CASL: Canada’s anti-spam law compliance in digital marketing

In brief:

• Ignoring electronic messaging rules can trigger $1M+ CAD in fines, and this is coupled with the growing risk of private right of action.
• Audit-proof compliance rests on verifiable consent capture, mandatory identification, and an unsubscribe mechanism. Robust, automated record-keeping tools is critical for this.
• Leveraging automated tech solutions as part of your corporate compliance programme can make your CASL compliance journey smoother and build trust with your customers.

Why is CASL compliance a $1 million question for marketers?

The Canada anti-spam law (CASL) is less a warning and more a magnifying glass held over your consent records. If those documents have holes, the law acts as a powerful spotlight, exposing compliance flaws.

CASL compliance is focused on regulating CEMs, which includes emails, texts, and social media messages that encourage participation in a commercial activity, whether for profit or otherwise. These electronic messaging rules are overseen by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

In 2025, the CRTC continued to take enforcement action, including fines ranging from $5,000 CAD and $250,000 CAD for violations of commercial electronic messaging (CEM) rules.

The maximum penalty for a CASL violation is $1,000,000 for an individual, and $10,000,000 for any other person, as specified in section 20(4) of CASL.

Beyond these significant financial penalties, the rising threat of a private right of action means consumers can increasingly sue companies directly, amplifying your risk.

CEM compliance hinges on a fundamental distinction: CASL express vs. implied consent. Let’s take a closer look at both forms of consent:

• Express consent: This requires a positive action, like a checkbox that is left unchecked by default, and does not expire unless withdrawn.
• Implied consent: This is based on existing relationships, such as a customer’s recent purchase or an inquiry, but implied consent can expire depending on the type of interaction.

In both cases, organizations must clearly identify themselves, describe the messages, and provide a working unsubscribe mechanism.

Any sender of CEMs will know that one of the north star metrics is email open rates. To give the best chances of electronic messages reaching recipients, adopting a clean list strategy, rooted in strong consent is vital. Not only does this satisfy the CRTC, it also improves email open rates and inbox placement, turning CASL into a competitive edge.

CASL Core rules: What are the mandatory requirements for sending CEMs?

For any sender of CEMs, three non-negotiable elements must be present to achieve CEM compliance:

1. Recipient consent
2. Sender identification
3. A working unsubscribe mechanism

Recipient consent: What are the Types of CASL consent and how should they be captured?

While both express and implied consent are valid, organizations must be ready to prove which type of consent they hold for every recipient.

Type of CASL consent	Duration	When is it used?	Mandatory capture fields
Express	Indefinite (until withdrawal)	Subscription to a newsletter, marketing list, or alert	Recipient’s email/number, clear consent statement, sender ID, date/time stamp
Implied	May be valid for up to 2 years—or just 6 months in the case of inquiries or applications	Existing customer relationship (purchase in the last two years); business relationship (accepting a proposal)	Proof of the relationship (e.g., invoice, contract date, inquiry log)

Does CASL apply to B2B emails?

Yes, CASL does apply to most business-to-business (B2B) communications, but there are specific B2B exemptions for messages sent:

• To a person who is engaged in a business/commercial activity, provided the message is relevant to that activity. This is often mistakenly over-applied; it still requires the sender to have a relationship with the recipient.
• Within an organization or between organizations that already have a relationship, if the message concerns the affairs of the organization.

There are several exemptions

And what about software installs?

For tech companies, the CASL software install rules are critical. 2025 software install updates reinforce that explicit consent is required before installing or causing to be installed any computer program on another person’s device.

Finally, every CEM must include:

1. Mandatory fields: This includes the name of the sender and contact information (e.g., mailing address, phone, or email).
2. Functional unsubscribe: A clear, working mechanism that processes the recipient’s unsubscribe requirements without delay, and in all cases, within ten business days.

Pitfalls and audit-proof fixes: How can marketers ensure CASL compliance?

Many organizations, especially those using older systems, fall into common CASL compliance traps. The path to audit-proof operations involves proactively fixing proof gaps and legacy list errors.

What are the biggest CASL pitfalls to avoid?

• Legacy list errors: Sending to contacts obtained before CASL was implemented (July 1, 2014) without a clear re-confirmation process.
• Third-party sender liability: Assuming that a vendor or agency that sends messages on your behalf takes on all the risk. This is not the case; the primary organization is still liable to comply with CASL.
• Proof gaps: Having no way to quickly produce a clear, verifiable record of how and when a customer consented. This is often the weakest point in an audit and requires efficient and robust record-keeping practices.

CASL compliance checklist for 2025: Audit-proof your processes

To prevent high-exposure CASL fines for marketers, implement CASL audit proof tools and clear workflows:

1. Consent capture scripts: Use double opt-in where possible and ensure your capture mechanism records the recipient’s IP address, the exact time/date, and the specific text of the consent provided.
   1. CASL express consent examples: A leading Canadian retailer uses a two-step process: A user checks an unmarked box stating, “Yes, I would like to receive promotional emails from [retailer name] and its brands,” followed by a mandatory verification click in an initial email (as seen on their checkout page).
2. Suppression workflows: Automate the removal of recipients after an unsubscribe request or after their implied consent expires.
3. Robust record retention: Maintain encrypted, tamper-proof logs for every single opt-in and opt-out request. There is no prescribed period in the legislation setting out how long records should be kept.

Getting these three core areas of CASL compliance right will help foster trust between your organization and your customers, which in turn can turn into repeat purchases and even brand loyalty.

Tech stack for CASL success: What are the best tech tools for CASL compliance?

Trying to manage CASL compliance with a spreadsheet or basic Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system leads to spreadsheet chaos, audit gaps, and organizational risk.

Modern, scalable technology is the only way to genuinely audit-proof your marketing operations and minimize the risk of violating CASL.

When selecting the best tool for your business, consider the following CASL requirements:

• Consent: Your tool must capture and track explicit consent for emails, SMS, and other commercial electronic messages to provide an immutable, encrypted log of consent.

• Identification: It must be able to automatically include your company’s name, mailing address, and other contact details in all CEMs.

• Unsubscribe mechanism: Your tool must offer an easy-to-use, visible, and functional unsubscribe link that processes requests within 10 business days. The best tools instantly integrate a recipient’s opt-out request across all sending systems.

• Record-keeping: You will need a system to retain consent records for a specified period after you stop sending CEMs to a contact.

CRM Systems: Customer Relationship Management software is an essential tool for documenting the customer relationships that establish implied consent, as well as for tracking and storing express consent.

This should be paired with an email archiving and compliance solution, like Global Relay’s archiving solution that helps create an unalterable, evidential repository of email communications. It supports features like role-based access and detailed audit trails, which can be vital in providing information to the CRTC as part of a compliance check or investigation. 

Final thoughts: CASL as a competitive edge

Ultimately, the Canada anti-spam law is not designed to punish, but to promote compliance. Forward-thinking organizations will have already spotted that CASL compliance is in fact an opportunity.

By adhering to its strict consent, identification, and unsubscribe requirements, your organization establishes a competitive advantage that directly impacts inbox placement.

Clean lists and robust processes foster express consent examples and signal trust to both subscribers and Internet Service Providers.

But, to move from manual risk to automated assurance, you must have a dependable system for CEM archiving and consent audit trails.

Global Relay provides solutions for CEM and consent archiving that automate the creation of your tamper-proof records. This solution ensures you maintain accurate records of when, where, and how consent was granted, future-proofing your business against the growing risks of CRTC fines and private litigation.

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