The Reporter provides a monthly summary of Canadian federal legislative and regulatory developments of relevance to federally regulated financial institutions. It does not address Canadian provincial financial services legislative and regulatory developments. In addition, purely technical and administrative changes (such as changes to reporting forms) are not covered.
March 2026
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Published |
Title and Brief Summary |
Status (if applicable) |
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Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) |
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March 30, 2026 |
Notice of Changes to Minimum Base Assessments OSFI has issued a letter to all federally-regulated financial institutions that lays out adjusted minimum base assessments applicable to federally regulated financial institutions for the 2026/27 fiscal year (April 1, 2026 – March 31, 2027), pursuant to section 3(2) of the Assessment of Financial Institutions Regulations, 2017. |
Covers the 2026/27 fiscal year (starting April 1, 2026). |
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March 23, 2026 |
FIFAI II: AI Risks and Opportunities: Adopting an AGILE Framework in Canadian Financial Services Between May and November 2025, four workshops sponsored by Global Risk Institute (GRI) with a combination of OSFI, Finance Canada, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), and the Bank of Canada across them, examined AI risks, mitigants, and opportunities. Interim reports covered:
This FIFAI II final report outlines the AI risks and opportunities raised at forum workshops and introduces the AGILE framework for financial-industry stakeholders to navigate the evolving impacts of AI. It reflects views and insights from individual FIFAI speakers and participants. |
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March 20, 2026 |
2026 Memorandum - Earthquake Exposure Data OSFI has issued a letter to Property and Casualty Companies reminding them that they must file the Earthquake Data Form for the reporting year 2026 by May 31, 2026. OSFI has also requested that insurers submit, on a voluntary basis, additional data as a supplemental filing to support their exploratory analysis of catastrophe risk. |
Form is due May 31, 2026. |
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March 19, 2026 |
2026 Mortgage Insurer Capital Adequacy Test - Filing Instructions All federally regulated mortgage insurance companies are required to complete a uniform Mortgage Insurer Capital Adequacy Test (MICAT) return each quarter. The MICAT return is designed to enable regulators to monitor the financial condition and operating results of mortgage insurers, as well as certain compliance requirements. OSFI has issued filing instructions for the Mortgage Insurer Capital Adequacy Test and is also soliciting feedback on the MICAT return and instructions. |
No deadline provided for feedback. |
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Bank of Canada |
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March 27, 2026 |
Expanded Responsibilities for the Bank In an email bulletin to stakeholders, the Bank of Canada notes that, with Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1 (Bill C-15) having received Royal Assent, its responsibilities are being expanded to include digital finance and payments, and that it will assume two new mandates: supervision of stablecoin issuers and oversight of the framework for consumer-driven banking. It states that it will work closely with the Department of Finance Canada as it develops and implements these regimes. Its work in the coming months will include:
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March 3, 2026 |
Retail Payments Supervision: Annual Reporting Deadline – March 31 In an email bulletin to stakeholders, the Bank of Canada issued a reminder to registered Payment Service Providers (PSPs) to submit their annual report. The bulletin also notes that the Bank has updated its wording in registration notices to reinforce expectations about how PSPs may communicate their registration status to the public. |
Deadline for submitting annual reports was March 31, 2026. |
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Finance Canada |
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March 30, 2026 |
Consultation – National Anti-Fraud Strategy This consultation seeks feedback on proposed measures for a National Anti-Fraud Strategy designed to enhance anti-fraud efforts across Canada's financial and telecommunications sectors, as well as digital platforms. |
Comments were due by April 28, 2026. |
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Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) |
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March 2, 2026 |
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada has issued a Guideline on Disclosure in Sales and Business Practices: Code of Conduct for the Payment Card Industry in Canada. This states its expectations with respect to the obligations of Payment Card Network Operators (PCNOs) and their Acquirers and Downstream Participants to disclose information in accordance with Policy Element 1 of the Code of Conduct for the Payment Card Industry in Canada (the Code). The Code was introduced in 2010 and revised in 2024; it requires PCNOs adopting the Code to abide by its requirements and require compliance by their participants; and incorporate the Code, in its entirety, into the contracts they use with their participants or into their governing rules and regulation. They are expected to read this Guideline together with the Code and all applicable legislation, regulations, and FCAC guidance. |
Effective March 2, 2026. |
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Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) |
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March 2, 2026 |
This document, issued following the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary meeting in February 2026, advises reporting entities of concerns about deficiencies in the anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist activity financing systems of certain countries. |
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Bank for International Settlements (BIS) |
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March 24, 2026 |
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision: Basel III Monitoring Report To assess the impact of the Basel III framework on banks, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision monitors the effects and dynamics of the reforms. As such, a semiannual monitoring framework has been set up for the risk-based capital ratio, the leverage ratio and liquidity metrics, using data collected by national supervisors on a representative sample of institutions in each country. The Committee has issued its latest Basel III Monitoring Report, a quantitative impact study setting out the impact of the Basel III framework, as of June 2025. Highlights of the monitoring exercise include:
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March 23, 2026 |
The Basel Committee has issued a final technical amendment to the Basel Framework. The amendment had been published for consultation in June 2025; it has been finalized with some adjustments. The technical amendment is related to the standardized approach to operational risk, and it is meant to clarify the treatment of “rental income from investment properties” under the business indicator (BI), which is used as a key input in calculating operational risk capital requirements. This document also adds an FAQ to the Basel Framework, and amends related FAQs, which are shown in marked-up versions. |
Basel Committee has committed to implement final revised standard by April 1, 2029. |
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Financial Action Task Force (FATF) |
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March 3, 2026 |
Targeted Report on Stablecoins and Unhosted Wallets - Peer-to-Peer Transactions FATF has issued Targeted Report on Stablecoins and Unhosted Wallets, which highlights that stablecoins have expanded rapidly, with over 250 in circulation by mid-2025 and a market capitalization exceeding US$300 billion. The report highlights illicit finance risks linked to criminals' misuse of stablecoins, particularly through peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions via unhosted wallets, and sets out recommended actions for countries and the private sector to strengthen controls to protect the integrity of the financial system. |
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Financial Stability Board (FSB) |
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March 12, 2026 |
At its FSB Cross-border Payments Summit, FSB announced a new phase of its work to implement the G20 Roadmap to enhance cross-border payments. This next phase will focus on two aspects of the Roadmap:
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International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) |
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March 31, 2026 |
IAIS Concludes Multi-Year Cycle of Holistic Framework Implementation Assessments IAIS reports that it has completed a cycle of assessing implementation of the supervisory material of the Holistic Framework for systemic risk in the insurance sector. In connection with this milestone, it has issued two publications:
These two reports are intended to provide a full picture of the global insurance sector’s progress in systemic risk mitigation, particularly in macroprudential supervision and international crisis management, while identifying areas for improvement, including resolution and liquidity risk disclosure. |
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Legislation |
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March 26, 2026 |
Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1, SC 2026, c. 3 (Bill C-15) Bill C-15 received Royal Assent on March 26, 2026. Among its provisions to implement the 2025 Federal Budget, the following measures of Bill C-15 affect federally regulated financial institutions. Division 9 of Part 5 repeals the Consumer-Driven Banking Act and enacts a new Consumer-Driven Banking Act to ensure that individuals and businesses can safely and securely share their data with the participating entities of their choice. That Act addresses, among other things, accreditation, national security, data sharing, security safeguards, consent, authentication, liability, complaints, administration and enforcement and screen scraping. The Division also makes related amendments to the Access to Information Act, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act and the Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1. Division 10 of Part 5 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act, the Bank Act and the Insurance Companies Act to extend the period during which federal financial institutions governed by those Acts may carry on business. Division 11 of Part 5 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act, the Bank Act and the Insurance Companies Act to, among other things, modernize prudential limits by repealing certain provisions that impose limits on federally regulated financial institutions with respect to debt obligations and borrowing, consumer and commercial loans and investments in real property and equity. Division 12 of Part 5 amends the Bank Act, the Trust and Loan Companies Act and the Insurance Companies Act to allow for the electronic delivery of certain documents to shareholders, members and policyholders without their consent, while ensuring that they receive paper copies if they request them. Division 13 of Part 5 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act, the Bank Act and the Insurance Companies Act to increase the equity threshold related to the public holding requirement from $2 billion to $4 billion and to make changes to other provisions that include that threshold. Division 14 of Part 5 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act, the Bank Act, the Insurance Companies Act and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Act to, among other things, (a) clarify the powers of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions in respect of the adherence by federally regulated financial institutions to their policies and procedures to protect themselves against threats to their integrity or security; (b) provide the Superintendent of Financial Institutions with powers to issue directions of compliance in respect of unsafe or unsound practices in the conduct of the affairs of those financial institutions; and (c) provide that the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is not prevented from disclosing information to any federal government agency or body for purposes related to the Superintendent’s regulation or supervision of financial institutions. Division 15 of Part 5 amends the Bank Act to raise the amount of funds that can be withdrawn immediately from a retail deposit account after the deposit of a cheque or other instrument and to remove the delay for the withdrawal of funds deposited by a cheque or other instrument that is not deposited in person. Division 16 of Part 5 amends the Bank Act to, among other things, (a) prohibit the activation of certain capabilities for a personal deposit account in Canada without the express consent of the natural person in whose name the account is kept; (b) permit a natural person in whose name such an account is kept to deactivate certain account capabilities; (c) permit a natural person in whose name such an account is kept to adjust certain transaction limits on the account; (d) require institutions to establish policies and procedures for detecting and preventing consumer-targeted fraud and mitigating its impacts; and (e) require institutions and the Commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada to prepare annual reports on consumer-targeted fraud. Division 17 of Part 5 amends the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act, the Bank Act and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act to support the growth of federal credit unions, including by way of amalgamation or asset acquisition and by permitting them to engage in motor vehicle leasing in certain circumstances. Division 18 of Part 5 makes amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act consequential to amendments to the Special Economic Measures Act. Division 37 of Part 5 amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to (a) clarify that all regulations made under that Act are to be made on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance; (b) clarify that paragraph 36(3.01)(b) of that Act applies to donations that are not charitable donations; and (c) prohibit the disclosure of reports, or the information contained in them, related to discrepancies in information discovered in the course of verifying the identity of persons having beneficial ownership or control of an entity. It also amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Regulations to (a) clarify that paragraph 138(5)(b) of those Regulations applies to donations that are not charitable donations; and (b) clarify the application of those Regulations to mortgage administrators, mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders. Division 45 of Part 5 enacts the Stablecoin Act, which imposes duties on persons that create stablecoins and make them available for purchase, directly or indirectly, by persons in Canada. That Act sets out the objects of the Bank of Canada in respect of stablecoin and requires the Bank to maintain a public registry of stablecoin issuers. That Act also addresses, among other things, the redemption of stablecoins by issuers, the reserve of assets that issuers must maintain to fulfill their redemption obligations and the policies that they must establish. The Division also makes consequential and related amendments to the Access to Information Act, the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and the Retail Payment Activities Act. |
Royal Assent March 26, 2026 |
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March 26, 2026 |
Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, SC 2026, c. 4 (Bill C-12) Bill C-12 received Royal Assent on March 26, 2026. Bill C-12 enacts provisions put forward by Bill C-2, Strong Borders Act that are aimed at combating transnational organized crime, money laundering and the immigration system. Bill C-12 would amend several Acts and regulations impacting financial institutions. Part 9 amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to, among other things, (a) Increase the maximum administrative monetary penalties that may be imposed for certain violations and the maximum punishments that may be imposed for certain criminal offences under that Act; (b) Replace the existing optional compliance agreement regime with a new mandatory compliance agreement regime that, among other things, (i) Requires every person or entity that receives an administrative monetary penalty for a prescribed violation to enter into a compliance agreement with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (the Centre), (ii) Requires the Director of the Centre to make a compliance order if the person or entity refuses to enter into a compliance agreement or fails to comply with such an agreement, and (iii) Designates the contravention of a compliance order as a new violation under that Act; (c) Require persons or entities referred to in section 5 of that Act, other than those already required to register, to enroll with the Centre; and (d) Authorize the Centre to disclose certain information to the Commissioner of Canada Elections, subject to certain conditions. Part 9 also makes consequential and related amendments to the Retail Payment Activities Act and the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations and includes transitional provisions. Part 10 amends the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Act to make the Director of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada a member of the committee established under subsection 18(1) of that Act. It also amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to enable the Director to exchange information with the other members of that committee. |
Royal Assent March 26, 2026 |
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March 26, 2026 |
Bill C-8 establishes a regulatory framework to protect systems and services essential to public safety or national security. Part 1 amends the Telecommunications Act to add the promotion of the security of the Canadian telecommunications system as an objective of the Canadian telecommunications policy and to authorize the Governor in Council and the Minister of Industry to direct telecommunications service providers to do anything, or refrain from doing anything, that is necessary to secure the Canadian telecommunications system. Part 2 enacts the Critical Cyber Systems Protection Act (CCSPA) to provide a framework for the protection of the critical cyber systems of services and systems that are vital to national security or public safety and that are delivered or operated as part of a work, undertaking or business that is within the legislative authority of Parliament. The CCSPA imposes onerous cyber security obligations on “designated operators” of federally regulated critical cyber systems. These operators carry out vital services or systems (that is, infrastructure essential to preserving national security and public safety). These obligations include, among others:
The CCSPA delegates broad, sector-specific powers to the appropriate regulators, including banking systems overseen by OSFI and the clearing and settlement systems overseen by the Bank of Canada. The CCPSA will allow the regulators to, inter alia, enter any place (subject to limitations) to examine records and data, order internal audits, and issue compliance orders. The CCPSA also introduces significant administrative monetary penalties for violations. While the proposed regime is designed to promote compliance, fines could amount to $15 million per violation, per day, for organizations, and $1 million per violation, per day, for individuals. Moreover, directors and officers of designated operators could be held personally liable if they were complicit in committing a violation. |
Passed by the House of Commons March 26, 2026; Senate First Reading March 26, 2026 |
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March 26, 2026 |
Bill C-13 implements the Protocol on the Accession of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, done July 16, 2023. It includes consequential amendments to the definition of “regulated foreign entity” in sections 2 of the Bank Act, Insurance Companies Act and Trust and Loan Companies Act respectively. |
Senate Second Reading March 26, 2026. |
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Disclaimer
This Reporter is prepared as a service for our clients. It is not intended to be a complete statement of the law or an opinion on any subject. Although we endeavour to ensure its accuracy, no one should act upon it without a thorough examination of the law after the facts of a specific situation are considered.
