Canadian business website checklist: CASL, provincial taxes, Interac and French
What a Canadian business website needs in 2026: consent for marketing emails under CASL, a privacy policy under PIPEDA and Quebec's Law 25, GST/HST at checkout, accessibility rules in Ontario, Interac payments and French for Quebec.
By Syed Shahzaib Ali · 12 November 2026 · 2 min read
Canada's rules for websites come from both the federal government and the provinces, and its anti-spam law is one of the strictest anywhere. This is the checklist we use for Canadian builds. It is general guidance, not legal advice.
1. Get consent before you send marketing messages
Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) covers commercial electronic messages, which includes email and SMS. Three things are required:
- consent from the recipient before you send
- clear identification of you and your organisation
- an unsubscribe mechanism in every message
On the website, this means sign-up forms with plain consent wording, no pre-ticked boxes and a record of when each person signed up.
2. Publish a privacy policy
PIPEDA is the federal privacy law for private-sector businesses. It expects you to say what personal information you collect, why, and who you share it with, and to collect only what you need. Quebec's Law 25 goes further, with consent and transparency duties that affect cookie banners and forms for Quebec visitors.
3. Charge the right tax by province
The federal GST is 5%. Some provinces combine it with their own tax into HST (13% in Ontario, for example), and others charge a separate provincial sales tax. A store needs tax rules by delivery province, and invoices that show your GST/HST number once you are registered. You must register once you are no longer a small supplier, which is tied to a $30,000 revenue threshold.
4. Check your accessibility duties
Ontario's AODA requires businesses and non-profits with 50 or more employees to make their public websites meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA. Smaller businesses and other provinces have their own rules, and an accessible site is good practice everywhere: readable contrast, keyboard navigation, alt text and labelled forms.
5. Plan for French
Businesses serving Quebec are expected to offer French, and Quebec's language law applies to commercial websites of businesses established there. Build the site so a French version can sit beside the English one, with a language switch and the right tags for search engines.
6. Offer the payments Canadians use
- Cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay
- Interac
- PayPal
- Instalments with Affirm, Klarna or Afterpay
Show prices in Canadian dollars and shipping costs by province.
7. What customers look for
- A Canadian address or service area and a local phone number.
- Google reviews and a Google Business Profile that matches the site.
- Pages for the cities you serve, from Toronto and Vancouver to Montreal, Calgary and Ottawa.
How we can help
We build Canadian websites with CASL-ready forms, provincial tax rules on stores and a structure that is ready for French. See our Canada page or ask for a quote.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I email people who gave me a business card?
- CASL allows implied consent in some situations, such as an existing business relationship, but it is time-limited and has conditions. Express consent through a clear sign-up form is the safe route, and you should keep a record of it.
- When do I have to register for GST/HST?
- You stop being a small supplier once your revenue exceeds $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive quarters. From then you must register and charge GST/HST. Your accountant can confirm the timing.
- Do I need a French version of my website?
- If you have a place of business in Quebec or sell to customers there, French is expected and often required. We build the site in English and add French pages with the correct language tags.
- How much does a website cost with The Dev Studio?
- Our fixed packages are US$299, US$599 and US$1,599, with Shopify stores from US$999. You get a written quote before any work starts.
See how we work with Canadian businesses
Websites, Shopify stores, SEO and apps for Canadian businesses at a fixed price.