Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) covers commercial electronic messages — emails, texts and direct messages that encourage someone to buy something or do business with you. Unlike the US, Canada's default is that you need consent before you send one. That sounds like it rules out cold email entirely. It doesn't, but it does mean you have to be deliberate about who you email and what you say.
Express versus implied consent
Express consent is a clear yes: someone ticked a box or asked to hear from you. Implied consent is consent the law infers from the situation. Two kinds of implied consent matter most for B2B outreach:
- Existing business relationship. A recent purchase or inquiry creates implied consent for a limited period.
- Conspicuous publication. When a person or business has conspicuously published their electronic address — on their website or a public business listing, for example — and hasn't said they don't want unsolicited messages, and your message is relevant to their business role or functions, consent can be implied.
Conspicuous publication is the one cold emailers rely on, and all three conditions matter. A roofing company that publishes info@ on its listing can reasonably expect messages about roofing-business services. The same address doesn't imply consent to a pitch for personal investments.
What every message must include
- Who you are: your name and the business you're sending for.
- How to reach you: a mailing address plus a phone number, email address or web address.
- An unsubscribe mechanism that is easy to use and costs nothing — a reply-to-unsubscribe line or a link.
Unsubscribe requests must be processed without delay, and within 10 business days at most.
A practical CASL checklist for cold email
- Email only addresses the business has published itself, and keep a record of where you found each one.
- Make the message relevant to their business — your offer should connect to what they do.
- Skip anyone whose listing or website says "no solicitations."
- Put your name, company, mailing address and an unsubscribe line in every email.
- Keep a suppression list and check it before every campaign — across every tool you use.
- Don't buy lists of addresses harvested in ways the owners never agreed to.
Penalties
CASL allows administrative monetary penalties of up to $1 million per violation for individuals and up to $10 million per violation for businesses. The CRTC has fined companies and individuals under the law. Most small senders never get anywhere near that, but it's a strong reason to keep records and honour unsubscribes.
How JAYISAAC helps
Our data comes from published business listings, and every record shows where the business publishes its contact details. The AI email writer adds your mailing address and an opt-out line to each draft, and the settings page stores your sender details so you don't forget. You're still responsible for who you email and what you say, but the basics are built in.
Calling instead? Phone outreach is governed by different rules — see cold-calling rules in Canada and the US.