What is CASL?
Canada's anti-spam law. It requires consent before sending commercial electronic messages, with narrow exceptions.
CASL — CASL is Canada's anti-spam law. It requires prior express or implied consent to send commercial electronic messages, and it is among the strictest in the world. Implied consent from a published business address is narrow and time-limited.
Why it matters
CASL governs commercial electronic messages sent to or from Canada. Unlike CAN-SPAM in the United States, it starts from a consent requirement rather than an opt-out requirement. A sender generally needs prior express consent, meaning the recipient actively agreed. Or prior implied consent, a narrower category. That can arise from an existing business relationship, or from a publicly available business contact where the message relates to their role. Implied consent is also time-limited. A relationship that once qualified can expire.
The practical effect for a sales team: a Canadian contact cannot be treated the same way as a US one just because the outreach process is identical. A list built for US cold email, with no consent basis beyond a public business address, does not clear the CASL bar for a Canadian recipient. You have to check whether an implied-consent exception applies. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission enforces the law. Penalties can run into the millions of dollars per violation. That is a different order of risk from a typical CAN-SPAM exposure.
What CASL requires before sending
- 1
Determine if the recipient is in scope
Check whether the message and recipient fall under Canadian jurisdiction.
- 2
Establish a consent basis
Confirm prior express consent, or a qualifying and current implied-consent relationship.
- 3
Include required identification
Messages must identify the sender clearly.
- 4
Include a working unsubscribe mechanism
The message must offer a way to withdraw consent that takes effect promptly.
- 5
Track when implied consent expires
Implied-consent relationships are time-limited and need to be reassessed.
The mistake to watch for
Questions
- How is CASL different from CAN-SPAM?
- CAN-SPAM permits sending a first commercial email without consent, relying on an opt-out instead. CASL generally requires consent, express or a narrow implied form, before sending a commercial electronic message at all. Its penalties are far higher.
- What counts as implied consent under CASL?
- Implied consent can arise from an existing business relationship, or from a publicly available business contact where the message relates to the recipient's role. It is narrow, and it expires over time rather than lasting indefinitely.
- Does CASL apply to B2B outreach?
- CASL applies to commercial electronic messages generally, including B2B outreach. A business sending to Canadian contacts needs to assess its consent basis specifically. This is not legal advice.