Canada Tables Its Biggest Privacy Reform in 25 Years

The federal government introduced Bill C-36, the Protecting Privacy and Consumer Data Act (PPCDA), on June 15. If passed, it replaces PIPEDA, the country's 25-year-old private sector privacy law, with a modernized framework that recognizes privacy as a fundamental right. Key changes include stronger consent requirements, a right for Canadians to request deletion of their personal data (including AI-generated deepfakes), new obligations for automated decision-making systems, and fresh scrutiny of surveillance pricing practices. A new enforcement body, the Digital Safety and Data Protection Commission, would take over from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for private sector matters and would carry real penalties: up to $25 million or 5% of global revenue for the most serious violations. This is the federal government's third attempt at this reform after two prior bills died on the order paper.

Any business collecting, using, or disclosing personal information as part of commercial activities in Canada falls under this law, including e-commerce stores, SaaS platforms, and ad tech vendors. Consent rules, data governance practices, surveillance pricing, and automated decision-making tools are all directly in scope. The bill still must pass through Parliament, and a transition period is expected, but the compliance clock is starting now. Review how you collect, store, and use customer data before the rules solidify.

Shopify Scripts Shut Down June 30. There Is No Grace Period.

Shopify Scripts (available on Shopify Plus) stop executing permanently on June 30, 2026, eight days from today. There is no grace period, no rollback, and no emergency fix available. As of April 15, Shopify Plus merchants lost the ability to even edit existing Scripts, meaning any checkout logic still running in production is now frozen code. Scripts that powered tiered discounts, custom shipping rules, and payment method gating will simply cease to function at midnight on July 1. Shopify has confirmed this is the final deadline after two prior extensions (originally August 2024, pushed to August 2025, now June 30, 2026). The replacement is Shopify Functions, a WebAssembly-based framework. Estimates suggest a meaningful percentage of Shopify Plus stores have not fully completed the migration.

Shopify is the dominant platform for Canadian e-commerce and many merchants use Shopify Plus. A silent checkout failure on July 1 could mean lost discounts, broken shipping rules, and abandoned carts with no diagnostic trail. If you manage a Shopify Plus store or work with one, run the Scripts Customizations Report in your admin immediately to see what is still live. If you have not migrated yet, the window for a proper migration is extremely tight. Treat this as a revenue priority, not a developer ticket.

Shopify Spring '26 Edition Makes Agentic Commerce the Default for Every Merchant

Shopify's Spring '26 Edition launched June 17 with more than 150 updates, with agentic commerce as the headline theme. The Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), co-developed with Google and backed by Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Salesforce, Stripe, and Wayfair, is now open to every developer with no approval gate required. Eligible merchant catalogs are syndicated by default to ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google AI Mode, and the Gemini app, so shoppers can discover and purchase products inside AI conversations. A new Catalog API supports image search and richer product attributes, making it easier for AI agents to surface the right product accurately. Shopify also reports that AI-powered catalog searches convert at twice the rate of those using scraped data, a signal that structured product data is now a direct revenue lever, not just a technical hygiene task.

This edition effectively makes AI agent discovery the new default channel for every eligible merchant. Canadian operators who have not audited their product data quality, SKU-level attributes, or product descriptions need to do so now. The merchants showing up in AI-driven recommendations are the ones with clean, structured, complete catalog data. This is not a future consideration.

LinkedIn Live Is Now Scheduled-Only. Spontaneous Broadcasts Are Gone.

As of June 22, LinkedIn has removed the ability to go live spontaneously. All LinkedIn Live events now require advance scheduling; a change the platform says is designed to help creators maximize attendance through pre-promotion. The update affects anyone who has used LinkedIn Live for real-time commentary, reactive content, product launches, or rapid-response video on breaking industry news. Going forward, live content on LinkedIn must be planned and announced ahead of time.

For Canadian brands and marketers who have used LinkedIn Live as a nimble tool for timely commentary or same-day announcements, the workflow changes today. Build advance scheduling into your content calendar for any live programming. The silver lining: scheduled events create a promotion window that spontaneous broadcasts never had, which can drive higher viewership if used well.