in ensuring a stable and secure power supply for digital equipment. The anti-dumping duty rate on imports from South Korea is 73.1% and the anti-dumping duty rate on imports from Taiwan is 21.3% of the export price.

In April 2013, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) initiated an investigation into China's dumping and countervailing measures for silicon metal. The investigation focused on silicon metal containing at least 96.% but less than 99.99% silicon by weight and silicon metal containing between 89% and 96% silicon by weight with an aluminium content greater than 0.20% by weight across all forms and sizes (HS Code: 28046990). This product is essential in the production of semiconductors, which are crucial components in various ICT devices due to silicon's ideal properties for creating integrated circuits used in computers, smartphones, and other electronics.
In October 2013, under subsection 41.1 of the Special Import Measures Act, the CBSA made final determinations of dumping and subsidising concerning the subject goods from China. For imports of subject goods from China without specific normal values issued to the exporter, the anti-dumping duty is 235% of the export price. For imports from China without specific subsidy amounts issued to the exporter, the countervailing duty is 1,945 CNY (approx. 267 USD) per metric tonne. Additionally, in March 2019, the CBSA concluded that the expiration of the finding by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal in November 2013 (Inquiry No. NQ-2013-003) would likely result in the continuation or resumption of dumping and subsidising of certain silicon metals from China. However, the final decision is still pending.