The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) are committed to supporting innovation within the financial sector while ensuring the integrity and stability of the market. In alignment with this commitment, the CSA has initiated the Cohort Testing Environment (CTE). This regulatory testing environment is designed to facilitate the exploration and testing of innovative financial technologies and business models by eligible entities within a controlled and regulatory-flexible framework.
What are the goals of the Collaboratory?
The CTE aims to provide a structured environment where novel financial concepts can be tested under the supervision of CSA participating jurisdictions. This initiative is intended to offer regulatory flexibility and oversight through defined testing parameters, which may include:
granting temporary exemptions from specific securities regulations, enabling them to test innovative ideas that might not be permitted under the current regulatory framework; and
a clear timeframe and guidelines for the testing phase, allowing businesses to evaluate the viability and impact of their innovations in a controlled setting.
How does the Collaboratory work?
The insights obtained from the CTE may contribute significantly to regulatory policy development and provide market insights. In addition, the experience and data gathered from the CTE may inform the CSA’s approach to future regulatory policies, ensuring they are adaptive to technological advancements while prioritizing investor protection. Engaging directly with emerging technologies and business models enables the CSA to better understand the evolving landscape of the financial sector, facilitating more informed regulatory decisions.
Who can participate in the Collaboratory?
Participation in the CTE is subject to meeting specific eligibility criteria set forth by the participating jurisdictions. These criteria are designed to identify entities that fit within the specific cohort testing theme and can contribute data to the participating jurisdictions related to the test. Entities interested in participating in the CTE are advised to consult the official guidelines of the participating jurisdictions for detailed information on eligibility requirements and the application process.
Participating jurisdictions
Although the CSA expects that some cohorts will be available across Canada, we recognize that there may be unique opportunities for cohorts to develop in only one or a few CSA jurisdictions. To that end, the CSA Cohort-Based Testing Environment is built to be flexible and agile and does not preclude localized testing environments. In some cases, it may be more expedient or efficient for one or a few CSA jurisdictions to conduct testing in their own jurisdictions based on feedback and development with key participants locally or as a result of particular concerns developing in a local jurisdiction. However, it is expected that any data or findings coming out of a localized testing environment will be shared with the rest of the CSA in order to assist in policy making across Canada
Spring 2025 Theme – Data Portability and e-KYC (BC,NB,etc.) Our first testing environment will take a phased approach and will seek to provide the CSA with a greater understanding of the impacts of data portability and how electronic KYC (e-KYC) solutions may be able to reduce regulatory burden while still maintaining investor protection.
