Taking Your Drone to Canada? What You Need to Know

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Now that travel is surging again, drone pilots are eager to head off on holiday this summer. Every country has different rules for foreign drone pilots, so we thought we’d start with Canada.

Before the pandemic hit roughly 14 million Americans visited Canada each year. And for good reason. Incredible scenery, cosmopolitan cities and everything in between makes Canada a holiday paradise.

But our readers want to know if they can fly their drone in Canada when they visit. The short answer is “it depends”.

Let’s start with some background on Canadian aviation rules, specifically the Canadian Aviation Regulations. Five years ago Canadian skies were the “wild west” for drone pilots. There really were almost no rules governing who could fly, what they could fly or where they could fly. That all changed in 2018 when Transport Canada (the government agency responsible for aviation) started working on new and updated drone rules.

Prior to 2018 commercial drone activity was severely curtailed to the point where a cottage industry of aerial imaging was never able to incubate.

But what emerged from Transport Canada was a very coherent and sensible regime for regulating unmanned aircraft, or drones, that also opened the doors to aerial operators both hobbyist and commercial. As a result a new commercial drone sector is flourishing.

Is Your Drone a Drone?

Canada classifies drones as either being a micro-drone (like the Mavic Mini, Mini 2 or new Mini 3 Pro) or as a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS). The difference between these two classifications is simple: a micro-drone weighs less than 250grams. An RPAS weighs more than 250 grams.

So if you have a Mini, Mini 2, Mini 3 Pro or an AUTEL Nano Series drone, for example, then you have a micro-drone. We’ll cover the rules for micro-drones later in this article.

If you have a larger drone like the Mavic Pro, Autel EVO Lite Series, Mavic 2 Series or Mavic Air series of drones then you have an RPAS, and it requires a pilot license and registration.

Canadian Drone Licensing

Canadian drone operators have several requirements in order to fly their drone legally. The first is you to be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or a corporation incorporated by or under federal or provincial law. Once you’ve satisfied that requirement you have to pass a test to obtain either a Basic or Advanced Pilot Certificate.

Here’s the short version on what a Basic or Advanced Pilot Certificate allows you to do:

Basic Certificate holders must:

only fly in uncontrolled airspace
not fly closer than 30 meters (100 feet) from bystanders
not fly over bystanders
fly more than 3 nautical miles from a certified airport or military aerodrome
fly more than 1 nautical mile from a certified heliport

Advanced Certificate holders:

can fly in controlled airspace with NAVCANADA authorization
can fly over bystanders (with an approved drone)
can fly within 100 feet of bystanders
can fly within 3 nautical miles of a certified airport or military aerodrome (with appropriate authorization)
can fly within 1 nautical mile of a certified heliport

Both of these license ‘certificates’ require completion of an online exam with Transport Canada. The Basic exam is fairly easy to pass, but most people find the Advanced exam to be difficult and will fail at least once before passing.

We completed an intensive 5 day training course before we obtained our Advanced Pilot Certificate in 2019.

For the Advanced Pilot Certificate you also have to complete an in-person Flight Review to assess your competency as a pilot.

It sounds like a lot of work to be able to fly a drone if you’re a Canadian. But it’s actually worth it.

Licensing for Foreign Drone Operators

If you are a foreign operator (ie: not a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or federal/provincial corporation) you must complete the appropriate Basic or Advanced license exam according to the type of drone operation you are planning to complete AND obtain an approved Special Flight Operations Certificate.

If you chose the Advanced exam you’ll also have to complete a Flight Review before being issued a Pilot Certificate. Oh, and you must already be authorized for the same type of operation in your home country.

You must have your Basic or Advanced Pilot Certificate before you can apply for an SFOC.

You also have to register your drone(s) with Transport Canada before you can apply for an SFOC.

Satisfying all of these requirements, and obtaining an SFOC can easily take weeks or more. And there’s no guarantee your SFOC will be approved. Based on the latest data from Transport Canada there were only 197 SFOC’s issued to ‘Foreign Operators’ last year.

So if you’re just planning on bringing your Mavic Air 2S up to Canada to capture some vacation shots at the beach, you may want to reconsider.

Take a Mini or Nano

If bringing a drone to Canada is a must, then we recommend a micro-drone, one that weighs less than 250 grams.

Whether you chose the new Mini 3 Pro, or a previous Mini or Autel Nano series drone, you’ll find it so much easier to fly in Canada.

Why? Because there is only one line in the Canadian Aviation Regulationsthat applies to the operator of a micro-drone. Section 900.06 states:

“No person shall operate a remotely piloted aircraft system in such a reckless or negligent manner as to endanger or be likley to endanger aviation safety or the safety of any person.”

Regardless of which drone you end up bringing to Canada, there are a few more things to know about where you can fly.

All National Parks in Canada are off limits to drones. Which means you cannot take off or land from within the park. The same applies to most Provincial Parks as well. So be sure to check the visitor rules for your destination.

If you’re looking to pick up a micro-drone we strongly recommend the new Mini 3 Pro. But you’ll probably be just as happy with a Mini 2 or an AUTEL Nano series. The image quality and flight time of these micro-drones now rivals that of larger, pro-sumer series models.