Let's be clear on something here. It's not like Canadian shooters never had copyright protection for anything.
What this change to the copyright law does is correct a (long standing) error. Up till the passage of this revised act Canadian photographers; unlike other artists/creators, did not automatically hold copyright for commissioned work. Note the word automatically. Many photographers got around this by incorporating a clause into their contracts that explicitly stated that copyright was held by the photographer. This change to the act obviates the need for such a contract clause.
While it is a positive and long overdue change, it's not as dramatic a change as some may think.