Precleared

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Cold email law in Canada: when an outbound agent may send

Before an agent sends a cold or marketing email to someone in Canada, these are the rules that decide whether it may. Each one is quoted from its legal source and checked on the date shown. Precleared applies them to one address at a time and returns the rule that decided, what the footer must include and a signed receipt.

The rules

Allowed

CASL allows the message on implied consent: the recipient conspicuously published the address, the publication carried no statement refusing unsolicited commercial messages, and the message is relevant to their business, role, functions or duties. The sender carries the burden of proving this, so keep the receipt and the page where the address was published.

Footer must include: Identify the sender and anyone on whose behalf the message is sent, give contact information, and include an unsubscribe that works by the same means, stays valid for at least 60 days and is honoured within 10 business days.

Next step: Send, keep the receipt and the URL where the address was published. Confidence is medium because relevance is the caller's assertion.

Section 10(9)(b): "the person to whom the message is sent has conspicuously published, or has caused to be conspicuously published, the electronic address to which the message is sent, the publication is not accompanied by a statement that the person does not wish to receive unsolicited commercial electronic messages at the electronic address and the message is relevant to the person's business, role, functions or duties in a business or official capacity". Section 11(2): the unsubscribe address or page must be "valid for a minimum of 60 days after the message has been sent". Section 11(3): give effect "no later than 10 business days after the indication has been sent".

Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, sections 6, 10(9)(b) and 11

Checked on 3 October 2026

Consent needed first

CASL prohibits sending a commercial electronic message without express or implied consent. Without a conspicuously published address and a relevant pitch, or an existing business relationship, consent is needed.

Next step: Do not cold email. Find a published address with no refusal statement and a relevant pitch, or obtain express consent.

Section 6(1): "It is prohibited to send or cause or permit to be sent to an electronic address a commercial electronic message unless (a) the person to whom the message is sent has consented to receiving it, whether the consent is express or implied; and (b) the message complies with subsection (2)."

Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, section 6(1)

Checked on 3 October 2026

Check one address

curl https://precleared.dev/api/v1/check \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer pc_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "recipient_email": "jane@example.ca",
    "sender_country": "GB",
    "pitch": "Bookkeeping software for small firms",
    "address_source": "published",
    "recipient_country": "CA"
  }'

Over MCP, call contact_check with the same fields at https://precleared.dev/mcp.

Other countries

Decision support with sources, not legal advice.