Many entrepreneurs wonder whether they can add their customers to their newsletter. At first, the answer seems obvious:
Clearly, they are customers now. They bought my products or services.
As with many things online, the real answer is: it depends.
The short answer is that you can sometimes send marketing emails to a customer for a limited time after a purchase. But a purchase does not turn that person into a lifetime newsletter subscriber.
It is not as easy as automatically adding everyone to your list, but the rules can still be explained simply.
What exactly is CASL?
CASL means “Canada’s Anti-Spam Act”. In essence, it is the law that governs commercial emails in Canada.
If your email tries to sell something, advertises a promotion or encourages someone to do business with you, CASL probably applies. Even an educational newsletter can be considered commercial if it includes your offers or links to your products.
To send this kind of email, you need consent. The law recognizes two kinds: express and implied consent.
Express consent means the person clearly says yes. They fill out your newsletter form or tick an unchecked box at the time of purchase.
Implied consent means the law lets you infer a yes in certain specific situations, but only for a limited period.
Those are the two key terms.
But I know what you’re saying to yourself:
Wow, “implied consent” is not exactly a phrase I use every day.
Same here, and I have been creating tools on the web for 25 years. But that is the term, so let us keep going.
A purchase usually gives you two years
When someone purchases a product or service from your business, that business relationship may give you implied consent. You can then generally send them commercial emails for two years after the purchase or the end of the contract.
Suppose someone buys a course from you on September 3, 2026. You could normally send them newsletters until September 3, 2028, even if they did not tick a subscription box.
This is not permanent permission. Once the two years have passed, you need an explicit yes to continue.
Most importantly, if the person unsubscribes earlier, that is the end of it. The fact that they are still a customer does not allow you to ignore their request.
The period may start later in some cases where the relationship continues, such as a subscription or an account that is still active. If your situation is less straightforward than a simple purchase, check before assuming anything. The CRTC’s explanation of implied consent gives several examples.
A quote request usually gives you six months
A person fills out your form to request a quote, but does not buy anything. Can you add them to your marketing emails?
Possibly, but the window is shorter. A request for information or a quote related to your products and services may create six months of implied consent.
For example, someone requests a quote for a photo shoot on September 3. You could send them relevant content for the next six months. If they do not become a client or expressly subscribe during that period, you stop after six months.
Someone who wrote to you once three years ago is not a prospect you can follow up with forever. Let us be honest, after three years, it is not really a follow-up anymore.
Imagine the person receiving your message after all this time. They may not even remember who you are, they could report it as spam, and that is clearly not what you want.
A receipt is not a newsletter
There is also an important distinction between an email required to serve your client and a marketing email.
Sending an invoice, confirming an appointment or responding to a quote request is not the same thing as sending your Friday promotion. Your customer expects the first messages because they are part of the transaction.
The problem starts when a receipt turns into a digital flyer. If you add a large promotion, three recommended products and a discount code to your order confirmation, the commercial nature of the message becomes much more obvious.
Keep transactional emails simple. For promotions and newsletters, use a list whose source you know.
The simplest way to do this properly
When someone completes your form or checks out, add an unchecked box that lets them subscribe to your newsletter.
Clearly state what they will receive. Something like “I want to receive advice and offers from Your Company by email” does the job. You do not need a paragraph written by a team of lawyers.
The box must be unchecked. A pre-checked box does not count as express consent because the person did not take an action to say yes. This is explained in the CRTC’s rules on requests for consent .
You may also have heard of the double opt-in. It is the small email that asks the person to confirm their registration after completing the form. It is not a general requirement in Canada. However, it is convenient to confirm that the address really exists and to keep a better proof of consent.
In short, an unchecked box can be enough. A two-step confirmation offers even clearer proof. You do not need to overcomplicate the process for a newsletter sent to 80 people.
Can you write just to ask permission?
This one is a little annoying.
An email asking “Do you want to receive my promotions?” is itself considered a commercial message, so you may not necessarily write to an old list without consent just to request consent.
If you still have valid implied consent, for example because the person bought from you less than two years ago, you can use that time to offer a clear, lasting subscription.
If you have an old Excel file with no date, no source and no idea where the addresses came from, do not import it into your newsletter tool and hope for the best. If someone complains, it is up to you to show why you had the right to contact them.
Cases that often cause confusion
An abandoned cart is not a purchase. The person may have entered their address at checkout, but they did not automatically become a customer. The CRTC recommends obtaining express consent during checkout if you want to send them commercial emails later.
A business card is not permission to send anything you want. The same applies to an address published on a website. Under certain conditions, a published address may allow a message related to the person’s work, provided there is no statement refusing unsolicited messages. That does not mean you can add every address found online to your general newsletter.
Then there is the simplest case: someone who has already unsubscribed remains unsubscribed. Do not put them back on your list because they made a new purchase without clearly asking to subscribe again.
Keep a record, not a novel
You must be able to prove the consent you use, and for a small business, it doesn’t need to be complicated.
Keep the address, how you obtained it and the date. Note whether the person subscribed, bought something or requested a quote. If you rely on implied consent, also record the expiry date. Finally, keep your unsubscribe records so you do not mistakenly reimport those people six months later.
This information can live in your CRM or even in a well-maintained file when you are starting out. The important thing is not to have a complicated system. It is to be able to answer the question: “Why am I emailing this person?”
What each newsletter should contain
Consent does not resolve everything. Every commercial email must identify your business, provide a mailing address, and offer another way to reach you, such as a phone number, email address, or website.
It must also provide a free and easy way to unsubscribe. The link must work for at least 60 days after sending, and the request must be processed within no more than 10 business days. In practice, your newsletter tool should do this immediately. No one wants to handle it manually.
These obligations come directly from sections 6 and 11 of CASL , along with the regulations governing required contact information .
Where does Law 25 fit in?
CASL mainly concerns your right to send the email. Law 25 concerns how you collect, use and protect the person’s address in Quebec.
An email address is personal information when it identifies someone. Therefore, your site should clearly explain why you are asking for it and how you will use it. If you collect this information on your site, you must also have a privacy policy. Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec explains the information to be provided at the time of collection .
You do not need to untangle both laws every time you send an email. Just remember: CASL asks whether you have the right to contact the person, while Law 25 asks whether you handle their information properly.
You are doing that already, right?
So, do I add my clients or not?
Yes, a sale may allow you to send marketing emails to a customer for a period generally limited to two years. A request for a quote or information may provide a six-month period.
But the simplest and most lasting approach is to clearly ask them to subscribe with an unchecked box. Keep the date and source of consent, include an unsubscribe link in every message, and honour a no without looking for a loophole.
In Parle’s Email Marketing module , contacts and tags live alongside purchases, bookings, and enrolments. This keeps you from managing five separate lists that cannot exchange information. Whatever tool you use, however, the decision to send an email and the proof of consent remain your responsibility.
The right question is not simply, “Does the law allow me to send this?” It is also, “Will my client be happy to receive it?”
If the answer to the second question is no, the Send button can probably wait.
This post summarizes the general rules for Quebec small businesses. It does not replace a legal opinion adapted to your situation.