GC Design System
Home Start to use Page templates overview Basic page Components overview Breadcrumbs Button Card Checkboxes Container Date input Date modified Details Error message Error summary Fieldset File uploader Footer Grid Header Heading Icon Input Language toggle Link Notice Pagination Radios Screenreader-only Search Select Side navigation Signature Stepper Text Textarea Theme and topic menu Top navigation CSS shortcuts overview Reset styles Responsive layout State Box sizing Container sizing Display Overflow Position Visibility Font Font family Font size Font style Font weight Line height Link colour Link size Link text decoration List style Text align Text colour Text overflow Text transform Word break Margin Padding Align content Align items Align self Flex Flex direction Flex grow Flex shrink Flex wrap Gap Grid columns Grid rows Justify content Justify items Justify self Order Place content Place items Place self Background colour Border colour Border radius Border style Border width Icon names Icon size Image Cursor Pointer events Transition Styles overview Design tokens Colour tokens Spacing tokens Typography tokens Contact us Get involved Find a demo

Roadmap

Themes for 2025/2026

  1. Increase trust in GC Design System to encourage adoption
  2. Improve clarity in the strategy and direction of GC Design System
  3. Increase collaboration with other teams and departments

Here's what we'll be focusing on in each quarter.

Product

Deliverable Status
Improve onboarding flow for developers ✅ Completed
Improve onboarding flow for designers ✅ Completed
Improve form input components with better validation ✅ Completed

Research

Activity Status
Usability of GC Design System Icons ✅ Completed
General accessibility testing with Fable ✅ Completed
Support ticket analysis ✅ Completed

Engagement and collaboration

Activity Status
English and French demos ✅ Completed
Forum ✅ Completed
Newsletter and blog posts ✅ Completed
Digital Transformation Office on new Footer links ✅ Completed
Engage with the IT Accessibility Office for the next accessibility audit ✅ Completed
Explore Modal component from Department of Fisheries and Oceans ✅ Completed

Product

Deliverable Status
Launch CSS Shortcuts v1 ✅ Completed
Security enhancements 🔄 In progress

Research

Activity Status
Post launch analysis ✅ Completed
Data table component research Deprioritized
General accessibility testing with Fable ✅ Completed
Support ticket analysis ✅ Completed

Engagement and collaboration

Activity Status
English and French demos ✅ Completed
GC Design System Forum including a presentation from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans ✅ Completed
Newsletter and blog posts ✅ Completed
Collaboration with National Resources Canada on MapML plugin 🔄 In progress
Collaboration with Department of Fisheries and Oceans on an Angular starter app 🔄 In progress

Product

Deliverable Status
Exit alpha: go live 🔄 In progress
Release Data table component Deprioritized
Additional starter apps for React, Angular 📅 Planned
Explore Sa11y accessibility plugin 📅 Planned

Research

Activity Status
Flexibility and customization needs Deprioritized
Data table component usability and accessibility Deprioritized
CSS Shortcuts usability ✅ Completed
Support ticket analysis 📅 Planned
General accessibility testing with Fable 📅 Planned

Engagement & Collaboration

Activity Status
English and French demos 📅 Planned
GC Design System Forum 📅 Planned
Newsletter and blog posts 📅 Planned
Collaboration with Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Library and Archives Canada on .NET starter app 📅 Planned

Product

Deliverable Status
Release Data table component 📅 Planned
Additional component or pattern: Autocomplete or Modal (Department of Fisheries and Oceans contribution) 📅 Planned
Resolve priority blockers to adoption 📅 Planned

Research

Activity Status
Design and a11y rationale 📅 Planned
Flexibility and customization needs 📅 Planned
Onboarding validation 📅 Planned
Data table component usability and accessibility 📅 Planned
Support ticket analysis 📅 Planned

Engagement and collaboration

Activity Status
English and French demos 📅 Planned
GC Design System Forum 📅 Planned
Newsletter and blog posts 📅 Planned
Collaboration with Digital Transformation Office on most used patterns of Canada.ca 📅 Planned

Completed in 2024/2025

  • Aligned the mandatory elements with Canada.ca
  • Added support for NextJS
  • Released a bilingual design library
  • Released a full VueJS package
  • Improved the Angular package
  • Added new and updated components: Card, Fieldset, Icons, Stepper, Date input, Notice
  • Deployed the Card component on Adobe Experience Manager for Canada.ca
  • Released the basic page template
  • Provided an introduction and path to GC Design System from design.canada.ca
  • Conducted a GC design community market survey
  • Created new pages about accessibility information and testing of GC Design System
  • Completed accessibility testing with 30 people
  • Completed 5 usability research activities
  • Established a contribution model
  • Conducted post demo surveys
  • Created the GC Design System mailing list and quarterly newsletters
  • Created recurring demos with self sign up

Collaboration and support channels

  • Check out our Get involved page to learn about what we're working on and how you can contribute.
  • Visit our GitHub repo to report an issue or make a suggestion.

Change is expected

Our product roadmap can change based on shifting priorities, resource availability, and unforeseen dependencies. Any item that has not yet started may be reprioritized or replaced by a higher-value initiative. Items currently in progress could be delayed as we navigate challenges and learn along the way.

We share this roadmap to foster transparency, encourage collaboration, and align with our stakeholders. We welcome your feedback and contributions as we refine our path forward.

2025-12-11