Cold Call X
Cold calling is legal in Canada. What the rules control is who you may call, when, and how you identify yourself. Calls to businesses are exempt from the National Do Not Call List (DNCL); calls to consumers mostly are not. This guide sets out the rules for live sales calls, with the source for each one and a checklist to run before every calling session.
The short answer
| Question | Answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Can I cold call consumers? | Yes, if you avoid National DNCL numbers (unless an exemption applies), keep an internal list and follow the hours | CRTC rules |
| Can I cold call businesses? | Yes. B2B calls are exempt from the National DNCL rules | DNCL operator |
| Calling hours? | 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. weekdays; 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. weekends, in the called party’s time zone | CRTC rules |
| Existing customers on the DNCL? | Callable if there is an existing business relationship (18 months) or express consent | DNCL operator |
| Maximum fine | $1,500 per violation (individual), $15,000 per violation (corporation) | Telecommunications Act s. 72.01 |
Checked 1 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. The CRTC’s own rules page blocks automated access, so the hours and the internal-list period below come from the CRTC’s published enforcement notices and the DNCL operator; read the CRTC rules for anything you rely on.
The National Do Not Call List
The National DNCL lets consumers register their number to stop telemarketing calls. Under section 41 of the Telecommunications Act the CRTC can prohibit or regulate unsolicited telecommunications, and it set the National DNCL rules under that power. In practice:
- Most telemarketers must subscribe. Organizations that make non-exempt telemarketing calls, or on whose behalf they are made, need a subscription to the list. A telemarketer calling only for clients can use the client’s subscription. The operator’s FAQ lists the subscription types and fees, which are priced for organizations: it offers a query subscription that checks up to 100 numbers at a time, and a download subscription by area code.
- A new registration gets a 31-day grace period. The rules prohibit calling a number that has been on the list for more than 31 days, so a list scrubbed more than a month ago can contain numbers you can no longer call.
- You can’t call registered numbers unless an exemption applies.
Who you can still call
The DNCL operator’s page on who can still call you lists the exemptions. For a sales caller, the ones that matter are:
- Businesses. The National DNCL rules do not apply to a telemarketing call made to a business, and business numbers are not to be registered. A personal number that is also used for business counts as a business number. The exemption is from the National DNCL rules only: the CRTC’s Telemarketing Rules, including calling hours and your internal list, still apply to business calls.
- An existing business relationship. It exists if the person bought, leased or rented a product or service from you in the last 18 months; has a written contract with you that is still in effect or expired in the last 18 months; or asked you about a product or service in the last 6 months.
- Express consent. It can be written, electronic or online, or verbal if it is recorded or verified by an independent third party.
- Charities, political parties, survey callers and newspapers soliciting subscriptions have their own exemptions.
None of these exemptions removes the other duties. If a person on your call list tells you to stop, that request goes on your own list.
Your internal do-not-call list
Telemarketers must keep their own do-not-call list as well as using the national one. When someone asks not to be called again, add the number promptly: the CRTC shortened the period allowed for doing so from 31 to 14 days, so treat the same day as the target. Callers making calls solely for market research or surveys are the exception under section 41.7(5).
Calling hours: weekdays to 9:30 p.m., weekends 10 to 6
Telemarketing calls are limited to 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on weekdays and 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekends, counted in the time zone of the person you are calling. That is a stricter window than the US federal 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. rule on weekends, and Canada spans six time zones, so a list that runs from Vancouver to St. John’s needs the clock checked per lead. Compare the other countries in our legal calling hours guide, and for when people actually pick up, the best time to cold call.
Say who you are
A telemarketing call must identify the caller, and the rules also cover the number you call from, so don’t withhold your caller ID. The details sit in the CRTC’s rules rather than the pages we could read, so check the rules for the exact wording you must use at the start of a call. Recorded-message calls placed by automatic dialing-announcing devices have separate rules; a live call with you on the line does not use one.
The penalties
Under section 72.01 of the Telecommunications Act, a violation of the CRTC’s unsolicited telecommunications rules can bring an administrative monetary penalty of up to $1,500 for an individual and $15,000 for a corporation, per violation. A violation that continues over several days counts as a separate violation for each day (section 72.03), and an officer, director or agent who directed or took part in it can be personally liable (section 72.008). The CRTC publishes its decisions as notices of violation.
Canadian numbers on your call list
- Canada shares the +1 plan with the US. A number looks the same as a US number, so use the area code to tell which country a lead is in: a US number is not covered by the CRTC’s rules, and a Canadian number is not covered by the US Do Not Call Registry.
- Mind the clock. Calling hours are counted where the person is, and most of the country is on a different time from the east coast.
- Clean before you import. One number per field, no extensions in the number column, and screened first if the list is made up of consumers.
How Cold Call X fits the Canadian rules
Cold Call X is a power dialer for iPhone. It rings one lead at a time, from your own number over your own network, with you on every call, so it doesn’t play recorded messages. It works with Canadian numbers, and your leads stay on your iPhone and never touch our servers. For how it compares with the per-seat cloud platforms, see the best cold calling apps in 2026.
- Do Not Call list. Add anyone who asks you to stop and they are blocked across every list and every future import: the internal list the rules require.
- Calling Hours. Leads are only dialed during their own daytime, in any time zone, which suits a list that spans Canada.
- Call outcomes and follow-ups. Every outcome schedules the next attempt for you, so retries are spread across days.
What it doesn’t do matters as much. The in-app Do Not Call list is a personal suppression list: it does not check numbers against the National DNCL, so scrub consumer lists before you import them. For how the dialer works, see the iPhone dialer guide.
A Canadian cold calling checklist
- Decide whether each lead is a consumer or a business. Business numbers are outside the National DNCL rules; consumer numbers are not.
- Scrub consumer numbers against the National DNCL within 31 days of calling, unless you have an existing business relationship or express consent.
- Add every refusal to your own do-not-call list straight away.
- Call weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and weekends 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., in the lead’s time zone.
- Identify yourself at the start of the call and don’t hide your number.
- Keep a record of when you scrubbed, and why a lead was exempt.
