British Columbia drone laws: parks, wildfire, bylaws and privacy
British Columbia has no drone statute. The rules that bite are BC Parks (drones prohibited without permission, and permission is rarely granted), the Wildfire Act (up to $100,000 and a year in jail — the harshest wildfire drone penalty in Canada, and it has produced a conviction), the Wildlife Act hunting regulation (illegal to possess a drone while on a hunting or trapping expedition), and a set of municipal bylaws that range from precisely drafted to forty years out of date. Your footage is governed by BC PIPA, not PIPEDA.
BC Parks
BC Parks states it flatly: operating drones without permission is illegal in all BC Parks, and permission is rarely granted even for research or resource management. In protected areas established as ecological reserves, drone use is not permitted at all.
The permit is a park use permit. For commercial work the authority runs through Park Act ss.12(4) and 16(e), under which all commercial film production in a park or recreation area must be authorized by a park use permit or resource use permit. Worth knowing before you apply: BC Parks’ published commercial filming policy and permit pages do not mention drones or aerial work anywhere. There is no drone-specific permit stream — you are applying under a general filming or research permit and raising the aerial component yourself.
Wildfire: the rule that should change how you plan a summer shoot
Every province is covered by the federal restriction — CARs s.601.15, no aircraft over a forest fire area or within five nautical miles of one below 3,000 feet AGL, applying automatically whether or not a NOTAM has been issued. British Columbia stacks its own offence on top.
Section 56 of the BC Wildfire Act prohibits interference with wildfire control, including drone operation, with penalties up to $100,000 and up to one year in jail. The province treats every wildfire as an automatic flight-restricted zone of five nautical miles radius to 3,000 feet AGL. This is not theoretical: a pilot was convicted and fined under the Act over the 2023 McDougall Creek fire near Kelowna.
For comparison, Transport Canada’s administrative monetary penalties top out at $3,000 for an individual and $15,000 for a corporation. The provincial exposure in BC is more than thirty times larger.
The hunting rule catches people who are not hunting. Since 2016, s.27 of BC’s Hunting Regulation under the Wildlife Act has made it illegal to operate or merely possess a drone while on a hunting or trapping expedition, to use drone-derived data for hunting, or to operate a drone to assist a hunter. Penalties start at a $2,500 minimum and run to $250,000 and two years on a first conviction. Read the possession wording carefully — a wildlife photographer with a drone in the truck during an outing that involves hunting is exposed regardless of whether the drone leaves the case.
Privacy: BC PIPA, not PIPEDA
British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act has been declared substantially similar to PIPEDA, so it displaces PIPEDA for provincially regulated organizations in BC. PIPEDA still governs federal works and undertakings, and cross-border transfers of personal information.
Two differences matter for aerial work. BC PIPA covers non-profits, which PIPEDA generally does not — so a volunteer shoot for a community organization is inside the Act. And it expressly excludes an individual’s collection, use or disclosure of personal information for personal or domestic purposes. A hobby flight is outside it; a paid real-estate or wedding shoot is squarely inside, and consent obligations attach.
Municipal bylaws
Metro Vancouver — the best-drafted drone bylaw in Canada
Regional Parks Regulation Bylaw No. 1420, 2025 is worth reading as a model. Section 4 defines a drone as “any remotely piloted or controlled aircraft, regardless of weight or size.” Section 29(g) prohibits using land in a regional park for the take-off or landing of a drone except with a park permit authorizing it. Section 90 sets the general offence at $50 to $50,000 and up to six months.
Note the take-off-and-landing framing. That is a deliberate land-use hook rather than an airspace rule, and it is the version most likely to survive a constitutional challenge.
City of Vancouver — drafted before drones existed
The Parks Control By-law, s.7(b), prohibits flying “any motor-driven model airplane” except in designated or permitted areas. Section 26(a) sets fines from $50 to $2,000 per offence, with up to $50 a day for continuing offences. The by-law says model airplane, not drone or RPAS, which leaves a live interpretive question for a modern quadcopter — and, in practice, inconsistent enforcement.
Victoria — a club carve-out, not a permit stream
Parks Regulation Bylaw No. 07-059, s.7, allows remote-controlled model aircraft only in the area shown on Schedule E, and only if the operator is a member of the Model Aeronautics Association of Canada or its local branch, the association holds a City permit, and the operator carries $3,000,000 in liability insurance and League of Silent Flight Level 1 certification or equivalent. No operation between sunset and sunrise, roped and signed perimeter. For a commercial operator this is effectively a closed door rather than an application process.
Trespass
The governing statute is the Trespass Act, RSBC 1996, c.462. Launching from or landing on land you do not own or have permission to use is the exposure. I have not been able to verify the current section numbers and penalty amounts against a primary source — the provincial legislation site blocks automated access — so I am not going to quote a figure here. Treat it as: get permission for your launch point, in writing where money is involved.
Airspace and operational notes
Two things distinguish BC operationally. Mountain terrain means density altitude, valley winds and a much shorter margin than the numbers on the controller suggest — an aircraft that climbs happily at sea level in Richmond behaves differently at 1,500 metres in the Kootenays. And Vancouver’s airspace is among the most congested in the country, with YVR, Boundary Bay, Pitt Meadows, Vancouver Harbour water aerodrome and heavy helicopter traffic all in play. Check NAV Drone before you assume anything about a Lower Mainland site.
If you are working toward certification
Nothing on this page changes the exam or the flight review. The Advanced written exam is 50 questions in 60 minutes at an 80% pass mark, written online through Transport Canada’s Drone Management Portal from anywhere in Canada, and the certificate is valid nationally. What the material here changes is the operational judgement you are assessed on: a reviewer will expect you to distinguish airspace authorization from land-use permission, and to say which one you actually hold for the site you are standing on.
If you are preparing, the free practice exam and the Canadian RPAS Operations Guide cover the written side, and I conduct in-person Advanced flight reviews across southern Ontario.
Related reading
- All 13 provinces and territories compared — parks, permits, trespass and privacy side by side
- The Advanced RPAS certificate — exam, flight review and the November 2025 privileges
- Where can I fly a drone in Canada? — airspace authority versus land-use authority
- Canadian drone rules at a glance — every federal limit on one page
Questions
Can I fly a drone in a BC provincial park?
Not without permission. BC Parks states that operating drones without permission is illegal in all BC Parks, and that permission is rarely granted even for research or resource management. In ecological reserves it is not permitted at all. Commercial work goes through a park use permit under Park Act ss.12(4) and 16(e), though BC Parks publishes no drone-specific permit stream.
What is the fine for flying a drone near a wildfire in BC?
Section 56 of the BC Wildfire Act carries penalties up to $100,000 and up to one year in jail for interfering with wildfire control, which includes drone operation. That is separate from and far larger than Transport Canada's administrative monetary penalties, which top out at $3,000 for an individual and $15,000 for a corporation. A pilot was convicted under the BC Act over the 2023 McDougall Creek fire.
Can I fly a drone in a Vancouver park?
Two different bylaws apply depending on who owns the park. Metro Vancouver regional parks require a park permit for take-off or landing under Bylaw 1420 s.29(g), with offences running from $50 to $50,000. City of Vancouver parks fall under the Parks Control By-law s.7(b), which prohibits flying a motor-driven model airplane except in designated areas, with fines from $50 to $2,000.
Does PIPEDA apply to drone footage in British Columbia?
Generally no — BC's Personal Information Protection Act has been declared substantially similar to PIPEDA and displaces it for provincially regulated organizations. PIPEDA still applies to federal works and undertakings and to cross-border transfers. BC PIPA also covers non-profits, which PIPEDA usually does not, and expressly excludes purely personal or domestic use.
Is it illegal to have a drone with you while hunting in BC?
Yes. Section 27 of BC's Hunting Regulation under the Wildlife Act makes it illegal to operate or merely possess a drone while on a hunting or trapping expedition, to use drone-derived data for hunting, or to operate a drone to assist a hunter. Penalties start at a $2,500 minimum and reach $250,000 and two years on a first conviction. The possession wording is broad enough to catch a drone left in a vehicle.
Written by Chris Jones, Transport Canada certified RPAS pilot and flight reviewer. Last reviewed 8 August 2026. Spot an error? Tell me and I'll fix it.