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Is your marketing campaign actually compliant?
Most Canadian marketing teams are confident about the law right up until someone asks them to prove it. This free checklist walks you through eleven areas of federal, provincial, international, and platform rules, one requirement at a time, so you can find the gaps before a regulator does.
Get the free checklist No cost. The download is on the next page, whether or not you join the mailing list.Prepared by Amna Abdennour Ben Mahmoud, CM, CHDM, Founder and CEO of Markanit Consulting, Fredericton, New Brunswick.
The rules moved. Most checklists did not.
Canadian marketing law has changed materially in the last two years, and the changes are not the kind you can absorb from a headline.
On March 26, 2026, amendments to the Competition Act removed the requirement that environmental claims be backed by an internationally recognized methodology. The substantiation standard itself did not go away. Product benefit claims still require adequate and proper testing, and business activity claims still require adequate and proper substantiation.
Canada's proposed AI legislation, AIDA, died on the Order Paper in 2025. That did not create a gap. PIPEDA, the Competition Act, and Section O of the CMA Code already govern how you use AI in marketing today.
Quebec's Law 25 applies to the personal information of Quebec residents no matter where your organization sits. A Fredericton business with one Quebec subscriber is inside its scope.
None of this is exotic. It is the ordinary operating environment for anyone marketing in Canada, and it is more than any one person holds in their head while approving a campaign on a deadline.
Maximum CASL penalty per violation, for an individual
Maximum CASL penalty per violation, for a business
Competition Act environmental claim rules last amended
Sections of Canadian marketing law in the checklist
CASL maximum penalties are set by the CRTC and determined case by case.
What the checklist covers
Eleven sections, each one a list of specific requirements you can check off as met, not met, or not applicable. Every requirement is tied back to the code or statute it comes from.
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Section 01
Overarching ethical principles
Truthfulness, the general impression test, deceptive design patterns, disclaimers, and substantiation. Includes price claims and drip pricing, plus testimonials, influencer disclosure, and astroturfing.
CMA Code of Ethics and Standards, Sections G and H -
Section 02
Privacy, PIPEDA and provincial law
The ten privacy principles, a full consent framework covering sensitive and non-sensitive information, and the eight Quebec Law 25 consent criteria.
PIPEDA, Quebec Law 25, OPC Interpretation Bulletins, CMA Code Section I -
Section 03
CASL, Canada's anti-spam legislation
A pre-send checklist for every commercial electronic message, what express consent actually requires, and a separate list for SMS and text campaigns.
CASL, CRTC Bulletin 2012-548, CMA Code Section L4 -
Section 04
Competition Act
The two-part truth test, comparative claims, contest disclosure, and the current rules on environmental and sustainability claims.
Competition Bureau Canada, updated 2026 -
Section 05
Online behavioural advertising and tracking
Notice, opt-out durability, data minimization, and cookie notice requirements for Meta Pixel, Google Analytics, LinkedIn Insight Tag, and TikTok Pixel.
OPC Guidelines on Online Behavioural Advertising, DAAC AdChoices, CMA Code Section I5 -
Section 06
Marketing to children and teenagers
A three-part test to determine whether the framework applies to you at all, then a consent matrix by age band and the conduct rules that follow.
CMA Code Section J, PIPEDA, DAAC Principles, OPC Guidelines -
Section 07
Accessibility
Alt text, captions, contrast ratios, keyboard navigation, form labels, and tagged PDFs. The requirements that apply to your website, your emails, and your social posts.
Accessible Canada Act, AODA, Nova Scotia Accessibility Act, Manitoba AMA, CMA Code H19 and L4.5 -
Section 08
Telemarketing and Do Not Call
DNCL subscription and refresh timing, permitted calling hours, internal list retention, caller identification, and dialer rules.
CRTC Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules, National DNCL -
Section 09
Artificial intelligence in marketing
Human oversight, disclosure, bias auditing, explainability, and third-party AI vendor contract provisions.
CMA Code Section O, OPC PIPEDA guidance, Competition Act, EU AI Act where applicable -
Section 10
Platform-specific rules
Promotion and contest requirements for Instagram and Facebook, X, and LinkedIn, including the release and non-endorsement statements platforms require.
Current Meta, X, and LinkedIn platform policies -
Section 11
Professional conduct
The obligations that attach to Chartered Marketers specifically, covering supplier standards, confidentiality, conflict of interest, and CPD.
CMA Code of Conduct for Professional Marketers
The checklist closes with a one-page compliance summary you can sign and date, plus space for gaps found and actions required, so a completed review becomes a record you can keep.
Who should use this
The checklist is written for the person who has to say yes before a campaign goes out.
- Marketing managers and directors approving campaigns inside Canadian organizations
- Agency and studio owners who carry compliance risk on behalf of clients
- Business owners running their own marketing without a legal team behind them
- In-house teams marketing into Quebec, or into the EU, from outside those jurisdictions
- Chartered Marketers and CMA members documenting professional conduct obligations
- Anyone preparing for a privacy, accessibility, or advertising review
The difference
Why this one is worth your email address
Built by a practitioner, not scraped from a blog
Prepared by a Chartered Marketer and CHDM who does this work for clients. Every requirement is traced back to the code or statute it comes from, so you can look it up yourself.
Federal, provincial, international, and platform rules in one place
Most compliance resources cover CASL and stop. This one carries PIPEDA and Law 25, the Competition Act, accessibility legislation, telemarketing rules, AI obligations, and the platform policies that govern your contests.
Structured as a review you can actually complete
It is not a reading list. It is a working document with a summary page, a status field, and space for actions, designed to be filled in and filed.
Get the checklist
Enter your name and email and the PDF comes straight to your inbox.
Questions
Is this legal advice?
No. The checklist is a compliance guidance tool based on Canadian federal and provincial marketing laws and best practices as of 2026. It does not constitute legal advice, and it is not a substitute for a lawyer.
My organization is in a regulated sector. Is this enough?
No. Pharmaceuticals, cannabis, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, financial services, food and nutrition, and cosmetics are subject to additional sector-specific rules beyond this checklist. Those sectors require legal expert review.
I am in New Brunswick. Does Quebec Law 25 apply to me?
It can. Law 25 applies to the personal information of Quebec residents regardless of where your organization is located. If any Quebec resident is on your list or fills in your forms, the Law 25 section applies to you.
Do I need this if I only market on social media?
Yes. Section 5 covers tracking pixels and behavioural advertising, Section 10 covers the platform rules for contests and promotions, and Section 1.2 covers influencer disclosure. Social-only marketing sits inside all three.
How current is it?
It reflects Canadian federal and provincial marketing law and best practice as of 2026, including the March 2026 Competition Act amendments on environmental claims and the status of AI regulation after AIDA died on the Order Paper in 2025.
What happens to my email address?
The checklist downloads directly from the next page, so your email is not needed to deliver it. It is stored so I know who requested the checklist. If you chose to receive compliance updates, it is also used to send those, and you can stop them at any time. It is not sold or shared.
Next step
Found gaps you are not sure how to close?
A completed checklist tells you where you stand. Closing the gaps is a separate piece of work, and it is what Markanit does for clients. If your review turned up items you would rather not fix alone, get in touch and tell me which sections.
About Markanit Consulting
Markanit Consulting is a boutique marketing advisory practice based in Fredericton, New Brunswick, led by Amna Abdennour Ben Mahmoud, CM, CHDM.
The practice works with Canadian organizations on marketing strategy and execution that holds up under scrutiny, commercially and legally. This checklist is the tool used internally on client work, published so other Canadian marketers can use it too.
amna.abdennour@markanit.ca | +1 506 429-4646 | Fredericton, NB
Disclaimer. This checklist is a compliance guidance tool based on Canadian federal and provincial marketing laws and best practices as of 2026. It does not constitute legal advice. Organizations in regulated sectors, including pharmaceuticals, cannabis, and financial services, require additional legal review beyond this checklist.