Privacy is seldom regarded as a public value or subjected to empirical analysis in public administration. This study parsed 35 empirical research studies on privacy—encompassing more than 47 000 respondents—which were retrieved from Canada's Public Opinion Research Archives between 2007 and 2024. These government‐sponsored studies were analyzed by the types of encounters, theoretical relationships, and citizen public value assessment. For Canadians, privacy is especially salient for state‐initiated exchanges with citizens. It is thought of as a context more than as a cause or an outcome. It qualifies as a value, in tension with others, rather than as consensus or a contested value.