Canada Investigators

Our investigators in Canada are chosen for their experience navigating each province’s own licensing rules, from Ontario’s Private Security and Investigative Services Act to Quebec’s Bureau de la sécurité privée, so your case is always handled by someone qualified to work in the province where it takes place. We understand that choosing the right team to help you tackle your problems can be difficult, and we hope you take advantage of our free consultation. We are always standing by 24/7 to examine your case, and answer any questions you may have.

If you are wondering whether Canadian investigators are licensed, whether it is legal to record a conversation, or how your personal data will be protected during an investigation in Canada, here is what the law actually says.

Private investigation is a licensed profession in every Canadian province and territory except the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Ontario licenses investigators under the Private Security and Investigative Services Act, Quebec requires a permit from the Bureau de la sécurité privée under its own Private Security Act, British Columbia licenses investigators under the Security Services Act, and Alberta licenses investigators under its own provincial framework. Requirements and the regulator differ by province, so an investigation that crosses provincial lines is scoped around each province’s own rules.

Recording conversations is governed by Section 184 of the Criminal Code, a federal law that applies uniformly across all provinces. A participant in a conversation may lawfully record it themselves, with no notification required. Intercepting a private communication you are not part of is a separate indictable offence, punishable by up to five years in prison.

Canada’s federal private sector privacy law, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), remains fully in force. A proposed replacement, the Consumer Privacy Protection Act, died when Parliament was prorogued in January 2025 and has not been reintroduced. This is the legal framework local investigators work within when gathering and handling evidence in Canada.

Divorce in Canada is granted under the federal Divorce Act on the sole ground of marriage breakdown, which more than 94 percent of couples establish through one year of separation rather than proving adultery or cruelty. Even when adultery is used as grounds, Canadian courts decide parenting time and decision-making responsibility, the terms that replaced custody and access in 2021, based solely on the best interests of the child, and generally cannot consider a parent’s past conduct unless it directly affects their parenting.

Background check evidence in Canada typically combines the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), the RCMP managed national criminal record repository, with Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada, the country’s two major credit bureaus.

With years of experience and a network of investigators across Canada, Privin is able to help build a case around evidence that actually holds up. Below is a list of our most commonly requested services in Canada, but we are also able to handle more niche situations. Schedule a consultation with one of our agents today to get started on your personal action plan.