CASL

Also called: Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, Canadian anti-spam law.

CASL is an opt-in law: you need consent to send a commercial electronic message to a recipient in Canada. Consent can be express or implied. The route that matters for B2B cold email is implied consent by conspicuous publication, in section 10(9)(b).

It applies when the person has conspicuously published their address (or had it published), the publication doesn't say they don't want unsolicited commercial messages, and your message is relevant to their business role. The CRTC says this is a higher standard than an address simply being available online, is judged case by case, and that the sender must prove consent.

Every message must identify the sender, include contact details, and contain an unsubscribe mechanism valid for at least 60 days. Unsubscribes must be honored without delay and within 10 business days.

The CRTC lists maximum administrative monetary penalties of C$1 million per violation for individuals and C$10 million for businesses. For local lead lists, keep a record of where and when each address was published, and make sure your offer fits the recipient's trade.

Example

A Toronto plumbing company lists office@ on its contact page with no "no solicitations" notice. An email offering plumbing-specific scheduling software, with sender details and an unsubscribe link, can rely on implied consent. An unrelated offer couldn't.