Canada SMS Laws And Regulations
Before sending SMS messages to any international destination, please familiarize yourself with the local messaging regulations. All programs must comply with applicable laws in the target country. If you’re unsure about any regulations, please contact our support team for clarification.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| International SMS prefix | +1 |
| General Content Restrictions | For services or applications involving, but not limited to, alcohol, tobacco, and adult content, your program must verify that each end-user is of legal age in his/her province or territory of residence, prior to allowing them to participate in the program or receive a text message from your service. These programs should not be marketed to individuals under the legal age. |
| Sender ID Regulations | Sender IDs are overwritten with local short codes and (+1) long codes. |
| Sender ID Documentation Required | N/A |
| Shortcode Availability | N/A |
| Number Portability | Yes |
| Opt-in Requirements | End-users must opt in to your service. Unsolicited messages may and will not be sent to end-users. Explicit opt-in consent is required before marketing messages may be sent to end-users. Users on the Do Not Call registry may not be contacted. |
| Opt-out Requirements | N/A |
| DND Exists | No |
| Time Restrictions | No |
| Local Traffic | N/A |
As of November 13th, 2022, new legislation from the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) mandates the implementation of five mandatory keywords in SMS campaigns. Aegis is currently testing these keywords to ensure compliance.
Effective December 1st, 2022, all campaigns must utilize these keywords, always written in CAPITAL LETTERS across all media. For a detailed outline of the requirements, please refer to pages 20-22 of the linked document.
| Keyword | Detail |
|---|---|
| STOP | • For subscription services, send one (1) Mobile Terminating (MT) message stating that the consumer will no longer receive messages in connection to all services running on the short code; • For non-subscription services (one-time use), send one (1) MT message stating that the service is not a subscription; and • Stop sending messages of any kind to that consumer unless the consumer initiates the service again.Additionally, the <STOP> keyword: • Must return an English response. • Must apply to all programs including one-time use programs. • Must immediately opt out the consumer. |
| ARRET | This keyword will return the same information and have the same effect as <STOP> but the one (1) MT response must be in French. |
| HELP | Must contain the following information in one (1) English MT message: • Customer Service contact info (email, phone, URL). • When a URL is included as a method of contact for customer service, if the webpage cannot be translated to English, a language denotation must be included next to the URL, e.g., https://www.cwta.ca/fr/ [FR] • Cost and message frequency of the program. • Opt-out/unsubscribe information using <STOP>. • Identity of the program sponsor by company name and a short description of the program. |
| AIDE | This keyword will return the same information and have the same effect as <HELP> but the one (1) MT response must be in French. When a URL is included as a method of contact for customer service, if the webpage cannot be translated to French, a language denotation must be included next to the URL, e.g., https://www.cwta.ca/ [EN]. |
| INFO | The following information must be included by the Content Provider in one (1) bilingual (English & French) MT message: • The Content Provider (or Aggregator’s) company name. • Customer service contact information (email, URL, and/or phone) |
Please note: It is essential to recognize that these regulations can change without notice, and it is the customer’s responsibility to stay up to date with any changes. If you have further questions or need clarification, do not hesitate to contact our support team.
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