Guide
Canada's telemarketing rules, part by part
Canada regulates telemarketing through one set of CRTC rules rather than a patchwork of provincial laws, which makes it simpler than the US in some ways and stricter in others: the calling window is narrower, every telemarketer registers with the National Do Not Call List operator, and recorded sales messages need express consent. This guide walks through each part, links the CRTC and DNCL pages it relies on, and notes how TopReach fits. It's general information as of November 7, 2026, not legal advice. Texts and emails fall under CASL, covered at the end.
What are the CRTC's telemarketing rules?
They're the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules, which the CRTC made under sections 41 to 41.7 of the Telecommunications Act to govern unsolicited calls and faxes to people in Canada.
The rules have several parts. The National DNCL Rules cover the National Do Not Call List: who registers, who subscribes and which numbers can't be called. The Telemarketing Rules cover how calls are made: hours, identification, caller ID and internal do-not-call lists. The ADAD Rules cover automatic dialing-announcing devices that play recorded messages. There are also rules for unsolicited faxes.
'Telemarketing' in these rules means unsolicited calls made to sell or promote a product or service, or to solicit money, including donations. Calls that aren't solicitation, such as appointment reminders or product recalls, aren't telemarketing calls under the National DNCL Rules.
What are the telemarketing calling hours in Canada?
Telemarketing calls are allowed from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on weekdays (Monday to Friday) and from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekends (Saturday and Sunday), in the local time of the person being called.
The window applies in the called person's time zone, which matters in a country with six of them. A rep in Toronto calling Vancouver at 9:00 a.m. Eastern is calling at 6:00 a.m. Pacific. Newfoundland is half an hour ahead of Atlantic time, and Saskatchewan doesn't move its clocks in summer.
- Weekdays: 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., called person's time.
- Saturday and Sunday: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., called person's time.
- The National DNCL Rules apply on top of the hours: calling inside the window doesn't make it acceptable to call a registered number.
- Our calling hours tool shows the window in each province's time zone.
What does a telemarketer have to say at the start of a call?
A telemarketer has to identify who is calling and on whose behalf at the start of the call, and on request give contact details for a person responsible for the call.
In practice, the opening line names the rep, the business and, if you're calling for a client, the client. Keep a short, accurate answer ready for 'who is this and how do I reach you?', including a phone number, a mailing address or an email address where someone responsible can be contacted.
- Name the person calling and the organization the call is for.
- On request, give a way to reach a responsible person.
- Display a caller ID number: the number you're calling from, or another number where you can be reached. Don't block caller ID.
- Take do-not-call requests on the spot and confirm them.
How do internal do-not-call lists work in Canada?
Every telemarketer keeps its own internal do-not-call list, exempt or not: when a consumer asks not to be called, their name and number have to be added within 14 days and kept on the list for 3 years.
If you call on behalf of a client, the request has to reach the client's internal list within the same 14 days. The internal list is separate from the National DNCL: a person can be on one, both or neither, and a request made to you on a call applies even if your calls are exempt from the National DNCL Rules, for example because the person is an existing customer.
- One list for the whole team, not one per rep.
- Record the date of each request, so you can show it was added within 14 days.
- Keep entries for at least 3 years.
- If you call for clients, send each request to the client and record that you did.
Who has to register with the National DNCL operator?
Telemarketers, and the businesses that hire them, register with the National DNCL operator before making telemarketing calls, even when their calls are exempt from the National DNCL Rules; those making non-exempt calls also buy a subscription to the list.
The CRTC has contracted Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Consulting Inc. to run the list as the National DNCL operator. Registration is done online at the DNCL site. Non-exempt telemarketers download or query the list and don't call numbers that have been registered on it for more than 31 days. Records of client registrations and subscriptions are kept for 3 years.
Our guide to the National DNCL covers who pays, the current fees, the exemptions and how often to check the list.
When are automated or prerecorded calls (ADAD) allowed in Canada?
An automatic dialing-announcing device, which dials and plays a recorded message, can't be used to solicit without the express consent of the person called, and the ADAD Rules apply to business numbers as well as personal ones.
Calls that don't solicit, such as appointment reminders or service notices, aren't banned, but the rules set requirements for what the message says, such as identifying who the call is from. A prerecorded voicemail dropped on a sales call is a recorded sales message, so the safer reading is to treat it under the ADAD Rules and get express consent first; ask your counsel about your setup.
The rules also limit abandoned calls when predictive dialers are used. A team using a parallel dialer on Canadian consumer lists should keep dropped calls rare and make sure anyone who answers to silence hears who called.
What are the penalties for breaking the CRTC's telemarketing rules?
The CRTC can impose administrative monetary penalties of up to $1,500 per violation for an individual and up to $15,000 per violation for a corporation.
Each call can be a separate violation, so penalties add up quickly on a calling campaign. The CRTC publishes its citations, penalties and undertakings, and consumers can complain about calls through the National DNCL site.
Do the CRTC rules apply to B2B calls?
Partly: the National DNCL Rules don't apply to telemarketing calls made to businesses, but other parts of the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules can, and the ADAD Rules expressly cover business numbers.
Many B2B teams call mobile numbers that belong to individuals as well as businesses. If a number could be a personal line, treat the call as a consumer call: check the National DNCL, keep the calling hours and keep your internal list.
What about texts and emails after a call?
Commercial texts and emails fall under Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), not the telemarketing rules: they need consent, identify the sender and include an unsubscribe that takes effect within 10 business days.
Consent can be express, or implied in limited cases, such as an existing business relationship from a purchase in the past 2 years or an inquiry in the past 6 months. A phone conversation where someone agrees to receive texts is express consent if you record it.
How does TopReach fit the CRTC rules?
TopReach handles part of the job: calling hours on dynamic lists, a shared do-not-call list and texting opt-outs. Registering with the DNCL operator, checking the National DNCL and your scripts stay with your team.
- Calling hours: TopReach's dynamic lists only call people inside their legal hours in their own time zone, worked out from the area code (Canada: 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. weekdays, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. weekends) and never on statutory holidays. Saved static lists and a rep's own calls aren't held to calling hours.
- Do-not-call: TopReach keeps one do-not-call list for the whole workspace, filled by hand, by import, from call outcomes or through the API, and won't dial a number on it.
- National DNCL: TopReach doesn't check numbers against the National DNCL, so check your lists before you import them and re-check at least every 31 days.
- Caller ID: TopReach shows one of your own numbers, matched to the lead's area code or province with local presence, and callbacks ring the rep who called.
- Texts: a reply of STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, QUIT, REVOKE, OPT OUT or OPTOUT stops every number in your workspace from texting that person, including rep texts, scheduled texts and automated follow-ups, until they text START back.
