General Aviation is a branch of the Transport Canada Civil Aviation Directorate with numerous and diverse responsibilities. Canada has more than 29,000 civil aircraft. General Aviation is responsible for the system of registration and leasing of these aircraft. There are about 65,000 flight crew licences and permits in force in Canada. General Aviation sets the standards for these documents and ensures that all flight crew, while meeting these standards, also meet the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization. General Aviation is responsible for prescribing the standards for flight training and testing, and for designing and conducting flight crew examinations (approximately 12,000 per year) to preserve Canada’s reputation of excellence in flight crew training. General Aviation also certifies flight schools (over 460), trains pilot examiners (over 250), delivers recurrent training to flight instructors (approximately 2,000) and conducts general safety oversight of over 46,000 Canadian pilots who fly over 20,000 Canadian aircraft recreationally - outside of the commercial sphere.

The General Aviation Branch provides safety oversight to a number of commercial operations, such as those using balloons to carry fare paying passengers. Other responsibilities include public safety at the air shows, fly-ins, balloon festivals and other special aviation events. General Aviation develops rules and policies for emerging technologies, such as rockets (high power, sub-orbital and orbital), for unmanned air vehicles, for "wing-in-ground-effect" vehicles, and other technologies that challenge the regulatory status quo. General Aviation has developed and published training publications addressing a wide range of subjects such as, ground and airborne icing, the Flight Training Manual, Human Factors Manuals and a video on ground icing titled, "When in Doubt", for flight and ground crews. General Aviation performs these functions with skilled and experienced staff who are called upon to be creative in their approach to aviation safety, to be always aware of international standards and the standards set by other major aviation authorities, such as in the United States and Europe.