It’s a universal experience to receive an unsolicited phone call or text message from a political party, even without knowing how they got your contact information. Wondering if this is legal is likely just as universal.

There is a complex legal framework that governs Canada’s anti-spam rules, which involves the Telecommunications Act and Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (“CASL”). Anti-spam laws are subject to oversight by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The Telecommunications Act largely regulates phone calls while CASL mainly governs other forms of electronic communication.

The Telecommunications Act establishes a national do not call list that helps Canadians avoid unsolicited phone calls. Political entities are exempt from the do not call list and can make unsolicited phone calls provided they follow the other rules from the Act. The Act divides phone calls into live calls and robocalls (calls made with devices like ADADs). According to Parts III and IV of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules, these are the telemarketing rules that apply to political entities (source):

• Curfew: calls may only be made from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on weekdays and 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekends, unless provincial legislation specifies more restrictive hours
• Identification information: the call must be made from a displayed local or toll-free number and must begin with the name of the caller, the name of the telemarketer (if one is used), and the name of the political entity on whose behalf the call is made. Upon request, the name and email or postal address must be provided. The contact information must remain valid for at least 60 days
• Sequential dialing is prohibited
• Calls cannot be made to emergency lines or healthcare facilities
• Maintenance of an internal do not call list is required
• ADADs may not be used for solicitation unless the person being called has expressly agreed to receive that specific political entity’s ADAD solicitation calls
• If not a solicitation call, the ADAD may be used if a there is a clear message identifying the person or group on whose behalf the call is made. The purpose of the call must be described and must include an email address or a postal address and a local or toll-free number where representatives can be reached, which must be valid for at least 60 days. If the message is longer than 60 seconds, the identification information must be repeated at the end of the message and the originator’s number, or an alternative number where the political entity may be reached, must be displayed. The ADAD call must be disconnected within 10 seconds after the called person hangs up

How the rules apply to political entities (source):

• The Telemarketing Rules do not apply to live voice calls that are not made for purposes of solicitation, (e.g.,a request for money or money’s worth, directly or indirectly, on behalf of another person or group)
• The Telemarketing Rules do apply if the live calls are made for the purpose of solicitation, (i.e, a call to request campaign donations for an exempt political party or candidate)
• The National Do Not Call List does not apply if the calls are made on behalf of exempt political entities
• Several of the other Telemarketing Rules do apply

On the other hand, CASL does not apply to political entities, as its focus is on limiting unsolicited electronic messages that are commercial in nature. CASL does not apply to political entities soliciting donations or campaign contributions. However, if a political entity sends you a commercial electronic message for a purpose other than soliciting a donation or campaign contribution, it must follow the rules of CASL by:

1. obtaining consent;
2. providing identification information; and
3. providing an unsubscribe mechanism.

Violations of anti-spam rules can lead to an investigation by the CRTC. To report a spam phone call, click here. To report a spam electronic message, click here.

Sources

Bourgeois, Spindler Election Law in Canada, 2nd Ed., LexisNexis Canada, 2021

Telecommunications Act ( SC 1993, c. 38)

Rules for unsolicited telecommunications made on behalf of political entities | CRTC

As obligated by the Canada Elections Act, Elections Canada must share your information from the national register of electors (excluding date of birth) with federal political candidates [ s. 107(3)]. It must also share a revised version of the list, limited to the voters in that district (excluding date of birth), with registered federal political parties that have endorsed a candidate in an electoral district, [s. 45(1)] [[s.107 (4)]. 

Establishing and adhering to a privacy policy is a condition of registration for federal political parties. This is significant because a political party must be registered to access a number of financial and political advantages, like being identified on the ballot. Candidates and party members are bound by their party’s privacy policy. The Canada Elections Act requires federal political parties to establish a privacy policy and to publish it online. Their privacy policies must include:

• a statement indicating the types of personal information that the party collects and how it collects that information;
• a statement indicating how the party protects personal information under its control;
• a statement indicating how the party uses personal information under its control, and under what circumstances that personal information may be sold to any person or entity;
• a statement indicating the training concerning the collection and use of personal information to be given to any employee of the party who could have access to personal information under the party’s control;
• a statement indicating the party’s practices concerning (a) the collection and use of personal information created from online activity and (b) its use of cookies;
• the name and contact information of a person to whom concerns regarding the party’s policy for the protection of personal information can be addressed; and
• the address of the page—accessible to the public—on the party’s Internet site where its policy for the protection of personal information is published.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada released guidance for establishing these privacy policies here. For example, here is the Liberal Party of Canada’s privacy policy.

Electronic messages between a political party, candidate, or elected official are not governed by Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation. 

Political parties and candidates who use your personal information for any unauthorized purpose may be liable for a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment for up to one year, or both. In the case of federal political parties, uses of your personal information collected by any means other than through a voters list is virtually unregulated by legislation. They are bound by their internal privacy policy.

Provincial and territorial political entities are also given copies of voters lists in their jurisdictions. They are the subject of a similar framework to federal political entities; the election legislation of their jurisdiction will outline which uses of your personal information are authorized, and then impose punishments on those who engage in unauthorized use.

For example, in British Columbia, s. 274 (4.1) of the Elections Act obligates political parties and candidates to establish a privacy policy that must be approved by Elections BC to have access to a voters list. Here is the BC NDP’s privacy policy. The policy includes the authorized uses of your personal information. It can use your information to:

• canvass your political support and voting intentions;
• communicate with you about its policies, campaigns, events, and opportunities to get involved;
• understand what issues are most likely to be relevant to each voter and each electoral area;
• inform the timing, content, and audience for its campaign efforts, including in relation to canvassing, campaign materials, and messaging;
• inform the messages and content it sends to you or shows you on social media;
• inform its policies, platforms, and messaging for the future;
• estimate how you might vote in elections and referendums, including how likely you are to vote at all;
• estimate how you might respond to requests for support or to campaign messaging;
• ensure that your donations comply with the BC Elections Act; and
• manage its governance and internal affairs and membership database.

Not all jurisdictions require political entities to submit a privacy policy. However, BC privacy legislation has been found to apply to political entities.