Canada has expanded its Open Access policy, and its share of Open Access publications has grown to 50% of its total article output, doubling over 10 years. With embargo-free requirements introduced in January 2026, it is likely the trend towards openness will continue.

Here, we outline the history of the Canadian government’s mandates and its current policies for those looking to submit their research.

Open Access is the new paradigm

Open Access (OA) refers to a publishing model for scholarly research that makes information immediately available to readers at no cost. This research is also free to reuse for scholarly purposes.

The benefits of publishing Open Access include potentially gaining more citations and having a greater impact, reaching a wider audience, advancing scientific innovation, retaining copyrights, and increasing the potential for collaboration and recognition.

Open Access can also help institutions like universities and research agencies in low- and middle-income countries by removing any price barriers to accessing academic research.

History of Open Access in Canada

Canada has developed its Open Access policy over the years. Here is a brief history of Open Access in Canada:

• 2008: The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) mandated that research funded by the body be made Open Access within 12 months of publication either by publishing in an OA journal or archiving in a subject or institutional repository.
• 2015: Modelled on the CIHR policy, the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications mandated Open Access to research articles funded by Canada’s three major research agencies, known as ‘The Agencies’. This includes the NIHR, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
• 2019: The Fonds de recherche du Quebec (FRQ), a funding agency supporting the next generation of researchers in the natural sciences, mathematical sciences, and engineering, mandated that funded research be made freely accessible within 12 months via journal or repository. In 2022, this was updated to require immediate Open Access, as it joined the European Union’s Plan S.
• 2020: The Roadmap for Open Science outlined steps to make federal science open to all. This included overarching principles and recommendations, which will be discussed further below.
• 2025: The draft revised Tri-Agency OA Policy on Publications is introduced, removing the 12-month embargo period and requiring researchers to use open copyright licenses.

Between 2008 and 2015, the Canadian government was expanding its Open Access requirements extensively, but this slowed down. The 2020 Roadmap, however, reflects the renewed interest in OA policy which led to the 2025 revision in policy for the Agencies.

Current Open Access laws in Canada

The 2020 Roadmap aims to achieve Open Access by default without an embargo period for federally funded scientific and research outputs, recommending journals to adhere to this from January 2022. It argues that this will make Canadian science open to all, maximising benefits for the well-being, health, and economy of the country.

It defines Open Access as “the practice of making scientific inputs, outputs, and processes freely available to all with minimal restrictions”. This includes peer-reviewed science articles and publications, scientific and research data, and public contributions to and dialogue about science.

Furthermore, the Roadmap revolves around the principles of putting people first, transparency, inclusiveness, collaboration, and sustainability. It also recommends implementing FAIR data principles (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, Reusability), ensuring interoperability, and developing a sustainable OA framework.

Tri-Agency Open Access Policy for research articles

The Agencies, federal granting agencies that promote and support research, training, and innovation in Canada, advocate for Open Access. They argue that “societal advancement is made possible through widespread and barrier-free access to cutting-edge research and knowledge”.

In 2025, the Tri-Agency OA Policy on Publications was revised, removing the 12-month embargo.

The policy requirements for agency grantees and chairholder award recipients include:

• They must deposit their research article in a Canadian institutional repository at the time of publication, even where the article is freely available on the publisher website.
• The deposited research article must have an open license.
• They must retain rights over the dissemination of any peer-reviewed research articles arising from agency-funded research.

These requirements took effect on 1 January 2026 and apply to peer-reviewed research articles.

Tri-Agency Open Access Policy for research data management

The Agencies promote sound research data management (RDM) and data stewardship practices. They state that this is not an open data policy. Their data management policies advocate for the FAIR principles. If you want to learn more about data management, click here.

For institutions, such as postsecondary institutions and research hospitals, that are eligible for funds, there is a requirement to create an institutional RDM strategy that must be shared publicly online.

For researchers, all grant proposals should include methodologies that reflect best practices in RDM. They must also deposit all digital research data, metadata, and code that directly supports the research conclusions into a digital repository.

This, of course, must be in accordance with the FAIR principles and where ethical, cultural, legal, and commercial requirements allow.

Canadian Research Knowledge Network

The Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) is a national network of 88 Canadian universities, libraries, and research institutions. Open Access is a key part of their mission.

In recent years, CRKN has focused on increasing options for Open Access for its members. Furthermore, they have updated their licensing principles. Their revised principles state:

We are committed to working collaboratively, at the national and international level, to actively transform the scholarly and scientific communication system toward open scholarship, open science, and open access.

Moreover, CRKN signed the OA2020 Expression of Interest, joining around 150 institutions and organisations in transitioning towards Open Access models.

Overall, CRKN is influential across the Canadian research landscape and is a key advocate and enabler of Open Access publishing.

Canada’s Open Access statistics

Canada has already seen a steady decline in articles published as subscription-only, with Open Access comprising half of its total output. Here are some statistics from Scopus:

• 2014: 66% of articles were subscription-only, and 15% were gold Open Access.
• 2019: 57% of articles were subscription-only, and 25% were gold Open Access.
• 2024: 42% of articles were subscription-only, and 50% were gold Open Access.

Evidently, there has been a rapid shift in the accessibility of publications in Canada. With subscription-only articles representing two-thirds of the output in 2014 and then falling to less than half 10 years later, Open Access articles have grown to represent half of the total share.

This transition reflects the success of the Canadian policy, as Open Access is becoming the dominant mode of scholarly publishing.

Future trends

As of January 2026, Canada has the ninth biggest output of research articles and is the sixth for overall research impact, as determined by citations. Being such a global leader in research, Canada’s commitment to Open Access will serve as a model for other countries seeking to transition.

Open Access has been referred to in the Canadian government’s Third and Fourth National Action Plans, the latter of which led to the development of the 2020 Roadmap. The Office of the Chief Science Advisor continually cooperates with federal departments, agencies, granting councils, and thought leaders throughout public services and academia to make OA the norm.

The Open Science Action Plan 2021‒2026 encourages all Government of Canada departments and agencies to develop action plans for OA. Therefore, it evident that Open Access is high on the government’s priorities and will continue to be developed in the coming years.

Similarly, research is being heavily invested in more broadly. In April 2023 alone, $1.4 billion was invested in 11 large-scale research initiatives at postsecondary institutions via the Canada First Research Excellence Fund to encourage partnerships across sectors. In the same month, the Government of Canada funded more than $200 million for interdisciplinary research using the New Frontiers in Research Fund.

The impulse behind these two investments is openness: working across boundaries to further Canada’s scientific output and progress for the benefit of all.

Value of Open Access

All articles published by MDPI are made immediately available worldwide under an Open Access license. This means:

• Everyone has free and unlimited access to the full text of all articles published in MDPI journals;
• Everyone is free to reuse the published material if proper accreditation/citation of the original publication is given;
• Open Access publication is supported by the authors’ institutes or research funding agencies by payment of a comparatively low Article Processing Charge (APC) for accepted articles.

Researchers can satisfy Canada’s expanding Open Access policy and pre-empt any stricter legislation by publishing in an MDPI journal. Alternatively, if you want to publish an early version of your article, try Preprints.org, our service for publishing early versions of research that are not peer-reviewed and report on either ongoing or complete research.

Open Access makes vital information accessible to all readers and researchers and brings together scholars from across the world. Thus, it is ideal for tackling global challenges such as climate change and cancer research that require urgent and coordinated attention.

Canada has a successful approach to Open Access policy. Click here if you would also like to learn more about Open Access around the world.