Eligible Canadians can now seek compensation from an $8.76 million government account breach settlement, although the widely advertised $5,000 figure is reserved for documented financial losses and sits within a fixed fund that must also absorb legal fees, administration expenses, and potentially thousands of approved claims.
The claims window opened on August 4 and will close on February 3, 2027, according to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and a Federal Court-authorized settlement notice. KPMG is administering the process through a dedicated online portal.
The settlement resolves the Sweet v. His Majesty the King class action involving unauthorized access to federal online accounts in 2020. The affected systems included Canada Revenue Agency My Account and Represent a Client accounts, My Service Canada accounts, and other federal accounts accessed through GCKey.
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The Federal Court approved the settlement on May 5, 2026. The government continues to deny wrongdoing, and the agreement does not constitute an admission of liability, fault, or inadequate cybersecurity.
Compensation is divided according to how the unauthorized access affected each claimant. People whose information was accessed but not used fraudulently may claim $20 per hour for time spent addressing the incident, capped at four hours or $80.
Those whose information was used for fraud may claim the same hourly rate for up to 10 hours, producing a maximum time-based payment of $200. Examples identified in the settlement include unauthorized applications for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, Canada Emergency Student Benefit, or Employment Insurance, as well as diverted benefit payments.
Both groups can seek as much as $5,000 from a special compensation fund for eligible out-of-pocket costs. Covered expenses may include unreimbursed fraud losses, charges connected to identity theft, professional fees, and fees or penalties resulting from credit freezes.
The administrator can reduce approved payments if total claims exceed the money available.
The settlement economics place another constraint on the amount available for distribution. The Federal Court approved legal fees of up to $2.09 million, including taxes, along with $89,255.81 in disbursements.
The settlement class broadly covers people whose personal or financial information in a federal online account was disclosed without authorization between March 1 and December 31, 2020.
Compensation, however, is limited to account holders tied to defined incidents. The final notice identifies people affected by credential-stuffing attacks between June 26 and August 18, 2020, as well as people whose information was accessed through a CRA Represent a Client account between October 8 and November 25, 2020.
