Ontario is cutting ties with Chinese-made drones, announcing sweeping restrictions on their purchase and use across provincial government agencies and police services amid mounting concerns over data security and foreign surveillance risk.
The province confirmed on May 20 that it will immediately ban Chinese drones from sensitive Ontario Provincial Police operations, while a broader phase-out across all government departments gets underway. Chinese-made drones will be replaced with Canadian alternatives a move the Ford government is framing as both a national security imperative and an economic opportunity.
“Police services across Ontario rely on drones to support critical operations and protect public safety, but we cannot ignore growing security and privacy concerns tied to foreign-made technology,” said Solicitor General Michael Kerzner.
At the heart of the decision is a legal reality that Ontario officials say they can no longer overlook: Chinese national security laws compel companies regardless of where their data is stored to hand information over to Beijing upon request. For a province that uses drones in law enforcement, wildfire monitoring, emergency response, bridge inspections, and environmental surveillance, that’s a risk officials argue is simply too great to accept.
Ontario Energy Minister Stephen Lecce put it bluntly: “The era of blindly outsourcing critical technology to China is over.”
Ontario isn’t acting in isolation. The province said its decision mirrors steps already taken by the Canadian Armed Forces, the RCMP, and the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, all of which have moved to limit or scrutinize their reliance on Chinese drone technology.
The RCMP’s own drone fleet has drawn fire in recent months, with Senate scrutiny revealing that roughly 79 percent of its drones are Chinese-made. The agency has maintained those aircraft are confined to non-sensitive operations a distinction that critics have found unconvincing.
The phase-out isn’t just about cutting out Chinese suppliers it’s also about building up domestic ones. The province plans to hold consultations with Canadian drone manufacturers and industry stakeholders in the coming weeks, with procurement expected to fall under the Buy Ontario Act, which received royal assent in December 2025.
Officials were careful to stress that the transition will be managed to avoid disrupting frontline services, acknowledging that drones have become essential tools for day-to-day public safety and government operations.
The restrictions are expected to form part of a broader legislative package the Ford government intends to introduce in the coming days, targeting community safety enforcement and protections for vulnerable people and victims.
