Canada · Certification
ISO 22301 certification in Canada
Achieve ISO 22301 certification in Canada with Sterling: 8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries, 20+ years.
- Accredited certification
- Toronto office team
- Effivity software included
- Academy training included
Who asks for ISO 22301 in Canada
Clients include
ISO 22301 certification in Canada at a glance
Three Canadian instruments bear on ISO 22301. Not one of them names it. So why do buyers in Canada keep asking for the certificate?
Disaster recovery sits inside OSFI's Guideline B-13 on technology and cyber risk, and payment service providers supervised by the Bank of Canada under the Retail Payment Activities Act must establish and maintain a risk management and incident response framework that the Bank may assess. Neither instrument names ISO 22301, yet both describe outcomes the standard is built to deliver: understanding which activities matter most, how long they can be interrupted and how the organisation will recover. Banks and insurers also push these expectations down to critical suppliers through third-party risk reviews under Guideline B-10, which is why outsourcers and cloud providers in Toronto and elsewhere are asked for continuity evidence. Sterling's Toronto office runs the business impact analysis, writes the continuity and recovery plans, and plans the exercises that produce the records auditors want to see. Certification is decided by an accredited certification body. The local questions are answered below.
Who needs ISO 22301 in Canada, and what happens without it
In Canada the question rarely comes from a law. It comes from the buyer, the regulator or the partner that wants proof before it signs. These are the organisations that get asked.
- Federally regulated financial institutionsGuideline B-13 includes disaster recovery among technology resilience expectations.
- Payment service providersThe Retail Payment Activities Act requires a risk management and incident response framework.
- Outsourcers and cloud providers serving banks and insurersB-10 extends resilience expectations to critical third parties.
Not sure which of these applies to you?Answer a short set of questions and your readiness report arrives by e-mail.
Take the ISO 22301 readiness checkISO 22301 requirements in Canada
Strip away the vocabulary and ISO 22301 requires a company to prove six things about how it keeps operating when something goes wrong.
In Canada these six sit alongside the local laws and regulations listed under drivers below; one system can evidence both. The detail is on the global hub: ISO 22301 explained →
How to get ISO 22301 certified in Canada
One team from the Toronto office carries the work from scoping to certificate. Delivered from the Toronto office: on-site in Ontario and by arrangement in other provinces; remote delivery for distributed teams.
- Discovery call and scopeEntities, locations, regulators and target date, agreed before any proposal.
- Gap assessment against ISO 22301 and the Canadian requirements that apply to youControls you already run for your regulators and customers are reused, not rebuilt.
- Your system built with your team in EffivityRisks, controls, evidence, incidents and reviews in one live system the auditor can see.
- Internal audit, management review and corrective actionsYour internal auditors trained by Sterling; the evidence proven before the certification body arrives.
- Certification body stage 1 and stage 2, then surveillanceAn accredited body audits and decides. Sterling supports the audits and the three-year cycle.
- End to end, from one team
- Effivity ISO & GRC software
- Preferential Sterling Academy access, with complimentary awareness training for your people
- Internal auditor training for your audit team, as applicable to your standard
- Vulnerability assessment on ISMS engagements
The Sterling Promise: 100% on-time completion, 100% success, 8,100+ client engagements.Sterling does not certify. Certification decisions stay with independent bodies.
How long does ISO 22301 certification take in Canada?
There is no standard duration: it depends on your scope and on how much of the system already runs. In Canada these are the factors that set the timeline.
- Number of critical products, services and sites in scope
- Completeness of business impact analysis and risk assessment
- Time to run and evidence exercises
Sterling agrees a dated plan with you on the discovery call, once the scope is known.
How much does ISO 22301 certification cost in Canada?
The cost has two parts: the consulting work to build and prove the system, and the certification body’s audit fees, which are quoted separately. In Canada these factors move both.
- Number of sites and critical activities
- Recovery capability gaps found in the business impact analysis
- Certification body audit fees quoted separately from consulting
Sterling gives one customised, all-inclusive proposal after the discovery call, never before the scope is agreed.
ISO 22301 consultants and certification bodies in Canada
Two different organisations are involved. A consultant helps you build the system and prove it works; an accredited certification body then audits or assesses it and decides. Keeping the two separate is what makes the result credible to buyers and regulators.
- Check that the body’s accreditation or approval covers ISO 22301 and your sector, and that its certificates can be verified online.
- Ask the consultant how the local requirements in Canada are mapped into the same system, so nothing runs twice.
- Ask for client references in your sector; Sterling’s client letters are available on request.
- Agree who owns the evidence and the tool after the engagement; with Sterling the system stays yours, in Effivity.
Laws and regulations that drive ISO 22301 in Canada (3)
| Instrument | How it treats the standard |
|---|---|
| OSFI Guideline B-13 Technology and Cyber Risk Management | Expected in practice Disaster recovery and resilience expectations; ISO 22301 not named. |
| Retail Payment Activities Act | Expected in practice Risk management and incident response framework meeting prescribed requirements, assessable by the Bank of Canada; no standard named. |
| OSFI Guideline B-10 Third-Party Risk Management | Expected in practice Third-party arrangements managed for risk and criticality; no standard named. |
"Expected in practice" means the instrument asks for the outcomes ISO 22301 covers without naming a standard, and ISO 22301 is what buyers and regulators commonly accept as evidence of them.
Accreditation, audit language and remote audits in Canada
Use a certification body accredited for this standard by the Standards Council of Canada or by another accreditation body within the international mutual recognition arrangements (Global ACI — Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated, formerly the IAF MLA); check that the accreditation scope covers the standard and your sector. No body is named here unless its accreditation scope has been verified. Edition and transition details: ISO 22301 hub →
Audit language
Audits are commonly conducted in English, or in French where the certification body offers it; agree the audit and document language at application.
Remote and on-site
Remote audit elements are at the certification body's discretion under its accreditation rules; operational sites are normally visited on-site.
ISO 22301 in Canada: questions clients ask
Does OSFI require ISO 22301?
No. OSFI's Guideline B-13 covers disaster recovery within its technology and cyber risk expectations without naming ISO 22301. The standard can still help explain your continuity arrangements to an institution, but the institution decides what it accepts. Ask your client which evidence it expects.
Does ISO 22301 help payment service providers under the RPAA?
It can help, though nothing makes it compulsory. Under the Retail Payment Activities Act, a framework for risk management and incident response is required, and the Bank of Canada may assess it. ISO 22301 offers one way to organise continuity and incident response evidence for that purpose. Confirm the prescribed requirements with counsel or the Bank.
What must be exercised before certification?
Continuity arrangements must be exercised and tested before certification, with records that management has reviewed. A plan on paper is not enough: the certification body will look for evidence that the arrangements were tried. Schedule exercises early enough to leave the records management needs to review.
More on ISO 22301 for Canadian organisations
Other standards Canadian businesses ask Sterling for
Organisations in Canada often combine ISO 22301 with one of these, under one management system where the scopes allow.
Start with a free discovery call from the Toronto office
A Sterling consultant goes through your entities, your regulators and your target date with you. No proposal until the scope is agreed.
Sources
- OSFI Guideline B-13 Technology and Cyber Risk Management — osfi-bsif.gc.ca (accessed 5 Oct 2026)
- Retail Payment Activities Act — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca (accessed 5 Oct 2026)
- OSFI Guideline B-10 Third-Party Risk Management — osfi-bsif.gc.ca (accessed 5 Oct 2026)
- Standards Council of Canada (SCC) — ilac.org (accessed 5 Oct 2026)
Talk to a consultant
Plan your certification with the Toronto team.
Tell us your goals, locations and target date. We’ll help you define the scope, timeline and next steps.
canada@sterling-grc.com+1 201 263 4443 (global headquarters, New York) · the Toronto office is reached by e-mail at canada@sterling-grc.com
What would you like to achieve?
Choose a starting point. The enquiry form takes about a minute.
Book my free discovery callContinue to the enquiry form to share your details. Please do not include passwords, sensitive personal information or confidential files. A Sterling consultant replies within one working day. Privacy notice