British Columbia
What British Columbia's rule says
What are the calling hours in British Columbia?
British Columbia adds one rule to the CRTC's federal hours: licensed telemarketers may not call consumers on a statutory holiday. Otherwise the window is the same, 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends, under the Telemarketer Licensing Regulation, B.C. Reg. 83/2005, s. 8(2).
B.C. is the only province we found with its own telemarketing hours. The CRTC's rules say stricter provincial hours win (Part III, s. 24), so the holiday ban applies on top of the federal window.
'Statutory holiday' means a holiday under B.C.'s Interpretation Act other than an ordinary Sunday: New Year's Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, B.C. Day, Labour Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (September 30), Remembrance Day, Christmas Day and December 26, plus days proclaimed, such as Thanksgiving.
B.C. stopped changing its clocks in 2026: it moved forward in March 2026 and stays on UTC−7 all year, which the Peace River region and Fort Nelson already kept. The time zone database still groups the East Kootenay (Cranbrook, Golden) with Alberta, which has kept UTC−6 all year since June 2026, an hour ahead of the rest of B.C.; confirm the local time with leads there. Area codes 250, 778, 236, 672 and 257 cover the whole province.
Who the rule covers
British Columbia's window applies on top of the CRTC's rules; where both apply, follow the narrower one.
- Covers: telemarketers licensed in B.C. making consumer sales calls or faxes.
- Not covered by the B.C. rule: business-to-business calls. The CRTC hours still apply to them.
British Columbia's rules and where they come from
Telemarketer Licensing Regulation (B.C. Reg. 83/2005, s. 8(2)): Licensed telemarketers may not call or fax a consumer on a statutory holiday; on Saturdays and Sundays only 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; on other days only 9 a.m.–9:30 p.m., consumer's local time.
The statutes and regulator pages are linked under 'Statutes, regulators and sources' below.
Do British Columbia's calling hours apply to texts?
B.C.'s regulation covers telephone and fax calls, not texts, and CASL sets no hours for commercial texts. Keeping texts to the CRTC hours and off statutory holidays is a sensible default.
Time zones and area codes in British Columbia
British Columbia has 3 time zones, so check which one the lead is in: B.C. time (UTC−7 all year) (Most of the province); Alberta time (UTC−6 all year) (East Kootenay (Cranbrook, Golden)); UTC−7 all year (Peace River region and Fort Nelson).
Area codes in British Columbia: 236, 250, 257, 604, 672, 778. A number's area code is a clue to where the person is, not proof: people keep their numbers when they move.
Calling British Columbia from TopReach
TopReach smart lists only dial a lead inside the legal window in their own time zone (weekdays 9 a.m.–9:30 p.m., weekends 10 a.m.–6 p.m.) and skip statutory holidays, and a rep calling a lead outside their hours is asked to confirm first. They don't apply British Columbia's own rule for you. To stay inside it, set your workspace's quiet hours from 9:30 p.m. to 9 a.m., and keep Saturday calls to 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., and keep Sunday calls to 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., since TopReach's weekend window opens at 10 a.m., and skip Easter Monday and December 26, which B.C.'s Interpretation Act counts as holidays but TopReach's B.C. holiday list (the employment standards holidays) doesn't.
Recording calls into British Columbia: One-party under the Criminal Code; a business must tell callers it records and why. TopReach records only when your workspace policy says so (never, always, or the rep's choice), and it doesn't play a recording announcement for you, so reps say it at the start of the call where consent is needed.
