Privacy Awareness Week
Privacy Awareness Week is a global effort held in May, coordinated by members of the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities (APPA), to promote awareness of privacy issues and the importance of the protection of personal information.
Privacy Awareness Week 2025
This year’s OPC theme is Prioritize Privacy, and the Canadian awareness campaign is running from May 5 to 9. Privacy is a priority for Canadians. In fact, 89% of Canadians are concerned about their privacy and trust in how their data is handled is becoming a deciding factor in how people interact with businesses, government, and technology. Canadians are taking steps to protect their fundamental right to privacy:
- 75% of Canadians are less willing to share their personal information than 5 years ago.
- 52% of Canadians have deleted or stopped using an account because of a privacy concern.
- 41% of Canadians have stopped doing business with a company that experienced a privacy breach.
Data privacy is important for Canadians:
- 91% of Canadians are concerned about their personal information being used to steal their identity.
- 88% of Canadians are concerned about their personal information being used to train AI systems.
- 87% of Canadians are concerned about privacy when using social media.
Video
In this video, Commissioner Dufresne speaks about why data protection is important and why prioritizing privacy is good for Canada.
Transcript
[Soft music is playing in the background.]
[Commissioner Dufresne sits behind a desk against an office backdrop that includes a Canada flag and speaks directly to the camera.]
Canadians value their privacy.
Today, more and more of our personal data is being collected, used, and shared – often across borders.
[A timelapse view of people and cars crossing a busy intersection in downtown Toronto, then image changes to an elderly lady sitting in her living room looking at her laptop with a worried expression.]
Data breaches are bigger than ever – exposing Canadians to serious potential harms, such as identity theft and fraud.
[Image rendering of a microchip equipped with data processors, with the image of a brain to represent artificial intelligence, followed by an image illustrating digital data entering a machine learning system.]
New technologies, like artificial intelligence, are fueled by the massive collection of data, including Canadians’ personal information.
[View of buses moving across the bridge on the Rideau Canal with the parliament buildings in the background, followed by an image showing financial numbers and statistics with a Canada flag in the background.]
Data also drives innovation.
This is why we need modern privacy laws to help Canadian companies to succeed in the digital economy.
[A diverse group of youths sitting on the grass are chatting and laughing, followed by a smiling grandmother in her home hugging her granddaughter.]
Strong data protection builds trust.
Strong data protection supports the well-being of Canadians.
[Aerial view of the Port of Vancouver with several moving shipping containers, followed by an image of a woman standing in front of several screens, looking at moving data on a transparent screen.]
Strong data protection fosters a resilient Canadian economy where businesses can innovate and thrive.
[A boy and a girl are using a computer in their classroom, and then in a park at sunset, a group of kids are playing basketball.]
Protecting privacy is paramount. What we do today will impact future generations.
[An elderly woman is ordering food on her smartphone, and then a smiling woman in her living room is using her laptop.]
Canada needs a modern approach to privacy, so that our citizens and businesses can benefit from the promise of a digital world – confident that their data is safe.
[Back to Commissioner Dufresne at his desk speaking directly to the camera.]
Prioritizing privacy protects Canadians.
Prioritizing privacy supports Canadian businesses.
Prioritizing privacy is good for Canada.
[The volume of the music in the background increases a bit and then stops while the signature of the Office of the Privacy Commission of Canada is shown.]
During Privacy Awareness Week, we invite you to share on social media why privacy matters to you and why everyone should prioritize privacy using the #PAW2025 hashtag.
You can also follow us on LinkedIn (Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada/Commissariat à la protection de la vie privée) and on X (@PrivacyPrivee).
Features — 2025 Campaign
Further Reading
For individuals
- 10 tips for protecting personal information
- Tips for creating and managing your passwords
- Identity theft
- Gaming and personal information: playing with privacy
- A Guide for Individuals: Protecting Your Privacy
- Businesses and your personal information
For businesses
- PIPEDA in brief
- PIPEDA fair information principles
- Privacy guide for businesses
- Privacy in the Workplace
- Assess if a privacy breach poses a real risk of significant harm to an individual
For federal institutions
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