CASL (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, in force since 2014) covers commercial electronic messages sent to or from Canada. Unlike the US CAN-SPAM Act, it requires consent before sending.
Consent under CASL
- Express consent: the person clearly agreed to receive your emails.
- Implied consent in limited cases, including an existing business relationship and, for B2B, when a person has published their business address publicly (on a website, for example) with no statement refusing messages, and your email relates to their role.
Every message must
- Identify the sender and give contact details, including a mailing address.
- Include an unsubscribe mechanism, honoured within 10 business days.
Penalties
Up to CAD $10 million per violation for organisations.
For cold email
Cold email to Canada is only safe where implied consent clearly applies: a published business address and a message relevant to that person's job. Keep a record of where each address came from. This isn't legal advice; check with a lawyer before emailing Canadian prospects.