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CASL (Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation) is the federal law requiring consent before sending a commercial electronic message, along with clear sender identification and a working unsubscribe mechanism — rules that apply to the marketing emails and texts a mortgage brokerage sends to leads and clients.
CASL focuses on commercial electronic messages — anything that encourages participation in a commercial activity, whether or not there's an expectation of profit. Before sending one, a business generally needs the recipient's consent (express or implied), must clearly identify itself and how to be contacted, and must provide a functioning unsubscribe mechanism.
For a mortgage broker or brokerage, CASL governs the rate-renewal reminders, newsletters, and rate-hold follow-ups sent to a client list like any other commercial sender. It's a companion to privacy law rather than a replacement for it: CASL governs the message itself, while PIPEDA governs how the personal information gathered during KYC and intake is collected, used, and stored in the first place.
Consent first: CASL requires consent (express or implied) before sending a commercial electronic message, plus clear identification of the sender and an unsubscribe mechanism.
Who administers it: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), the CRTC, and the national Spam Reporting Centre are involved in administering and enforcing CASL.
Overlaps with privacy law: CASL covers the message; PIPEDA covers how the underlying contact information was collected and is used.
Applies to routine broker marketing: renewal reminders, newsletters, and drip campaigns sent by a mortgage brokerage must meet CASL's consent and disclosure rules the same as any commercial sender.
Definitions reflect Canadian federal and provincial rules as of the “Updated” date above. Not advice for any specific file.
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