The new requirements will apply to agency grants and Chair awards awarded on or after January 1, 2027.
On October 5th, 2026, the Tri-Agency released a new Open Access Policy on Publications (2026). This policy, which supersedes the 2015 OA policy, mandates new Open Access requirements for both researchers and institutions. In response, Queen’s University Library will ensure that Queen’s meets these requirements, including enhancing our services to help researchers comply with these changes.
A few key changes in the new policy:
- Articles must be published Immediate Open Access (OA). Peer-reviewed research articles arising in whole or in part from grants and Chair awards awarded on or after January 1, 2027 will need to be made immediately and freely available upon publication.
- Articles must be available through a trusted Canadian Platform. Researchers will be required to make either the accepted manuscript or version of record immediately available through a Canadian institutional repository or trusted Canadian platform under an open licence. This applies even where the article is already freely available through the publisher's website. Trusted Platforms include:
- Scholars Portal Journals: Articles available OA in Scholars Portal Journals are automatically compliant with this policy. This collection includes most articles published through Queen’s Read-And-Publish agreements.
- Érudit. Articles available OA in Érudit are automatically compliant with this policy.
- Library Diamond OA Publishers: Articles published OA in library journals on Canadian servers are automatically compliant. This includes all of the journals published by the Queen’s University Library.
- QSpace: If your article is not available on one of the platforms listed above, depositing your paper in Qspace, Queen’s Institutional Repository will bring you into compliance with the policy.
- Researchers will be required to retain their rights. Researchers will need to retain sufficient rights to make their articles openly available, apply an open licence to the version used to comply with the policy and inform publishers of their Tri-Agency obligations when submitting an article. The agencies strongly encourage the least restrictive licence possible, preferably Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY), The agencies have sent a letter to all major publishers informing them of the policy requirements.
- Scope and exclusions. The policy will apply to grants and Chair awards, including those administered through the Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat. Student and postdoctoral awards and fellowships are excluded, although recipients are encouraged to follow the policy through no-cost routes where possible. Grants awarded before January 1, 2027 will still have to comply with the 2015 policy.
Want to learn more?
Join Mark Swartz, Scholarly Publishing Librarian, for a workshop on the new policy requirements, compliance pathways, and resources and supports available.
Future updates will be posted to Meeting Tri-Agency Open Access Requirements.
