Commercial email in Quebec: consent and Canada’s anti-spam rules

Spam is the unsolicited mass send

Canada’s anti-spam rules aren’t trying to block a genuine business exchange. They target commercial email blasted to people who never asked for it, with no real connection to them and no simple way to opt out.

So the question to ask before sending isn’t “how many emails?” but “does this person have a reason to receive my message, and can they easily say stop?”

Express or implied consent: the nuance that matters

Express consent is when a person clearly agrees to receive your communications. Implied consent can flow from an existing business relationship or a context where the contact is reasonably expected.

A conspicuously published business address — for instance on an official website — without a notice refusing solicitation can also support implied consent, provided your message is relevant to the person’s professional role.

The exact line between the two depends on your situation, and it’s the kind of point a qualified advisor can pin down for you. The principle to keep: the thinner your link to the person, the more careful you should be.

Three reflexes: identify yourself, say why, offer the exit

A compliant commercial email is easy to recognize. These three elements cover most of good practice:

• Identify yourself clearly — who’s writing, on behalf of what company, with real contact details and a valid mailing address.
• Say why you’re writing to this person in particular, not to an anonymous list.
• Offer a simple, working unsubscribe.
• Honour every opt-out promptly — in Canada, within 10 business days.

Why Cible never sends automatically

Most anti-spam mishaps come from blind automation: a list, a button, a thousand emails gone before a human read a single one. Cible doesn’t work that way.

The AI prepares a first draft, but it sends nothing. No mass blasts, no sequence firing on its own. You’re the one who reviews, adjusts, and clicks send — one message at a time.

One email at a time, written for the company

Writing to a specific company, for a specific reason, with a clear way to reply or unsubscribe, is exactly what the rules encourage. It’s also what gets replies.

Cible puts you in that mode by default: the AI proposes, the human disposes. For anything touching your exact obligations, a qualified advisor remains your best reference.