NordVPN Threatens Canada Exit Over Bill C-22

NordVPN said it could pull out of Canada after the federal government tabled bill c-22, the lawful access legislation now drawing privacy pushback. For Canadians who rely on a VPN for everyday browsing, that creates a direct question about which services may stay available if the bill moves forward.

Gary Anandasangaree and Bill C-22

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the federal government's newly tabled “lawful access” legislation is not intended to spy on Canadians. That line is doing a lot of work here, because the dispute is not over whether the bill exists, but over what obligations it could place on privacy tools and the companies that run them.

NordVPN is the named provider making the sharpest move so far. Its warning is not about a hypothetical policy debate in the abstract. It is about whether a major VPN service would keep operating in Canada at all if the legislation lands in its current form.

NordVPN in Canada

The provider's statement raises the operational stakes for users who chose a VPN specifically to keep traffic away from routine observation. If NordVPN leaves, those customers would have to switch services or give up that layer of privacy protection inside Canada.

The friction point is that the bill is being sold as something other than surveillance, while one of the best-known VPN brands is treating it as a reason to consider exit. That gap between ministerial intent and provider response is where the story now sits.

Privacy users and providers

The immediate practical issue is not a legal definition. It is availability. If other VPN providers read the bill the same way, Canadians could see a narrower market for privacy-focused tools before the law even settles into place.

For now, the unresolved issue is whether the lawful access bill will be changed in a way that keeps providers like NordVPN in the country, or whether the company follows through on its warning.