An overview of Canadian rules that affect AI calling agents: CRTC telemarketing rules, the National Do Not Call List, CASL and privacy law, including Quebec.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Confirm requirements for your business with a qualified Canadian adviser.
Answering calls from your own customers with an AI agent is lightly regulated beyond privacy and transparency. Outbound telemarketing is where Canadian rules apply.
The CRTC’s Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules apply to telemarketing calls, including the National Do Not Call List. Callers must identify themselves, keep their own internal do-not-call list, and call only within permitted hours, which are shorter on weekends. Registered organisations must also meet registration and list-access obligations.
Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation covers commercial electronic messages such as SMS or email follow-ups an agent might send after a call. Consent, sender identification and an unsubscribe mechanism are required.
Personal information is governed by PIPEDA or substantially similar provincial laws in Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec. Quebec’s private-sector privacy law is among the strictest, so call recording and transcript storage deserve careful handling there.
Customers in Quebec expect service in French. We build bilingual French and English call flows so the agent can switch based on what the caller speaks.