Both countries, side by side
How marketing outreach stays lawful in Canada and the United States.
Vivin is based in Ottawa and runs campaigns in both countries. The rules differ, and both the agency and the client can be liable, so this page sets out exactly how each channel is run under each regime. Updated October 2026.
| Channel or topic | Canada | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Cold email to businesses | CASL. Business-to-business messages need express consent, implied consent or a specific exemption. A published business address implies consent only when it was published conspicuously, without a statement refusing unsolicited messages, and the message is relevant to the recipient's business role. An existing business relationship implies consent only within the time limits CASL defines. Every message must identify the sender and, if different, the business on whose behalf it is sent, give a mailing address plus a phone number, email address or web address, and carry a working unsubscribe. The contact details and the unsubscribe must stay valid for at least 60 days after sending, and an unsubscribe must be honoured within 10 business days. Vivin sends from identified Vivin-run domains with a physical mailing address and one-click unsubscribe. | CAN-SPAM. No prior consent requirement, but every message needs accurate header and sender information, a non-deceptive subject line, a clear notice that it is an advertisement, a valid postal address and a working opt-out honoured within 10 business days. |
| Campaign leads (pay-per-lead) | The buyer asks for a quote or a conversation on a Vivin-run form. The form names Vivin and the client, states what happens next, carries the privacy notice and records the permission needed for follow-up. | The form records the requested follow-up channel and the relevant consent or lawful basis before the client receives the inquiry. Source and permission evidence stay attached to the handoff. |
| LinkedIn outreach | Messages are sent from a named person, one at a time, within LinkedIn's terms of use. A decline is honoured and logged. | Same. |
| Data handling | PIPEDA. Business contact information used for business communication is exempt from consent requirements, but Vivin still limits collection to what the profile needs, stores records in Canada or the US with access controls, and follows the documented retention schedule. | State privacy laws apply according to each law's coverage thresholds and the type of data and activity. California's exemption for personal information in business-to-business communications and transactions expired on December 31, 2022. Vivin applies the same retention and access limits in both countries. |
| Suppression lists | Loaded before launch. Every unsubscribe and decline is added to the suppression list promptly. Opt-outs and consent withdrawals are honoured with no end date. | Same suppression and opt-out practice applies across the United States and Canada. |
| Regulated verticals | Financial advisors, mortgage brokers, law firms, and insurance brokers: no fee tied to accounts, mortgages, matters, or policies. Pay-per-lead and pay-per-appointment are flat marketing fees. Ontario mortgage referral rules (FSRA) are respected. | Same. RESPA Section 8 for mortgage, state bar rules for law firms, state insurance licensing for insurance, FINRA and SEC rules for advisors. |
This page describes Vivin's operating practice and is not legal advice. Statutes: Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) and PIPEDA; the US CAN-SPAM Act and applicable privacy requirements. Sources checked October 4, 2026: Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, S.C. 2010, c. 23, sections 6, 10 and 11, and the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations (CRTC), SOR/2012-36, section 2 (Justice Laws website); the California Attorney General's CCPA page and the California Privacy Protection Agency FAQ; the Federal Trade Commission's CAN-SPAM Act compliance guide for business.
Is cold email legal in Canada?
Yes for business-to-business messages that meet CASL's conditions. There must be consent or a specific exemption. A published address implies consent only when it was published conspicuously, without a statement refusing unsolicited messages, and the message is relevant to the recipient's business role; an existing business relationship counts only within CASL's time limits. The consent basis has to be confirmed for each address before it is contacted. Each message must identify the sender and, if different, the business on whose behalf it is sent, give a mailing address plus a phone number, email address or web address, and include an unsubscribe. The contact details and the unsubscribe must stay valid for at least 60 days after sending, and an unsubscribe must be honoured within 10 business days.
Who is liable if a rule is broken?
Both the sender and the business on whose behalf the message is sent can be liable under CASL and CAN-SPAM. That is why Vivin publishes how it works, loads your suppression list before launch, and keeps source and message records for the documented retention period as evidence.
Does Vivin buy or sell lists?
Vivin builds lists to the written profile from business registries and firmographic data and does not resell contacts. Home-services quote requests are captured through Vivin-run campaigns and delivered to one contractor.
Phone outreach
Calls follow telemarketing rules that are separate from the email rules above. These are the main federal rules in each country, followed by text messages and state and provincial rules.
| Phone rule | Canada | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Rules that apply | The CRTC's Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules, set under the Telecommunications Act. They contain the National Do Not Call List (DNCL) Rules, the Telemarketing Rules and the rules for automatic dialing-announcing devices. | The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the FCC's rules under it, and the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). The TCPA leaves room for stricter state rules on calls within a state. |
| Do-not-call lists | A telemarketing call may not go to a number on the National DNCL unless that person has given express consent, and the copy of the list used must be no more than 31 days old. Exemptions include calls to someone with an existing business relationship (a purchase, lease or rental within the last 18 months, an inquiry or application within the last 6 months, or a written contract that is still in force or expired within the last 18 months) who has not asked not to be called. The business the calls are made for must also keep its own do-not-call list, add a request within 14 days and keep it for 3 years and 14 days. | A sales call may not go to a residential number on the National Do Not Call Registry, and the FCC's rules extend this to mobile numbers. Exceptions include the person's signed written agreement to be called and an established business relationship. The registry must be checked at least every 31 days. The business the calls are made for must also keep its own do-not-call list; the FCC's rules require a request to be honoured within 10 business days and for 5 years. |
| Calling hours | From 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on weekdays and from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekends, in the time zone of the person called. Provincial rules for a specific activity can set stricter hours. | Calls to a residence: from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., local time at the called person's location. |
| Identifying the caller | On reaching the person, the caller gives their own name, the telemarketer's name and, when calling for a client, the client's name. On request, the caller gives a phone number that reaches a representative, and a name with an email or postal address, for questions and do-not-call requests. The call must display a number where the telemarketer can be reached. | On sales calls to consumers, the caller gives their name, the name of the business the call is made for, and a phone number or address where that business can be reached. The TSR also requires a prompt disclosure of the seller's identity, that the call is to sell goods or services, and what they are. The call must transmit a telephone number to caller ID. |
| Calls to businesses | The National DNCL Rules do not apply to telemarketing calls to businesses. The Telemarketing Rules still apply, because they apply whether or not a call is exempt from the National DNCL Rules. | The FTC states that most calls to a business to sell to that business are exempt from the do-not-call provisions. The TSR exempts these calls from most of its requirements, but not from its bans on certain misrepresentations, and not when the call sells nondurable office or cleaning supplies. |
| Recorded messages and autodialers | A telemarketing call that plays a recorded or synthesized voice message through an automatic dialing-announcing device needs the person's express consent, whether or not the call is exempt from the National DNCL Rules. | A sales call to a mobile number made with an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice, and a prerecorded sales call to a residential line, need the called person's prior express written consent. |
| Text messages | A commercial text message is a commercial electronic message under CASL, because CASL's electronic addresses include a telephone account. The consent, sender identification and unsubscribe requirements described for email above apply to texts. CASL's rules for commercial messages (section 6) do not cover a live two-way voice call or a voice recording sent to a phone; the phone rules in this table cover those. Vivin's SMS program terms (Terms of Service, section 8): opt-in is a separate SMS checkbox on a Vivin inquiry form, an inquiry or a phone number alone does not subscribe anyone, the wording, time, source and number of each opt-in are recorded, and replying STOP cancels further messages after one confirmation. | The FCC's rules generally require prior consent for autodialed texts to mobile numbers, and prior express written consent for autodialed advertising or telemarketing texts. The FCC do-not-call, calling-hour and caller identification rules above also extend to telemarketing texts to mobile numbers, and a person may opt out of a robotext at any time and in any reasonable manner. The same SMS program terms apply. |
| State and provincial rules | The CRTC rules above are federal rules. Provincial legislation for a specific activity can set stricter calling hours, and those hours then apply. | The TCPA lets states set stricter rules for calls within the state, and many states keep their own do-not-call lists. Florida's Telephone Solicitation Act, for example, counts a sales text message or voicemail to a consumer as a telephonic sales call, keeps a state “no sales solicitation calls” list, and requires the called person's prior express written consent before an unsolicited sales call made with a system that selects and dials numbers automatically, or that plays a recorded message. California makes it an offence to record a confidential telephone conversation without the consent of all parties. |
This section summarises the main federal phone and text message rules, with state and provincial examples, and is not legal advice. Sources checked October 4, 2026: the CRTC Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules; the Telecommunications Act, section 41.7 (Justice Laws website); the National Do Not Call List exemptions page; the FCC's TCPA rules, 47 CFR 64.1200, and the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule, 16 CFR Part 310 (eCFR); the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. 227; the FTC's Q&A for telemarketers and sellers about the Do Not Call provisions; Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, sections 1 and 6 (Justice Laws website); the FCC consumer guide Stop Unwanted Robocalls and Texts; Florida Statutes, section 501.059; California Penal Code, section 632.
Terms and pricing
The lead agreement and the price bands are published too.
Vivin Facilitators Ltd., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.