Ontario’s Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement announced on 23 October 2026 that it is “beginning a phased introduction of digital provincial credentials”.

What was announced

  • Consultations start in late 2026 with ministries, stakeholders and the public, including on possible cost savings.
  • After that, the government “intends to introduce” a digital Ontario Photo Card, the government photo ID for residents without a driver’s licence.
  • Photo Card testing is meant to support optional digital driver’s licences and health cards “at a later date”. No date is given.
  • The province “intends to introduce legislation in late 2027 that would protect Ontarians’ right to obtain and use only physical identification”. Digital credentials would be optional.
  • Credentials would be stored on mobile devices and used online or in person. The release says the approach aligns with Alberta, Quebec and British Columbia.
Digital credentials will provide a trusted and seamless way to present identification, helping protect personal information while retaining every Ontario resident’s right to use physical I.D. — Stephen Crawford, Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement

What is not settled

The release does not say which technology or wallet will be used, who will build it, what data the app would hold or share with businesses that check it, whether the Information and Privacy Commissioner has been consulted, or what it costs. The physical-ID guarantee is a promised bill in late 2027, not a law today. More detail may come in the Fall Economic Statement on 29 October, which the release mentions.

Citizen impact: Nothing changes for your cards now. If the plan goes ahead, you could choose a phone-based Photo Card first, and later a driver’s licence or health card. The province says you will keep the right to use plastic only, but that promise depends on legislation it plans to table in late 2027.

What this piece refuses

We do not say Ontario is making digital ID mandatory; the release says it would be optional. We do not link this to federal digital ID, CBDCs or social-credit claims; nothing in the release does. Timelines are the government’s stated intentions.

Bottom line

Optional digital Photo Card first, licences and health cards later, consultations from late 2026, and a promised late-2027 law guaranteeing the right to physical ID.