Court orders Shopify to preserve records in ongoing tax dispute with CRA

Shopify Inc. headquarters signage in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

The Federal Court of Appeal has ordered Shopify Inc. to retain data at the centre of a case that has pitted the Canada Revenue Agency against the tech company.

The Minister of National Revenue asked Judge Nathalie Goyette to demand Shopify retain the data because he says the company has a policy deleting information from inactive accounts after two years.

The Canada Revenue Agency has been seeking six years of data from Shopify merchants since 2023.

The tax agency wants the information to determine whether Canadian merchants using the tech giant’s software were obeying the Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act.

Last June, a judge decided not to order Shopify to turn over the records to the CRA because he found the tax agency had not outlined an identifiable group of individuals whose data it wanted.

The CRA has since appealed that ruling.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 2, 2026.

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press