SECTION C: TV & RADIO/ AV

• The self-regulatory and statutory rules set out under our earlier content section B apply, except those that are specific to non-broadcast (e.g. some online rules). In addition, some provincial legislation, especially in sectors such as alcohol, should also be observed;   
• The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is the relevant authority; this is what they do. 'The CRTC doesn’t directly regulate advertising content, except advertising to children and alcohol ads.'
• CRTC publish Commercials on TV and Radio; from that, here is the page on their advertising content rules; 
• Child-directed advertising in the broadcast media is separately regulated by the Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children, also administered by Ad Standards. CRTC state that clearance is mandatory for children's advertising;
• Broadcasters can advertise alcoholic beverages, but must follow the 'regulatory framework governing the broadcast of alcoholic beverages advertising (Public Notice CRTC 1996-108,' which can be found here, albeit archived on the web); See also Ad Standards Canada's Alcoholic Beverage Clearance Guide (2020); 
• Sponsorships and contra advertising are permitted; ditto (as far as we can establish) product placement, and will be subject to rules restricting e.g. alcohol, children (especially food and beverages to children);
• Advertising to children in Quebec is prohibited by the Quebec Consumer Protection Act. 

SECTION C: CINEMA, PRINT, OUTDOOR

• The self-regulatory and statutory rules set out under our earlier content section B apply in these media. In addition, some provincial legislation, especially in sectors such as alcohol, should also be observed;  
• We were unable to trace any rules specific to cinema (Cineplex blocked our website access request on security grounds), though we expect that the traditional age-related rules will apply for e.g. alcohol advertising, which is also subject to statutory provincial requirements for example from the Ontario Alcohol and Gaming Commission, section 4: advertisements may not appear in magazines targeted specifically at people under the legal drinking age (LDA is 18 in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec, and 19 in the rest of the Canadian provinces and territories) or run in conjunction with movies where the intended age of the audience is under the legal drinking age; 
• The Code for the Responsible Advertising of Food and Beverage Products to Children (CCFBA; May 2023) will also apply in cinema; the code applies 'in any media'; as a reminder: Advertising for a food or beverage product may not be primarily directed to persons under thirteen years of age (the “child” or “children”) unless the product satisfies the child advertising nutrition criteria in Appendix A 
• The same section also prohibits the placing of stationary outdoor advertising within 200 metres of a primary or secondary school;
• In the context of any 'native' advertising in print, Ad Standards Canada includes a number of identification rules, the most significant of which is clause 2: 'Disguised Advertising Techniques: no advertisement shall be presented in a format or style that conceals the fact that it is an advertisement.' The Competition Act also prohibits misleading representations 

SECTION C: ONLINE COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATIONS

This section covers the digital media space in broad. More specific headers such as email, marketer's own websites, cookies and OBA etc. follow 

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• The self-regulatory and statutory rules set out under our earlier content section B apply in these media (online commercial communications are in remit), except those rules that specify broadcast media. In addition, some provincial legislation, especially in sectors such as alcohol, should also be observed;  

• The Competition Act includes under Section 52.01 False or misleading representation - sender or subject matter information (1) 'No person shall, for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, any business interest or the supply or use of a product, knowingly or recklessly send or cause to be sent a false or misleading representation in the sender information or subject matter information of an electronic message. (2) No person shall, for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, any business interest or the supply or use of a product, knowingly or recklessly send or cause to be sent in an electronic message a representation that is false or misleading in a material respect.'

• The issues in online commercial communications are largely dependent on the specifics of the medium: regular contextual online display advertising is subject only to the rules referenced above (except in the case of sector-specifc rules such as those for cars, cosmetics - the rules in these pages are 'general' i.e. all-sector rules), whereas more targeted channels will involve user consent and sender information requirements. Most online platforms also have their own advertising rules, generally in line with authorities' - Meta's are here;
• As so much influencer marketing activity is online, bear in mind that this is a sensitive issue in most jurisdictions and Canada is no exception. Ad Standards' Influencer Marketing Disclosure Guidelines (Update Fall 2023) is the key regulation, together with the Competition Bureau's Deceptive Marketing Practices Volume 4 Influencer Marketing.

• Canada's Anti-Spam Law (CASL S.C. 2010, c. 23) Purpose to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating commercial conduct that discourages the use of electronic means to carry out commercial activities, because that conduct (a) impairs the availability, reliability, efficiency and optimal use of electronic means to carry out commercial activities; (b) imposes additional costs on businesses and consumers; (c) compromises privacy and the security of confidential information; and (d) undermines the confidence of Canadians in the use of electronic means of communication to carry out their commercial activities in Canada and abroad. See Section 6 Requirements and Prohibitions on unsolicited electronic messages; 
• The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) 'sets out the ground rules for how businesses subject to the law must handle personal information in the course of commercial activities.' The act declares its purpose as to establish .. rules to govern the collection, use and disclosure of personal information in a manner that recognizes the right of privacy of individuals with respect to their personal information and the need of organizations to collect, use or disclose personal information for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances. Schedule I sets out the ten principles Accountability, Identifying purposes, Consent, Limiting collection, Use, disclosure and retention, Accuracy, Safeguards, Openness, Individual access and Challenging compliance that form the core of the legislation in this context.
• Two sets of regulations accompany the Anti-Spam Law: the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations (SOR/2013-221), which addresses inter alia some definitions, excluded commercial messages and conditions for use of consent and the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations (CRTC) (SOR/2012-36) which covers 'Information to be included in commercial electronic messages'
• Note that Quebec's Law 25 formerly Bill 64 The Privacy Legislation Modernization Act differs in some respects from the federal equivalent privacy rules; see Everything You Need To Know About Quebec's Law 25 from Secure Privacy March 2024 and What Is Quebec’s Law 25? from Osano, which explains some of the key distinctions of this relatively new (the final phase came into effect September 2023) and representing 'the latest and most significant privacy legislation development in Canada.' (Gowling WLG)

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• See Office of the Privacy Commission of Canada (OPC), 'which oversees compliance with PIPEDA, which includes investigating privacy complaints, and helping businesses improve their personal information handling practices.'
• The Canadian Code of Practice for Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce is pretty old (it was endorsed by federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for consumer affairs on January 16, 2004) but as far as we can establish still extant. The code establishes 8 principles including e.g. 4. Online privacy 7. Unsolicited email and 8. Communications with children;
• The PIPEDA Compliance Guide for Businesses a checklist from from Secure Privacy;
• Cookie Consent in Canada Cassie November 2022; this is a helpful commentary which explains the role of PIPEDA and CASL in relation to 'implied' and 'express' consent in particular;
• A comprehensive guide to privacy law in Canada, also from Cassie. The document itself is undated; the link carries a 2023 reference 
• This January 2024 Data Protection Overview from OneTrust Data Guidance/ Fasken covers privacy legislation including some provincial examples, a wide selection of guidance documents primarily from the OPC (Office of the Privacy Commissioner) and some key case law. A rattling good read.

On 16 June 2022, the Canadian government introduced Bill C-27, which aims to introduce three new pieces of legislation: (i) the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA) replacing PIPEDA, (ii) the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act, and (iii) the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (AIDA). The CPPA would introduce more severe penalties for non-compliance, enhance the Privacy Commissioner’s authority to oversee compliance, and create a right to request deletion of personal information. AIDA would create a framework for regulating the design, development, and use of certain artificial intelligence systems (taken from Chambers 2023 Canada) and New rules for a new era from Gowling WLG here. The bill at the time of writing (March 2024) is still in committee; see schedule here.

SECTION C: COOKIES AND OBA

Privacy issues should be reviewed with specialist advisors 

• This section deals with cookies in the context of advertising delivery, taking in OBA. We don’t address ‘cookie statements/ notices’ specifically, though some guidance documents, which may contain references, are linked;
• Cookie legislation/ regulation in Canada, especially as it relates to consent, is not the simplest, albeit that's the case in much of the world. Cookie Consent in Canada from Cassie November 2022 provides a clear explanation of the role of the laws that we show below and concludes: 'You must provide clear information about cookies at the time of collection. Your cookie notice must not simply be a link to your general privacy policy. You must provide a way for users to opt out of cookies.'
• This January 2024 Data Protection Overview from OneTrust Data Guidance/ Fasken covers privacy legislation including some provincial examples, a wide selection of guidance documents primarily from the OPC (Office of the Privacy Commissioner) and some key case law;
• The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) 'applies to private-sector organizations across Canada that collect, use or disclose personal information in the course of a commercial activity. Schedule 1 sets out the ten key principles that should be observed. See principles 3 to 5 especially (Consent, Limiting Collection and Limiting Use, Disclosure, and Retention) in this context. 

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PIPEDA compliance help 

Online privacy, tracking, and cookies

Guidance for businesses doing e-marketing

Guidelines for obtaining meaningful consent

Ten tips for a better online privacy policy and improved privacy practice transparency. 

• Canada’s anti-spam legislation (CASL) 'is the federal law dealing with spam and other electronic threats. It is meant to protect Canadians while ensuring that businesses can continue to compete in the global marketplace.' (from the OPC);
• CASL compliance help for businesses (OPC)​

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• From the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC): 'Several provincial laws have been deemed substantially similar to the PIPEDA. Under paragraph 26(2)(b), the Governor in Council can exempt an organization or class of organizations, an activity or a class of activities from PIPEDA if the collection, use or disclosure of personal information occurs within a province that has legislation that has been deemed substantially similar to the PIPEDA. This means that wherever the substantially similar provincial law applies, that law applies instead of PIPEDA.'
• Note that Quebec's Law 25 formerly Bill 64 The Privacy Legislation Modernization Act differs in some respects from the federal equivalent privacy rules; see Everything You Need To Know About Quebec's Law 25 from Secure Privacy March 2024 and What Is Quebec’s Law 25? from Osano, which explains some of the key distinctions of this relatively new (the final phase came into effect September 2023) and representing 'the latest and most significant privacy legislation development in Canada.' (Gowling WLG)

• OBA, or interest-based advertising as it is sometimes known (albeit perhaps a different concept), is the same as any other advertising in the sense that it is subject to the content rules we have set out in our overview section A and content section B (except those rules that are specific to broadcast media). Consent issues will be subject to PIPEDA regulation, discussed in the Privacy Commission's policy paper linked below; 
• The DAAC (Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada) October 2022 Principles for Online Interest-Based Advertising represent the principal form of self-regulation in OBA and are part of the (pretty much) worldwide 'your adchoices' programme ('The DAAC establishes and enforces responsible privacy practices through the AdChoices program across the Canadian industry for relevant digital advertising, providing consumers with enhanced transparency and control through multifaceted principles that apply to multi-site data and cross-app data gathered in either desktop, mobile web, or mobile app environments.');
• Internationally, there are a number of regulatory issues around interest-based advertising, or such advertising that targets consumers based on their web activities. The Office of the Privacy Commission of Canada provides a Policy position on online behavioural advertising from August 2021.

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SECTION C: DIRECT ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS

• The self-regulatory and statutory rules set out under our earlier content section B apply in this medium (online commercial communications are in remit), except those rules that specify broadcast media. In addition, some provincial legislation, especially in sectors such as alcohol, should also be observed;  

• The Competition Act includes under Section 52.01 False or misleading representation - sender or subject matter information (1) 'No person shall, for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, any business interest or the supply or use of a product, knowingly or recklessly send or cause to be sent a false or misleading representation in the sender information or subject matter information of an electronic message. (2) No person shall, for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, any business interest or the supply or use of a product, knowingly or recklessly send or cause to be sent in an electronic message a representation that is false or misleading in a material respect.'

• 'At the federal level, spam and other electronic threats are regulated by Canada’s anti-spam legislation (CASL) and related provisions in the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and the Competition Act. PIPEDA, the federal private-sector privacy law, applies to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information in the course of commercial activities and contains restrictions relating to electronic address harvesting and e-marketing.' (From the OPC - Office of the Privacy Commission) and their Guidance for businesses doing e-marketing (January 2020). Other PIPEDA compliance help from the OPC is here;

• Canada's Anti-Spam Law (CASL S.C. 2010, c. 23) Purpose to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating commercial conduct that discourages the use of electronic means to carry out commercial activities, because that conduct (a) impairs the availability, reliability, efficiency and optimal use of electronic means to carry out commercial activities; (b) imposes additional costs on businesses and consumers; (c) compromises privacy and the security of confidential information; and (d) undermines the confidence of Canadians in the use of electronic means of communication to carry out their commercial activities in Canada and abroad. See Section 6 Requirements and Prohibitions on unsolicited electronic messages; 
• Two sets of regulations accompany the Anti-Spam Law: the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations (SOR/2013-221), which addresses inter alia some definitions, excluded commercial messages and conditions for use of consent and the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations (CRTC) (SOR/2012-36) which covers 'Information to be included in commercial electronic messages'
• Note that Quebec's Law 25 formerly Bill 64 The Privacy Legislation Modernization Act differs in some respects from the federal equivalent privacy rules; see Everything You Need To Know About Quebec's Law 25 from Secure Privacy March 2024 and What Is Quebec’s Law 25? from Osano, which explains some of the key distinctions of this relatively new (the final phase came into effect September 2023) and representing 'the latest and most significant privacy legislation development in Canada.' (Gowling WLG)

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SECTION C: MARKETERS' OWN WEBSITES

• As with most jurisdictions, the safe assumption is that 'own advertising/ marketing communications on own websites' are in remit, or in other words subject to regulation;
• Obviously, much information on marketer websites will not be advertising, but much that marketers may not consider to be advertising, in the authorities' eyes may qualify as such;
• The definition of advertising from the Canadian Code of Ad Standards (EN) includes: "Advertising" and "advertisement(s)" are defined as any message (other than those excluded from the application of this Code), the content of which message is controlled directly or indirectly by the advertiser expressed in any language and communicated in any medium (except those listed under Exclusions - see below) to Canadians with the intent to influence their choice, opinion or behaviour;
• Application: the Code applies to "advertising" by (or for): advertisers promoting the use of goods and services; entities seeking to improve their public image or advance a point of view, whether or not the advertising is for a commercial purpose; and governments, government departments and crown corporations;
• Excluded from the terms “advertising” and “advertisement(s)” (as defined in this Code) are messages from an “entity” that/who has no “material connection” with the entity that makes, distributes, markets or advertises the product or service featured in the advertising or advertisement(s) (This exclusion reference will be in relation to the issue of Influencer Marketing, where a 'material connection' triggers disclosure requirements);
• Excluded Media: the following media are excluded from the application of the Code: foreign media (namely media that originate outside Canada and contain the advertising in question) unless the advertiser is a Canadian person or entity; and packaging, wrappers and labels;
• The Competition Act section 52 (1) states: No person shall, for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, the supply or use of a product or for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, any business interest, by any means whatever (emphasis ours) knowingly or recklessly make a representation to the public that is false or misleading in a material respect;
• Content on marketers' own websites that qualifies per above will therefore be subject to the rules set out in our earlier content Section B and referenced above; 
• Privacy issues that arise from connections with website users are covered under Cookies and OBA and Direct Electronic Communications headers and our section A Overview; privacy matters should be reviewed with specialist advisors. 

SECTION C: NATIVE ADVERTISING

• Native advertising is subject to the advertising rules set out in our content section B;  in this context, the most important of those rules is clause 2 of the Code of Advertising Standards: Disguised Advertising Techniques: No advertisement shall be presented in a format or style that conceals the fact that it is an advertisement;
• It is likely to be the case that a native ad that doesn't make clear that it is an ad would contravene the Competition Act Section 52 misleading representations and its 'sister' provincial consumer protection laws; a view supported by:
• This June 2018 Final Report - Native advertising: information or illusion - of the Research Project from the ISED Office of Consumer Affairs Canada - see p.115 for recommendations and section 3 from p34 for the regulatory framework. This latter refers to a Competition Bureau 'working document' which we have been unable to trace; 
• See also Native Advertising & the Canadian AdChoices Self-Regulatory Program for a context when 'Native' is also interest-based (March 2017).

SECTION C: SALES PROMOTIONS

This website was created to provide international rules on marketing communications; it does not claim authority on specific sales promotions (SP) regulation, especially retail legislation. However, in the course of extensive research in marketing, relevant rules will be included. National self-regulatory codes and consumer protection legislation around pricing, for example, are checked for any provisions that may affect SP and included below. Note that promotional schemes requiring a purchase to take part, and offering prizes only on the basis of random chance, are considered a lottery and are generally illegal.

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• It's a feature of the Canadian regulatory environment that there are a considerable number of rules relating to pricing and promotions in particular. We'll get to those; meanwhile we should remind that sales promotional material should also observe the ad content rules set out in our earlier section B. The Code of Advertising Standards applies to 'advertisers promoting the use of goods and services; amongst exclusions are 'packaging, wrappers and labels.'

From the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards

• 3. Price Claims: (a) No advertisement shall include deceptive price claims or discounts, unrealistic price comparisons or exaggerated claims as to worth or value. "Regular Price", "Suggested Retail Price", "Manufacturer’s List Price" and "Fair Market Value" are deceptive terms when used by an advertiser to indicate a savings, unless they represent prices at which, in the market place where the advertisement appears, the advertiser actually sold a substantial volume of the advertised product or service within a reasonable period of time (such as six months) immediately before or after making the representation in the advertisement; or offered the product or service for sale in good faith for a substantial period of time (such as six months) immediately before or after making the representation in the advertisement.
  (b) Where price discounts are offered, qualifying statements such as "up to", "XX off", etc., must be in easily readable type, in close proximity to the prices quoted and, where practical, legitimate regular prices must be included.
  (c) Prices quoted in advertisements in Canadian media, other than in Canadian funds, must be so identified.
• 4. Bait and Switch: Advertisements must not misrepresent the consumer’s opportunity to purchase the goods and services at the terms presented. If supply of the sale item is limited, or the seller can fulfill only limited demand, this must be clearly stated in the advertisement.

From the Competition Act (EN)

• Promotional contests 74.06 A person engages in reviewable conduct who, for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, the supply or use of a product, or for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, any business interest, conducts any contest, lottery, game of chance or skill, or mixed chance and skill, or otherwise disposes of any product or other benefit by any mode of chance, skill or mixed chance and skill whatever, where (a) adequate and fair disclosure is not made of the number and approximate value of the prizes, of the area or areas to which they relate and of any fact within the knowledge of the person that affects materially the chances of winning; (b) distribution of the prizes is unduly delayed; or (c) selection of participants or distribution of prizes is not made on the basis of skill or on a random basis in any area to which prizes have been allocated.

• Deceptive notice of winning a prize 53 (1) No person shall, for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, any business interest or the supply or use of a product, send or cause to be sent by electronic or regular mail or by any other means a document or notice in any form, if the document or notice gives the general impression that the recipient has won, will win, or will on doing a particular act win, a prize or other benefit, and if the recipient is asked or given the option to pay money, incur a cost or do anything that will incur a cost.

  Non-application (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the recipient actually wins the prize or other benefit and the person who sends or causes the notice or document to be sent (a) makes adequate and fair disclosure of the number and approximate value of the prizes or benefits, of the area or areas to which they have been allocated and of any fact within the person’s knowledge that materially affects the chances of winning; (b) distributes the prizes or benefits without unreasonable delay; and (c) selects participants or distributes the prizes or benefits randomly, or on the basis of the participants’ skill, in any area to which the prizes or benefits have been allocated.

• Drip pricing (1.1) For greater certainty, the making of a representation of a price that is not attainable due to fixed obligatory charges or fees constitutes a false or misleading representation, unless the obligatory charges or fees represent only an amount imposed by or under an Act of Parliament or the legislature of a province.

• Ordinary price: suppliers generally (2) Subject to subsection (3), a person engages in reviewable conduct who, for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, the supply or use of a product or for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, any business interest, by any means whatever, makes a representation to the public concerning the price at which a product or like products have been, are or will be ordinarily supplied where suppliers generally in the relevant geographic market, having regard to the nature of the product, (a) have not sold a substantial volume of the product at that price or a higher price within a reasonable period of time before or after the making of the representation, as the case may be; and (b) have not offered the product at that price or a higher price in good faith for a substantial period of time recently before or immediately after the making of the representation, as the case may be.
• Ordinary price: supplier’s own (3) A person engages in reviewable conduct who, for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, the supply or use of a product or for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, any business interest, by any means whatever, makes a representation to the public as to price that is clearly specified to be the price at which a product or like products have been, are or will be ordinarily supplied by the person making the representation where that person, having regard to the nature of the product and the relevant geographic market, (a) has not sold a substantial volume of the product at that price or a higher price within a reasonable period of time before or after the making of the representation, as the case may be; and (b) has not offered the product at that price or a higher price in good faith for a substantial period of time recently before or immediately after the making of the representation, as the case may be.

From the Competition Bureau 'Misleading representations and deceptive marketing practices'

The table below extracts relevant practices from the original shown in the link

• The Competition Bureau: Promotional Contests Enforcement Guidelines. This publication outlines the approach that the Commissioner of Competition is taking in enforcing the promotional contests provision of the Act. The guidelines contained in this publication are intended to help the general public, business people and their legal advisors to better understand section 74.06 of the Act and the general approach taken by the Competition Bureau to enforce that provision.

•  Legal 500 publishes An overview of Advertising & Marketing laws and regulations applicable in Canada in a Q&A format, which includes the questions (and answers):

Do any specific rules apply to advertising featuring prices?
Are consumer promotions specifically regulated as advertising (as distinct from contract law)? If so, how? 

Are there specific rules on promotional prize draws and skill competitions? If incorrectly executed, can these be classed as illegal lotteries? If so, what are the possible consequences?

Must promotional prize competitions be registered with a state agency or authority? 

• Miller Thomson's March 2020 Prohibited and controlled advertising in Canada includes: What are the requirements for advertising and offering promotional contests?
• Gowling WLG's October 2023 (updated on November 14, 2023, to reflect the repeal of Québec's publicity contest laws) Demystifying contest laws in Canada and the drip pricing case: 
• Competition commissioner sticks with claims that Cineplex uses 'deceptive' marketing. July 2023 BNN Bloomberg