DJI Mavic, Air and Mini Drones
Friendly, Helpful & Knowledgeable Community
Join Us Now

Need some help with Canada drone rules

fastracer

Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2019
Messages
16
Reactions
2
I am going to Canada soon to fish and would like to know if there is any drone rules that are different in Canada rather than America, I would very much like it if I can get great footage and still come back to America with a drone
 
Just Google Transport Canada NEW RPAS rules, as of June 1st there are strict rules in place with fines and even jail time.
 
I am going to Canada soon to fish and would like to know if there is any drone rules that are different in Canada rather than America, I would very much like it if I can get great footage and still come back to America with a drone

I will assume that you are from the USA, within the American continent from which Canada is also part of, as of 1st June, you are no longer authorized to fly in Canada.
 
I will assume that you are from the USA, within the American continent from which Canada is also part of, as of 1st June, you are no longer authorized to fly in Canada.

Not exactly true....someone who is not a Canadian citizen or an authorized residency status (permanent resident), must apply for an SFOC( special flight operating certificate), the wording can be found in CAR(Canadian Aviation Regulations) section 903.01(c). This is a real pain in the *** for our US friends as requesting an SFOC can be an onerous process. As the Canadian certifications are ICAO recognized, perhaps with testing coming in the US, some reciprocal agreement could be made and regulations adjusted. Not holding my breath at this point.

I just received my Advanced RPAS certification so a lot of this stuff is still fresh in the grey matter.
 
I will assume that you are from the USA, within the American continent from which Canada is also part of, as of 1st June, you are no longer authorized to fly in Canada.
i am also confused - what you say is not 100% it. so, you cannot register it if you are not a citizen, that is it. ok. but, for tourists - isn`t it allowed if it is under 35kg and not used for business?

what are specific cases when SFOC is required? or is now since June required in all, no exclusion, cases?
 
i am also confused - what you say is not 100% it. so, you cannot register it if you are not a citizen, that is it. ok. but, for tourists - isn`t it allowed if it is under 35kg and not used for business?

what are specific cases when SFOC is required? or is now since June required in all, no exclusion, cases?

Sorry to say, but I am correct. The wording is a little muddy...but they are stated in the CAR's.
section 901.04 states that to register a drone in Canada....you must over 14, and be a Canadian citizen, or a permanent resident. As all drones over 250 grams have to be registered... only those who are certified can register them. The certification requirements are for drones that weigh 250g to 25Kg ( basically from just over a pound to 55 pounds).
When do you need an SFOC? The complete list is in section 903.01 and the verbatim for section (c) is

(c) the operation of a system by a foreign operator or
pilot who has been authorized to operate remotely piloted
aircraft systems by the foreign state;

So a certified pilot, for example a part 107 pilot from the US would have to get an SFOC to be able to fly anything over the 250gr size. The exception would be if they were flying at a MAAC field. It has nothing to do with whether it's commercial or not. So basically, if a part 107 pilot came to Canada and wanted to do some flying with his Spark in the copious backwoods, he would need an SFOC as the spark is 300 grams or so. I bet the first company that makes a tech packed quality quad under 250 grams is going to sell a boatload. I was talking to a friend of mine who works at a well known hobby store, and they haven't sold anything weighing more than 250g in months. Even fixed wing RC buyers are getting the UMX sized aircraft so they aren't stuck flying at MAAC fields.

While an SFOC isn't impossible to get...it's another process that you would have to go through.

I really recommend downloading a copy of the CAR's and reading through the main parts of the 900 section. Your head might spin at the logging and maintenance logging requirements and regency requirements too.

The upshot is that what Transport Canada has done, in their own lovely annoying way, is to try to put some professionalism into RPAS flying. I don't necessarily agree with how they've done it, but when you look at some of the irresponsible flying by a FEW, I can understand why. It's always a few that screw it up for everyone else.
 
Still confused. Canadian side has no access or way of knowing if a person got 107 cert or not. Tourist would not have to register anything. So, only part left is the SFOC - does it say that one needs to have part 107 in order to get it. And all the others - complete NFZ over whole Canadian wilderness?
We plan on driving to Nova Scotia soon, so i just collect info at this point. I tried reading official site but it is incomprehensible, as i do not care of local part of those regulations. And all i sensed was that SFOC applies to commercial operators. Will try reading more later on.
 
Still confused. Canadian side has no access or way of knowing if a person got 107 cert or not. Tourist would not have to register anything. So, only part left is the SFOC - does it say that one needs to have part 107 in order to get it. And all the others - complete NFZ over whole Canadian wilderness?
We plan on driving to Nova Scotia soon, so i just collect info at this point. I tried reading official site but it is incomprehensible, as i do not care of local part of those regulations. And all i sensed was that SFOC applies to commercial operators. Will try reading more later on.

Good morning, the best thing for you to do, would be to call transport Canada, and they will explain to you in details what you have to do as a tourist in Canada if you want to use a UAV in our air space zones. TC: tel:1-866-995-9737.

I would advise that you do so since if you fly anything over 250 grams in our airspace without the proper paperwork, you’re looking at fines up to $5000 and/or jail.
 
Sorry to say, but I am correct. The wording is a little muddy...but they are stated in the CAR's.
section 901.04 states that to register a drone in Canada....you must over 14, and be a Canadian citizen, or a permanent resident. As all drones over 250 grams have to be registered... only those who are certified can register them. The certification requirements are for drones that weigh 250g to 25Kg ( basically from just over a pound to 55 pounds).
When do you need an SFOC? The complete list is in section 903.01 and the verbatim for section (c) is

(c) the operation of a system by a foreign operator or
pilot who has been authorized to operate remotely piloted
aircraft systems by the foreign state;

So a certified pilot, for example a part 107 pilot from the US would have to get an SFOC to be able to fly anything over the 250gr size. The exception would be if they were flying at a MAAC field. It has nothing to do with whether it's commercial or not. So basically, if a part 107 pilot came to Canada and wanted to do some flying with his Spark in the copious backwoods, he would need an SFOC as the spark is 300 grams or so. I bet the first company that makes a tech packed quality quad under 250 grams is going to sell a boatload. I was talking to a friend of mine who works at a well known hobby store, and they haven't sold anything weighing more than 250g in months. Even fixed wing RC buyers are getting the UMX sized aircraft so they aren't stuck flying at MAAC fields.

While an SFOC isn't impossible to get...it's another process that you would have to go through.

I really recommend downloading a copy of the CAR's and reading through the main parts of the 900 section. Your head might spin at the logging and maintenance logging requirements and regency requirements too.

The upshot is that what Transport Canada has done, in their own lovely annoying way, is to try to put some professionalism into RPAS flying. I don't necessarily agree with how they've done it, but when you look at some of the irresponsible flying by a FEW, I can understand why. It's always a few that screw it up for everyone else.
This matches what I've read on the subject as well. I live in the US and realized that there's no point in taking my Mavic on a planned vacation to Canada. They need to make a simple process for handling tourist flights. It sucks as it stands now.
 
This matches what I've read on the subject as well. I live in the US and realized that there's no point in taking my Mavic on a planned vacation to Canada. They need to make a simple process for handling tourist flights. It sucks as it stands now.
Reciprocal licenses could be an answer. My driver’s license works from Canada to Beliz. Maybe communicate to legislators.
 
Lycus Tech Mavic Air 3 Case

DJI Drone Deals

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
130,585
Messages
1,554,114
Members
159,589
Latest member
sarahb