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

Terms of use

This document defines the terms and responsibilities that you agree to by using GC Design System.

GC Design System is a service that is owned and operated by the Canadian Digital Service (CDS) at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). For CDS’s responsibilities, see GC Design System’s service level agreement.

GC Design System is for the sole use of Canadian federal departments, agencies, and other portions of the federal public administration.

You are responsible for:

Accepting all conditions and risks

You agree to GC Design System’s privacy notice and service level agreement.

By using GC Design System, you acknowledge that some components contain the Government of Canada’s official symbols, which are trademarked and may only be used for communications, operations and activities of the Government of Canada.

  • You accept responsibility for ensuring that the Government of Canada’s official symbols are only used where legally authorized.

CDS may:

  • Share general information about GC Design System and its use by Government of Canada departments and agencies in public forums, such as blog posts, presentations, and conferences.
  • Ask for service standard metrics to assess the efficacy of the GC Design System and identify opportunities to improve it.
  • Link to websites not under the control of the Government of Canada, solely for the convenience of our website visitors. We are not responsible for the accuracy, currency, or reliability of the content of such websites and do not endorse them or their content. These sites are not subject to the Privacy Act or the Official Languages Act and may not be accessible to persons with disabilities.

Contributing to a trustworthy, consistent, and compliant GC digital experience

GC Design System was created to enable Government of Canada departments and agencies to efficiently provide Canadians with a trustworthy, accessible and consistent digital experience.

  • For information about the ownership and usage of content provided on Canada.ca, see the Canada.ca terms and conditions.

You are responsible for ensuring your website meets requirements applicable to all Canadian federal government websites and your department or agency, such as the Design Standard for the Federal Identity Program, Canada.ca Specifications, Canada.ca Content Style Guide, Policy on Official Languages, and accessibility standards.

  • GC Design System tokens, components, templates, and patterns incorporate mandatory elements of the Canada.ca Specifications by default and are iteratively designed with ongoing user research.
  • Deviations from GC Design System guidance and intended use cases should be avoided whenever possible, and supported by user research and strong rationale if necessary.
  • If you are unsure about what Federal Identity Program requirements apply to your department or agency, contact your Federal Identity Program coordinator.

You are responsible for monitoring and maintaining the security of your websites.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the terms and conditions for using GC Design System, contact us.

2025-12-18