This page compiles verified regulatory resources on Canadian financial sanctions, trade sanctions, and export controls. Five governmental bodies are covered: Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), and Public Safety Canada. Resources were retrieved on May 25, 2026.
Global Affairs Canada (GAC)
Designated Persons Lists and Screening Tools
- Consolidated Canadian Autonomous Sanctions List — Searchable list of all individuals and entities designated under SEMA and JVCFOA, available in HTML, PDF, and XML; last updated March 25, 2026.
- Subscribe to the GAC sanctions email feed — Email alerts for new sanctions announcements and regulatory amendments.
Legislation and Regulations
- Canadian sanctions legislation — GAC overview of the statutes governing Canada’s sanctions regime, with links to each enabling Act.
- Special Economic Measures Act (SEMA) — Primary autonomous sanctions statute enabling country-wide and targeted designations on human rights, corruption, and peace-and-security grounds.
- Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (JVCFOA / Sergei Magnitsky Law) — Enables targeted sanctions against foreign nationals responsible for gross human rights violations or significant corruption.
- United Nations Act (UNA) — Implements UN Security Council sanctions resolutions into Canadian domestic law.
- Freezing Assets of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (FACFOA) — Enables asset freezes of politically exposed foreign persons at the request of a country undergoing political turmoil.
- Export and Import Permits Act (EIPA) — Governs export and import permit requirements; basis for the Export Control List, Import Control List, and Area Control List.
Sanctions Programs and Regimes
- Current sanctions imposed by Canada — Country-by-country index of all active Canadian sanctions regimes with links to the relevant regulations.
- Sanctions measures — Overview of the types of sanctions Canada imposes (asset freezes, dealings bans, trade restrictions, travel bans).
- Recent sanctions announcements — Filterable log of all Canadian sanctions announcements since 2022, including news releases, advisories, and backgrounders.
Trade Sanctions and Export Controls
- Export and Import Controls — GAC’s central hub for export and import control information, permit applications, controlled product categories, and notices to exporters and importers.
- A Guide to Canada’s Export Control List — Detailed guidance on the Export Control List (ECL); updated May 2025 with further amendments effective March 2026.
- Export and Brokering Controls Handbook — Practical handbook for exporters and brokers on permit requirements and ECL classification.
- Restricted Goods and Technologies List — Annex to the Special Economic Measures (Russia) and (Belarus) Regulations listing goods and technologies subject to heightened export restrictions; updated February 2025.
Compliance Guidance — General
- Information and guidance hub — Index of all GAC compliance guidance pages, including sector-specific guides and red flags.
- Essential information — Overview of sanctions legislation, permitted exceptions, due diligence obligations, and enforcement; the recommended starting point for compliance practitioners.
- Compliance program implementation — Guidance for organizations building internal sanctions compliance programs, including risk assessment and controls frameworks.
- Red flags — Non-exhaustive list of indicators for detecting suspicious transactions and potential sanctions evasion, organized by risk category.
Compliance Guidance — By Sector or Industry
- Financial sector guidance — Sanctions compliance guidance for banks, institutional investors, insurance companies, and other financial institutions; updated March 2026.
- Academic and research sector guidance — Sanctions compliance guidance for universities, research institutions, and knowledge-transfer activities; updated March 2026.
- Real estate sector guidance — Sanctions compliance guidance for real estate agents, brokers, and lawyers involved in property transactions; updated March 2026.
- Humanitarian sector guidance — Sanctions compliance guidance for NGOs and humanitarian organizations operating in or near sanctioned jurisdictions; updated March 2026.
- Aerospace and defence sector guidance — Sanctions compliance guidance for aerospace and defence manufacturers and exporters, including export control circumvention risk indicators; updated April 2026.
Licensing — Application Procedures and Forms
- Permits and certificates — How to apply for ministerial permits (SEMA/JVCFOA) and UN Act certificates authorizing otherwise-prohibited transactions; includes required documentation and processing notes.
- Listed persons — mistaken identity and delisting — Information on requesting particulars, certificates of mistaken identity, and formal delisting applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Canadian sanctions — Frequently asked questions — GAC’s official FAQ covering what is prohibited, how to apply for permits, and what to do if a transaction is blocked.
Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC)
Compliance Guidance — General
- Report suspected sanctions evasion — FINTRAC guidance explaining the obligation to file suspicious transaction reports for completed or attempted transactions suspected of being related to sanctions evasion; in force since August 19, 2024.
- Special Bulletin on financial activity associated with suspected sanctions evasion (FINTRAC-2024-SB002) — Typologies and red-flag indicators for detecting sanctions evasion through intermediary jurisdictions, trade-based methods, opaque corporate structures, proxies, and virtual currencies.
- Ministerial directives and transaction restrictions — Index of active Ministerial Directives requiring reporting entities to apply enhanced countermeasures to transactions connected to high-risk jurisdictions.
- Ministerial Directive — Russia — Countermeasures applicable to transactions from or going to Russia; updated March 22, 2025.
- Ministerial Directive — Islamic Republic of Iran — Countermeasures applicable to transactions from or going to Iran; updated November 17, 2025.
- Ministerial Directive — Democratic People’s Republic of Korea — Countermeasures applicable to transactions from or going to the DPRK; updated March 22, 2025.
Advisories
- Joint advisory on the illegal procurement of dual-use goods by Russian end-users — Guidance for reporting entities on recognizing financial transactions associated with the export of dual-use goods to Russia in contravention of Canadian sanctions and export controls; issued February 2024.
Legislation and Regulations
- FINTRAC’s Act and regulations — Links to the full text of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA) and its associated regulations.
Enforcement Actions and Penalties
- Enforcement actions taken — Published record of administrative monetary penalties imposed by FINTRAC for non-compliance with the PCMLTFA.
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)
Compliance Guidance — General
- Memorandum D19-11-1 — Canadian Economic Sanctions — CBSA operational guidelines on how import and export sanctions prohibitions are administered and enforced at the border, including detention, referral, and penalty procedures; revised March 3, 2022.
Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI)
Compliance Guidance — By Sector or Industry
- Reporting on AML, ATF, and sanctions — OSFI guidance on the monthly reporting obligations of federally regulated financial institutions (FRFIs) under the JVCFOA Regulations and the Criminal Code Regulations Establishing a List of Entities; includes instructions for OSFI forms OSFI-525 and OSFI-590.
- How OSFI and FINTRAC work together — Explains the complementary supervisory roles of OSFI and FINTRAC with respect to FRFIs and PCMLTFA compliance.
Public Safety Canada
Designated Persons Lists and Screening Tools
- Listed Terrorist Entities — Overview of Canada’s Criminal Code listing process, consequences of listing, and links to the full current list and process descriptions.
- Currently listed entities — Full list of organizations designated as terrorist entities under the Criminal Code, with entity descriptions, aliases, and listing dates; last updated December 8, 2025.
Retrieved: May 25, 2026