Regulation of UAVs in Canada

Transport Canada published new rules for flying drones in Canada on January 9, 2019.^[1] The rules no longer treat recreational and commercial drone pilots differently but instead categorize operators as basic or advanced with different rules for each.^[2] The rules apply to drones between 250 g (0.55 pounds) and 25 kg (55 pounds).

Incidents

On October 12, 2017, the first drone-to-aircraft collision was reported, the first known occurrence in North America.^[3] The drone struck a Beechcraft A100 King Air operated by Skyjet that was making a final approach to the Jean Lesage International Airport in Quebec City (CYQB). The A100 was able to land safely with a dent in the left-wing while the drone could not be located by the authorities.^[4]

Although the drone was flying approximately 12 km from the airport, the drone was flying at an altitude of approximately 450 m which is well beyond the existing limit allowed in the Transport Canada rules updated in July^[5] requiring an altitude of 90 m or less.