Rules for unsolicited telecommunications made on behalf of political entities

This fact sheet summarizes the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules (the Rules) for unsolicited telecommunications made by or for political entities, including riding associations, candidates and their official campaigns.

The Rules include the:

Political entities such as political parties, riding associations and candidates are exempt from the National Do Not Call (DNCL) Rules. This means that they can make calls to individuals who are registered on the National DNCL, provided they maintain and respect their internal do not call list and identify themselves and the purpose of the call. However, some rules under the Telemarketing Rules and the Automatic Dialing-Announcing Device (ADAD) still apply to political entities.

Definitions

Express Consent

National DNCL exemptions (Part II, section 3)

The National DNCL Rules do not apply in respect of a telecommunication:

  1. made by or on behalf of a political party that is a registered party as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canada Elections Act or that is registered under provincial law for the purposes of a provincial or municipal election;
  2. made by or on behalf of a nomination contestant, leadership contestant or candidate of a political party described in paragraph (c) or by or on behalf of the official campaign of such contestant or candidate;
  3. made by or on behalf of an association of members of a political party described in paragraph (c) for an electoral district;

3.1 In addition to the exemption set out in section 3(d), the National DNCL Rules do not apply to a telemarketing telecommunication made by or on behalf of a candidate as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canada Elections Act or a candidate under provincial law for the purposes of a provincial or municipal election, or by or on behalf of the official campaign of such a candidate.

Rules for Unsolicited Telecommunications made by or on behalf of political entities

When making unsolicited calls, there are rules regarding unsolicited telecommunications that need to be followed. The rules are covered under the Telemarketing Rules and the Automatic Dialing-Announcing Device (ADAD) Rules. Some of these rules apply to political parties or candidates, or organizations that represent such parties or candidates.

Political entities such as political parties, riding associations and candidates are not subject to the National Do Not Call (DNCL) Rules. This means that they can make calls to individuals who are registered on the National DNCL, provided they maintain and respect their internal do not call list and identify themselves and the purpose of the call.

Telemarketing Rules

Please note, the Telemarketing Rules apply whether or not the telemarketing telecommunication is exempt from the National DNCL Rules.

The Telemarketing Rules apply to calls that are made for the purpose of solicitationFootnote 2.

For example, certain rules apply when a political party or candidate, or an organization representing such a party or candidate, calls people to request campaign donations.

However, if a political party, a candidate or an organization representing such a party or candidate calls people to learn about voter preferences or to inform people about the location of polling stations, the rules do not apply.

What are my obligations under the Telemarketing Rules?

ADAD Rules

Calls made by or on behalf of certain political entities such as political parties, candidates or nomination contestants and their official campaigns are not allowed to use ADADs for the purpose of solicitation. The only exception to this rule is if the person being called has expressly agreed to receive that specific political entity’s ADAD solicitation calls.

ADADs can be used to make calls that are not to solicit donations, but certain rules apply to these calls.

What are my obligations under the ADAD Rules?

Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation

Telephone calls are just one way to reach to out to potential voters. A wide array of technological tools are available to individual candidates and political organizations – some of which are subject to specific rules enforced by the CRTC.

Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), for instance, may apply to some communications that might be undertaken during an election. CASL has rules regarding commercial electronic messages (CEMs). A CEM is a message that encourages participation in a commercial activity, including, but not limited to offering, advertising or promoting a product, a service or a person.

Examples include:

Political parties and candidates are largely excluded from CASL. CEMs sent by or on behalf of a political party or a person who is a candidate for publicly elected office, are excluded from CASL, if the primary purpose of the CEM is to solicit a financial donation or non-monetary contribution.

If you are sending a CEM to an electronic address, and the primary purpose of the message is not to solicit a contribution/donation, then you need to comply with three requirements. You need to:

  1. obtain consent;
  2. provide identification information; and
  3. provide an unsubscribe mechanism.

Further information on CASL and how it may apply to political parties and candidates can be found at crtc.gc.ca/antispam.

What happens if you violate these obligations?

An important part of the CRTC’s strategy to encourage compliance with the rules is ensuring that political entities such as political parties and candidates have the information they need to understand their obligations. The CRTC’s goal is to promote compliance in the most efficient way possible while preventing violations.

When the rules are broken, the CRTC has a number of tools at its disposal to make sure that the obligations governing communications with Canadians during elections are respected and their rights protected.

Investigators use their discretion in selecting and applying the enforcement response most appropriate to the circumstances at hand.

Possible enforcement responses include:

Monetary penalties vary depending on the nature and scope of the violation. Under the Telecommunications Act, for violations of the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules and/or the Voter Contact Registry requirements, the CRTC has the authority to impose:

The maximum administrative monetary penalties are significantly higher in the case of a CASL violation. The CRTC has the authority to impose a maximum penalty of $1,000,000 per violation in the case of an individual and $10,000,000 per violation in the case of a corporation or any other person.

For violations under the Voter Contact Registry, the following factors will be taken into consideration when determining the amount of a fine:

The total amount of the financial penalties can add up quickly. For instance, each day of non-compliance may constitute a separate violation.

Please refer to Compliance and Enforcement Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-109, for further detail.

Find out more

If you are looking for information about how to register with the Voter Contact Registry or how to make sure you comply with the rules, you can find helpful information at: www.crtc.gc.ca/vcr

You can also get information on the other obligations that may apply to political organizations during election periods at:

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