Federal Identity Program

The Federal Identity Program (FIP) is the Government of Canada's corporate identity program. FIP requirements are made mandatory through policies and standards approved by Treasury Board ministers.

The objectives of FIP are:

• to enable the public to recognize clearly federal activities by means of consistent identification;
• to improve service to the public by facilitating access to federal programs and services;
• to project equality of status of the two official languages consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Official Languages Act;
• to ensure effective management of the federal identity consistent with government-wide priorities, and to achieve savings through standardization; and
• to promote good management practices in the field of corporate identity and information design.

When a department is clearly and consistently identified, its programs and services are easier to find and use. This is especially important to ensure that government departments are accountable to the public they serve. All information, whether intended for external or internal use, must clearly convey the Government of Canada’s visual identity.

In 1998, Treasury Board (TB) ministers approved additional requirements aimed at strengthening the presence and visibility of the Government of Canada in all of its activities. Of major importance is the decision that the Government of Canada's identity is to have primacy over the identity of individual institutions and is not to be overshadowed by unique identifiers and symbols. TB ministers also decided that the use of institutional symbols that do not comply with the Federal Identity Program require the authorization of the Treasury Board. As a result, departments cannot use any logos, other than the official symbols of the Government of Canada, to identify themselves and their communications, programs, services and assets, unless they have received Treasury Board approval to do so.