Our Projects – Getting it done and getting it right…with doers

At NC-CIPSeR, we are continuously evolving our research, programs, and collaborative initiatives to support the protection, security, and resilience of Canada’s critical infrastructure sectors. This page serves as an evergreen list of our current areas of focus, reflecting our commitment to staying ahead of emerging threats, fostering innovation, and supporting national resilience. Through partnerships across government, industry, academia, and community organizations, we are building a comprehensive understanding of infrastructure risks and solutions, ensuring Canada is equipped for future challenges. Our key to success is that we are strategically engaged and we’re busy moving the needle.

Our focus is on four pillars of Research, Innovation, Collaboration and Education. We have been strategic in building out foundational projects and tactical with our selection of operational projects to demonstrate capacity. All projects listed are in our overall strategy. We describe our progress in basic terms, and this page will be updated periodically.

Critical Infrastructure Governance and Resilience (GRIP)

Canada’s critical infrastructure (CI) plays a foundational role in national security, economic stability, and public safety. While many efforts have been made to strengthen CI resilience, governance remains complex and faces challenges in coordination, implementation, and strategic alignment with emerging risks. Our Critical Infrastructure Governance & Resilience Project brings together three flagship initiatives — the Senate Study, the Standards Project, the CI Prioritization Project. Together, these efforts will help explore governance and operational gaps and provide government and industry with the evidence, tools, and frameworks needed to modernize sector definitions, designate critical operators, and embed policies and standards, through incorporation by reference. This integrated project is designed to help Canada move from voluntary cooperation to measured and accountable resilience, ensuring national alignment with allies and stronger protection for all Canadians.

We are actively advancing this work with our partners across multiple projects and case studies — from cyber legislation (Bill C-8) to Arctic infrastructure and small modular reactors, to information sharing and civil protection/defence. Each project allows us to explore issues in greater depth while helping refine and test GRIP in practice.

Alongside this roadmap, we are continuing to research, develop, and test practical tools — from prioritization frameworks and risk assessment standards to information-sharing models — that can be incorporated into regulation and practice. We will be producing insight documents along the way and threading these findings into our training and education programs, ensuring the work is sustainable and directly benefits those protecting Canada’s critical infrastructure.

Our role as a national centre is unique: we bring government, industry, and academia together, leveraging projects to explore issues deeply while building GRIP as a national, and measurable framework.

The Senate Study Project

NC-CIPSeR is advancing the idea of a Senate Study to examine how Canada governs and safeguards its critical infrastructure in an increasingly complex threat environment. Leveraging the Senate’s unique role as a neutral, non-partisan body with a long-term perspective, such a study could provide the credibility and transparency needed to address resilience challenges. The concept focuses on clarifying the roles and responsibilities of federal, provincial, and municipal actors, better integrating standards and regulations, and identifying resilience gaps across sectors. By drawing on insights from government, industry, and academia, this initiative seeks to build momentum toward a defensible roadmap of reforms and tools to strengthen governance, accountability, and national resilience. Out team has completed a white paper.

The Standards Project

This initiative examines the role of standards in national security, critical infrastructure protection, and emergency management and preparedness. Working with key partners, NC-CIPSeR is mapping existing standards, polices, and frameworks, identifying gaps, and advancing a coordinated approach. Information-sharing, threat and risk assessment and data management/sharing will also be considered. A team has been assigned and a white paper completed. We are moving ahead with partners developing a strategy and exploring funding mechanisms to move this ahead. Next step is a collaborative workshop.

CI Prioritization Project

The Critical Infrastructure (CI) Prioritization Project has the potential to help modernize how Canada defines and designates critical infrastructure and its sectors. Effective CI prioritization can also lead to a more defensible CI designation, ensuring transparency, consistency, and resilience in decision-making. By developing updated definitions, building a practical playbook to share with other sectors, and demonstrating capacity with key partners, this project sets the stage for long-term impact. We are just getting started — since launching in November 2024, our NC-CIPSeR team of five volunteers, including a mentor and research analysts, has begun laying the groundwork..

We are exploring how the use of tools like incorporation by reference can be embedded in trusted standards and policies and tie directly into the designation process, keeping it current and adaptable as new threats, technologies, and innovations emerge. This approach strengthens accountability, supports collaboration between government, industry, and academia, and ensures that CI designations can withstand legal, operational, and geopolitical challenges. This is complex, important, and long-term work with our partners that will strengthen resilience across Canada.

Civil Protection in Canada

Building on lessons from provincial and national experiences, the Civil Protection project explores how Canada can enhance coordination between public safety services, infrastructure operators, and volunteer organizations. The initiative examines civil readiness, shared frameworks for risk reduction, scenario-based training, and cross-jurisdictional integration to strengthen disaster readiness. What does Canada need today? Can we leverage what other countries like Germany’s THW are doing? NC-CIPSeR is exploring the current landscape including new organizations like Ontario Corps, the Nova Scotia Guard, and the Canadian Corps to help raise the right questions and assess their effectiveness. We have an Invested and experienced team focusing on what Canada needs at this point in time to enhance preparedness and resiliency. Due to the current geopolitical environment, this is a priority project where we can leverage the role we play to collaborate with government, industry and academia. Collaborating with stakeholders and attending a workshop to help explore this issue more closely.

Civil Defence in Canada

This project revisits the legacy of civil defence in a modern context, exploring its relevance in today’s evolving threat landscape. It examines how volunteer mobilization, readiness planning, and whole-of-nation approaches can protect critical infrastructure while aligning with Canadian Armed Forces priorities. The 2024 House of Commons report emphasized that defence should focus on protecting Canada and serve only as a last resort in hazard response-raising critical questions about how Civil Protection and Civil Defence can co-exist. Could collaboration enable defence to strengthen civil protection capabilities earlier, ensuring civilian systems are resilient long before defence is called upon?

Strategically Focused Research Teams

We are building dynamic research teams led by Senior Research Fellows and Research Fellows drawn from government, industry, and academia. Their expertise spans intelligence and national security, governance, threat and risk assessments, critical infrastructure interdependencies, artificial intelligence, civil readiness, small modular reactors, and Arctic security. This growing foundation strengthens our capacity to attract funding, foster collaboration, and advance our vision of becoming Canada’s key collaborator in critical infrastructure protection, security, and resilience. At present, five Research Fellows are leading dedicated research channels, with more to come as we expand our network.

PTSD in National Security, Critical Infrastructure and Emergency Management and Preparedeness: Relative?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is not only a health issue but also a resilience challenge for those working in national security, critical infrastructure, and emergency management. First responders, military personnel, and operators of vital systems often face repeated exposure to high-stress, traumatic environments. Left unaddressed, PTSD can erode decision-making, operational readiness, and organizational resilience. By integrating mental health awareness, prevention, and support strategies into preparedness frameworks, Canada can strengthen both the well-being of its workforce and the resilience of the systems they protect. A Carleton University Intern is assigned and conducting incredible research that is highlighting some key gaps in Canada’s data, and approach to mental health. Should this be a priority? Is it relative? Research will be published in 2026 in Pulse & Praxis along with a list of the key stakeholders, potential collaborators and funding mechanisms.

Intelligence-led Approach

NC-CIPSeR will employ an intelligence-led approach to critical infrastructure protection, integrating real-time threat intelligence, risk assessments, and strategic foresight to help anticipate and mitigate risks before they escalate. By leveraging data and insights from Project CANVAS, open-source intelligence, expert analysis, and cross-sector collaboration, we will help decision-makers, policymakers, and infrastructure operators have the timely, relevant, and actionable intelligence they need to enhance resilience and security. This proactive approach helps identify emerging threats, track evolving risks, and inform evidence-based decision-making across all sectors. We’re building the foundation to do this effectively. We are leading NC-CIPSeR with this approach to prioritize our strategic and tactical approaches.

NC-CIPSeR is actively studying the formal and informal information-sharing mechanisms used across Canada’s critical infrastructure sectors, national security and emergency management and preparedeness. This project identifies how threat intelligence, risk data, and best practices flow between operators, governments, and other stakeholders, helping to strengthen information-sharing frameworks and close critical gaps in the timely exchange of actionable intelligence. We are collaborating on key projects and innovative solutions. A variety of interviews have taken place and our researcher has a draft paper nearly ready to be published in Pulse & Praxis. Collaborating with government, industry and academia to design and implement a strategy to enhance information sharing across all critical infrastructure sectors through a newly designed tool and approach. Participated in the 2025, Energy Security Technical Advisory Committee (E-STAC) which is an industry-based all-hazards information sharing group, which operates as the key hub for energy industry collaboration and strategic coordination with the Canadian federal government on energy sector-related security matters.

Centre of Excellence

NC-CIPSeR’s Centre of Excellence will synergize many of our projects. It will include research to help standardize risk assessments and create a unified model for data acquisition By leveraging effective standards, creating common templates, methodologies, and training tools, the Centre can help ensure that risk assessments and data are comparable across sectors and jurisdictions, supporting more coordinated resilience planning at all levels. Our Certificate Program and Critical Infrastructure Security Series Reports are examples of modern knowledge translation.. Our team is designing the certificate program and offerings, we have several partners, government and industry to help as well as we will be implementing and offering their courses within our program.

Project CANVAS – Threat & Hazard Library

Project CANVAS is NC-CIPSeR’s vision for a national repository of threat and hazard profiles, combining historical data, real-time intelligence, and expert analysis to provide a constantly evolving picture of the threats facing Canada’s critical infrastructure, national security and emergency management and preparedness. By integrating geospatial mapping and scenario modeling, Project CANVAS supports evidence-based decision-making, risk assessments, and emergency planning. We’re building the foundation and working with government to explore a specific sector that is currently using a data-lake concept. Their data engineers are guiding the conversations and sharing their roadmap. This continues to evolve quickly. This will be our War Room concept – a hub of activity, keeping our fingers on the pulse of threats and hazards, and sharing insights with stakeholders. This can be a new approach to information sharing.

Exercises

Exercises are central to testing plans, refining strategies, and strengthening real-world preparedness. Through simulations, scenario-based drills, and after-action reviews, we help identify gaps, decision-making challenges, enhance coordination, and build resilience across sectors. They also provide a unique opportunity to put NC-CIPSeR research into action—applying insights on critical infrastructure interdependencies and exploring innovations such as Digital Twins to model complex events and prepare more effectively. NC-CIPSeR will be participating in an upcoming exercise in New Brunswick that includes government, industry and academia.

Intelligence Hub (Repository)

The NC-CIPSeR Intelligence Hub is the central repository for national strategies, threat and risk assessments, sector-specific reports, case studies, and historical documents related to critical infrastructure protection, security, and resilience in Canada.This curated, evolving knowledge platform is designed to support researchers, policymakers, industry leaders, and emergency management professionals with timely, relevant, and evidence-based insights to help anticipate, mitigate, and respond to evolving threats. We are sharing a host of reports.

Borealis Data Repository & Open Access Data Management Plan

NC-CIPSeR is building out its data repository using Borealis, following the open access principles outlined by the Government of Canada. Our goal is to create and curate the data Canada needs to better understand, assess, and manage critical infrastructure risks. There is a lack of data in Canada related information sharing, and threat and risk assessments. This repository will store, organize, and share research data, threat profiles, and risk assessments to ensure the critical infrastructure community has access to high-quality, openly available data to support resilience efforts. This project is also coupled to our Standards project which will help standardize the CIP space and will increase the data acquisition, thereby increasing the research and analysis we an undertake. We have a Data Management Plan and are up and running – tightly tied to our Pulse & Praxis Journal.

Pillar & Prose is NC-CIPSeR’s newsletter, keeping volunteers, researchers, members and partners informed about ongoing projects, upcoming events, and opportunities for collaboration. By featuring updates from Project CANVAS, Pulse & Praxis, and volunteer initiatives, Pillar & Prose fosters a connected, informed community across all NC-CIPSeR programs and stakeholders. We are building out our capacity to reach stakeholders so please join.

The Pulse – Intelligence Hub Connector

The Pulse is NC-CIPSeR’s opportunity to chime in on current events, national strategies, and case studies to connect audiences directly to NC-CIPSeR’s Intelligence Hub, Repository, and Threat Library. It provides timely analysis of emerging threats, linking readers to relevant data, research, strategies, threat assessments and insights to help inform decisions across sectors. It’s an engagement tool and is really about the repository and showcasing specific documents while providing an assessment. Engagement is key.

Pulse & Praxis Journal

Pulse & Praxis is NC-CIPSeR’s official journal, publishing applied research, expert insights, and practitioner analysis focused on critical infrastructure protection and resilience. The journal aims to translate cutting-edge research into actionable solutions, ensuring knowledge flows between researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers.The site uses Open Journal Systems 3.3.0.15, which is an open source journal management and publishing software developed, supported, and freely distributed by the Public Knowledge Project under the GNU General Public License. Pulse & Praxis is operating with the support of Carleton University and we are establishing an international body of reviewers with a consistent editorial team. We have established Pulse & Praxis Special Editions: Energy Sector; Critical Infrastructure Interdependencies; Insider Risk. We have applied to SSHRC’s Aid to Scholarly Journals in hopes to enhance our knowledge translation through modern tools and approaches including bilingual abstracts, videos and Podcast. Fingers Crossed. Sign up to be notified of new publications.

NC-CIPSeR Awards Program

NC-CIPSeR’s Awards Program recognizes and celebrates leadership, innovation, and collaboration in critical infrastructure protection, security, and resilience. The awards highlight groundbreaking research, operational excellence, and collaborative projects, showcasing leading practices and inspiring future innovation. We would like to name the awards after sponsors or key partners. These could fund grants, scholarships, and further research. If you’re interested in funding, please contact us.

Volunteer, Co-op or Field Placement Program

The NC-CIPSeR Volunteer Program, Co-op or Field Placement engages students, emerging professionals, and practitioners in critical infrastructure research, analysis, and outreach initiatives. Collaborating with partners to engage students through their organizations. This means the students are paid by the organization, and assigned to to NC-CIPSeR projects that are of benefit to both organizations. Budgeting for students may fall within overarching organizational budgets. Volunteers contribute to projects and programs while participating in Mentor/Pulse Check meetings to provide input and help shape NC-CIPSeR’s evolving work. They help build capacity while providing an opportunity to explore this space with mentorship. In 2025, We successfully designed a fairly seamless application and onboarding process with incredible interest and uptake. We successfully on-boarded 20 volunteers in July 2025 and will hire an additional 20 in December 2025. Our volunteers are able to acquire security clearances for those projects that require it. We will measure the impact of volunteers on or projects, monitor volunteers and mentors and tweak our strategy when necessary.

Annual NC-CIPSeR Conference

Launching in 2025, NC-CIPSeR’s Annual Conference will bring together leaders, researchers, and practitioners to explore emerging threats, highlight new research, and foster cross-sector collaboration. The conference will feature updates and insights from NC-CIPSeR including Project CANVAS, the Centre of Excellence, and sector-specific working groups, creating a national forum for critical infrastructure dialogue. April 2026 (TBD) will be invite only for the initial conference as we work with government, industry and academia to determine a long-term strategy for an annual conference. Exploring potential funding mechanisms to assist but we already some commitment to funding from partners.

Energy Sector Task Force

NC-CIPSeR’s Energy Sector Task Force brings together industry, government, and academic partners to assess and address sector-specific issues including physical security, cyber risks (including Bill C-8), climate impacts, supply chain vulnerabilities and CI Prioritization. Building out a playbook to share with other sectors. Demonstrating capacity with key partners. We have been operational since November 2024 and with a newly formed team of 5 NC-CIPSeR volunteers that include a mentor and research analysts, we are making progress. This is important and long-term work with our partners. Let’s Go team as we gear up for our next Task Force.

Certificate Program in Critical Infrastructure Protection, Security & Resilience

NC-CIPSeR is developing a Certificate Program to provide practical training in risk assessment, threat intelligence, cybersecurity, physical security, business continuity, and resilience planning. The program is partnered with key stakeholders and is designed to equip professionals, students, and leaders with the skills they need to protect Canada’s critical infrastructure. We have been working on this concept since September 2024, a team meeting in December 2024 to review draft course outlines, partnerships, and to design a path forward. We have sought some funding to help. We will collaborate with partners to provide a hybrid and flexible curriculum to help upskill, and to meet the current needs of Canadas national security, CI and emergency management and preparedness landscapes. Full courses, workshops, conferences and lunch and learns. More information coming soon.

Infrastructure Analysis & Design

NC-CIPSeR supports infrastructure analysis and design research, developing cost-effective, resilient solutions for new and aging infrastructure systems. Research includes evaluating material properties, exploring innovative hybrid materials, and understanding infrastructure performance under natural and human-caused hazards. Researching important issues and bringing multi-disciplinary teams together.

Policy Solutions for Critical Infrastructure Protection

NC-CIPSeR’s policy research examines how policy tools, regulations, standards and incentives can enhance critical infrastructure protection and resilience. By identifying practical, collaborative solutions, we help policy-makers develop frameworks that balance security, resilience, and economic considerations. Current operational insight leads to effective policies. This work is being applied into our Standards Project and we are leveraging an Incorporate by Reference approach based on 2024 Treasury Board report on IBR.

Critical Infrastructure Interdependencies (CII)

NC-CIPSeR is actively mapping critical infrastructure interdependencies to understand how disruptions in one sector can cascade into others. Through modeling, analysis, and collaborative research, we are identifying vulnerabilities or points of failure and developing mitigation strategies to enhance cross-sector resilience. Employ advanced surveillance, econometrics and data analytics to improve CII situational awareness related to disruptions, cross-border trade, infrastructure, and public safety. A research vision document is being drafted to highlight how we can build a dashboard for stakeholders, and a lab to further the research and data. CII is included in most of our projects and we have found success in funding mechanisms to help further this research. This work is led by Tyson Macaulay, a Sr. Research Fellow and Deputy Director of NC-CIPSeR, who has been collaborating internationally with researchers and publishing in Pulse & Praxis. He has been presenting his research at various conferences in Canada, the USA and Internationally, proudly representing NC-CIPSeR.

Canada’s National Economic Security List (2025)

On February 6, 2025, the Government of Canada released the Sensitive Technology List (STL)—the first in a series of national security-focused lists under the National Economic Security List (NESL) initiative. This marks a critical step in safeguarding Canada’s technological, economic, and infrastructure security, with additional lists on sensitive personal information and critical infrastructure expected to follow. We’ll be tracking these closely and assessing their value and impact on critical infrastructure and national security and will be showcasing through The Pulse – Intelligence Hub Connector.

Critical Underwater Infrastructure (CUI)

Research to help identify and understand the evolving threats to Canada’s vital subsea assets, including communication cables, pipelines, and ocean monitoring systems is relevant considering the current geopolitical landscape. Understanding vulnerabilities across Canada’s maritime regions, including the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic waters is essential. As geopolitical tensions, technological advancements, and environmental factors increasingly threaten underwater infrastructure, our research and efforts aims to support proactive policy development, risk mitigation strategies, and innovative surveillance solutions to safeguard these critical assets. We participate on a national working group.

SMRs in the Arctic

NC-CIPSeR is collaborating with government, industry, and academia to explore the deployment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in Arctic regions and across Canada. Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) offer a secure, low-carbon energy solution to meet Canada’s climate goals while seamlessly integrating into critical systems. Technology is evolving faster than regulations, creating gaps in critical infrastructure protection. Using Digital Twins, we will model real-world scenarios to test and refine strategies. This work evolved from the IPIS Program, Critical Infrastructure Risk Assessment Course where TRA scenarios leveraged SMR’s, the Arctic, and CNSC Regs. The Arctic is a focal point due to recent geopolitical threats. Defence is a focus due to upcoming investments in the military bases in the Arctic. Secured funding with partners to explore this further through a 3 year project where we will be incorporating CII and CIMS Digital Twins.

See our SMR security Blog – designed and built by our volunteers. We are now a member of the Arctic Security Working Group, set to present in November 2025, Dual-use or multi-use infrastructure with a focus on ensuring SMRs support energy security and environmental sustainability while addressing the unique operational and security challenges in remote and Indigenous communities like the Arctic. We continue to drive the work through the IPIS CIRA course, working groups with amazing partners – and are currently establishing a formal research team.

Climate Change

Climate change is an amplifier of a host of threats and hazards. Conduct in-depth assessments of how climate change influences critical infrastructure and economic sectors. Develop resilience frameworks to mitigate risks like rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and resource scarcity. Position Canada as a leader in addressing climate-related challenges through innovation and sustainable practices. Our research analysts are building out the threat profiles that directly relate to climate change.

Digital Twins – Partnered with Carleton Immersive Media Studio (CIMS)

In partnership with Carleton University’s Immersive Media Studio (CIMS), NC-CIPSeR is helping advance Digital Twin technology for critical infrastructure protection. Digital Twins allow for CI mapping, real-time monitoring, predictive modeling, and scenario testing, helping decision-makers visualize infrastructure performance and anticipate cascading failures across interconnected systems. Threading threats and hazards into scenarios and exercise along with interdependency data will be interesting. We have several proposals developed with key partners requesting funding to help evolve this concept.

Bill C-8 (C-26) and Cyber

Bill C-8 will set a new benchmark for cybersecurity in Canada, mandating robust protective measures across designated sectors – Finance, Transportation, Telecommunication and Energy. Exploring the implementation of these Bills and the impact they may have on sectors. Policy advice and guidance, regulatory requirements and associated training. NC-CIPSeR submitted a Senate Briefing Note for the both Bill C-26 and C-8.

Watching closely. Ready to further our partnerships, help develop effective standards (our Standards Project – Incorporate by Reference and the Senate Study) implement, train, measure and upskill. Member of the Quantum Security Working Group.

Bill C-70 and National Security

Bill C-70 emphasizes the integration of national security considerations into critical infrastructure planning and operations. Keeping our finger on the pulse and threading these topics into our projects.

Supply Chain Risks

With increasing global interdependencies and vulnerabilities exposed by disruptions, our supply chain-focused initiatives aim to explore both digital and physical networks, raising questions to determine if they can withstand and recover from a variety of threats.Supply Chains have been an area of interest for the past several years with several events occurring that have highlighted the impact of vulnerabilities. Supply chain data is thread into our projects when possible.

AI in Risk Assessment

NC-CIPSeR is exploring artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to enhance risk assessment processes. AI supports the analysis of large datasets, identifies patterns, and helps forecast emerging threats, increasing the speed and accuracy of risk assessments while enhancing human decision-making. It’s not perfect so let’s ascertain it’s best use through a lab, led by one of our Research Fellows. NEXUS Lab will serve as a national hub for data-driven innovation, leveraging AI orchestration, graph-based multi-agent workflows, and experimental test ranges to deliver actionable insights for government and industry partners. Lead Reseearch Fellow created a vision document operational strategy. Related training material designed and ready to be tested.

Modern knowldege Translation

NC-CIPSeR is adopting innovative approaches to Modern knowledge translation, one of which is the creation of short, informative videos. These videos aim to break down complex CIP research findings into digestible, engaging content (like videos) that can easily be understood by a wide audience, including policymakers, industry leaders, stakeholders and the general public. By leveraging visual storytelling, concise explanations, and real-world examples, these videos will highlight key research insights, emerging threats, and practical recommendations for enhancing the resilience of critical infrastructure. Research into action! We’ve created a formal position for this role and have included this in funding mechanisms.

Hub Expansion TBD

We aren’t quite ready for this but the goal is to help develop CIPSeR hubs strategically located across the country. We have more foundational work to do but there is some great work happening already that could roll right into a Hub or two. Government, industry and academia working together on specific projects, relative to their region or sectors and stakeholders – supported by NC-CIPSeR teams, data and insights. If you are ready to build out your Hub, or would like to sponsor or support an Hub, contact us.

Blood Donation Partnership with Canadian Blood Services

NC-CIPSeR has partnered with Canadian Blood Services, encouraging our volunteers, colleagues, and partners to give back through regular blood donations. This partnership highlights our belief that community resilience — including public health system resilience — is an essential component of national security and emergency preparedness. Sign up and let’s give together!