In the early part of 2025, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) added DJI drones to a list of products that they claim has some sort of national security impacts; although, it should be said that the law which got DJI on the list last year, specific stated that DJI would end up on the list by default, if the U.S.’s security organizations failed to audit DJI’s equipment.
Since no American security organization elected to do the audit, DJI ended up on the list by default. Membership on this specific list now blocks new DJI products from being authorized under FCC regulations, keeping new DJI products from being imported, or sold to anyone is the U.S. At this time, membership to the list does not remove FCC authorization for already released products, so anything that was released before this point should still be usable in the U.S at this time.
Canada, For its part has no official plans to place DJI equipment on any sort of similar list right now. Currently, only two organizations in Canada have publicly announced objections to the use of Chinese made drones. The Canadian military has banned the use of Chinese drones in their operations, and the RCMP recently received instructions from Canada’s Parliament to remove, or at least restrict use of, Chinese drones in their operations.
So, will Canadian's be affected by the U.S. ban? There are some places where the ban might lightly touch Canadians are availability, usage and maintenance of DJI products.
Drone Supply and Demand
While the ban applies only to the U.S. market, it threatens to disrupt global supply chains — including those serving Canada:
- DJI's U.S. ban may lead to logistical slowdowns worldwide as the company reallocates inventory and modifies distribution plans.
- A major change like this U.S. ban, will also likely cause the suppliers of DJI to change in unknown ways. All of these changes could make certain materials easier or harder for any company in the drone industry to access for the purposes of manufacturing consumer or enterprise level products.
Cross-Border Travel & Use
Many Canadians travel to the U.S. with their drones — for tourism, adventure photography, or work projects. Here’s what may change:
- DJI drones owned by Canadians will still fall under American regulations, meaning you could buy a new drone in Canada, and not be allowed to bring it across the border.
- Even if enforcement is uneven initially, it's safer to assume the American customs procedures will become tighter and complex over time. Canadians should expect paperwork for their American drone excursions in amount and complexity.
Maintenance, Firmware & Support
In terms of maintaining DJI drones in Canada, there is not much to be concerned about in this area:
- DJI's software infrastructure has a very international focus to it. There is no doubt that there was a heavy focus on the U.S. in the past, but things like DJI removing No-Fly Zones in the U.S. only shows that any country can be worked around in similar situations. If anything, Canadians would likely find DJI's drone applications will take on a more European feeling, as the European Union has always been among China's largest trading partners. Doing even more business annually than that was seen between the U.S. and China
- Canada has a separate support infrastructure from the U.S. Parts come from DJI factories in China, into Canada, by-passing the U.S. completely, so there should be no immediate fear of a parts shortage in Canada.
Final Thoughts
The U.S.’s DJI ban won’t directly stop Canadians from flying their drones or purchasing new DJI gear, but there might be small changes overtime.
- Global supply chains will have to change, and this could have unexpected consequences.
- Cross-border use of DJI drones will be more legally complex.
- Maintenance should not be a problem going forward since it was already isolated by country in the North America region of the world.
In short: Canada may feel minor effects indirectly, even though its own regulations remain DJI friendly.