Recording law · Canada
Can I record a call in Canada?
Yes, if you are part of the conversation. The Criminal Code allows a participant to record their own call. A business that records still has privacy-law duties.
One-party consent
General information, not legal advice. Last reviewed October 2026. Laws change and facts differ; check before you rely on any line here, and ask a lawyer licensed where you record for anything that matters.
Does recording a call in Canada need one-party or all-party consent?
One-party consent. Under the Criminal Code, a participant may record a call without the others agreeing. An organisation recording in the course of commercial activity also needs their consent under PIPEDA or the provincial privacy law.
- The Criminal Code protects a private communication: one made where the speaker can reasonably expect it not to be intercepted by anyone other than the person they mean to hear it (s. 183). Intercepting one is an offence, except with the consent of the speaker or of the person they meant to hear it (s. 184(2)(a)). As a participant, your own consent is that consent. The rule is the same in Ontario and every other province.
- An organisation recording in the course of commercial activity has to tell people the call is recorded and why, get meaningful consent, offer a choice where recording is not essential, limit the use and keep the recording secure. Saying it at the start of the call, with the purpose, is the usual way.
- The Privacy Commissioner's guidance on recorded calls adds: use the recording only for the purposes you gave, keep it no longer than those purposes need, and let the person see it if they ask.
- Recording for purely personal use is outside PIPEDA.
- Ontario employers with 25 or more employees in Ontario on 1 January must have a written policy saying whether, how and why they monitor employees electronically. The rule asks for openness; it gives no new right to refuse monitoring.
Which privacy law applies
- Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia have private-sector privacy laws that have been deemed substantially similar to PIPEDA. An organisation handling personal information within one of those provinces generally follows the provincial law instead.
- PIPEDA still applies there to federally regulated businesses, such as banks and telecommunications companies, and to personal information that crosses a provincial or national border.
- Elsewhere in Canada, PIPEDA applies to commercial activity. Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador also have health privacy laws for health information held by health custodians.
- Voiceprints, the voice characteristics used to verify who someone is, are sensitive biometric information, and the Privacy Commissioner says express consent may be required for them.
The law
- Criminal Code, s. 183 (private communication), s. 184(1) and s. 184(2)(a)
- Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
- Provincial private-sector laws in Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia
- Employment Standards Act, 2000 (Ontario), Part XI.1 (electronic monitoring)
Interception without any party consenting is a criminal offence, punishable on indictment by up to five years' imprisonment. Privacy-law breaches are handled by the federal Privacy Commissioner or the provincial privacy regulator.
The official texts these lines were checked against, in October 2026:
- Criminal Code, s. 183, Justice Laws
- Criminal Code, s. 184
- PIPEDA
- Recording of customer telephone calls, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
- Provincial laws that may apply instead of PIPEDA
- Written policy on electronic monitoring of employees, Ontario
When the others are somewhere else
Calls with people in the United States or Europe can bring their rules in. Announce the recording when anyone may be in an all-party place. Video meetings are treated like phone calls, and the strictest rule that applies to anyone on the call is the one to follow.
Do I have to tell people I'm recording a call in Canada?
Under the Criminal Code, no, when you take part in the call, and recording for purely personal use is outside privacy law. If you record in the course of commercial activity, including your own practice, PIPEDA or the provincial law requires you to tell people the call is recorded and why, get their consent and give them a choice. Saying it at the start, with the purpose, is the usual way.
“Quick note before we start: I’m recording and transcribing this meeting on my own machine for my notes. It isn’t shared with anyone unless I send it to you. Let me know if you’d rather I didn’t.”
How Recordist fits
- One-party consent covers only conversations you take part in. Recordist records whatever your microphone picks up and whatever plays through your computer's sound output, so it can also record a call or a room you aren't part of, and that needs the consent the law sets for it. No bot joins the call.
- By default it asks before it records a call. A detected call is recorded only after you click Record, unless you add that app to Record without asking for in Settings → Detection or allow agents to start recordings in Settings → Integrations; both are off by default. The confirm card shows a one-line reminder that consent is your responsibility, so keep the sentence above to hand.
- The notice is still yours to give. Software cannot give consent for the other people. Tell them when you record for work or business, and when anyone may be somewhere stricter.
More questions
Can I record a call with a client in Canada?
Yes, as a participant, under the Criminal Code. Work with clients is usually commercial activity, so PIPEDA or the provincial law also asks you to tell them the call is recorded and why, get their consent, and offer a choice where recording is not essential.
How long can I keep a call recording in Canada?
No single period applies. The Privacy Commissioner says it depends on why you recorded, whether the recording was used to make a decision about someone, and any legal rule on retention. Keep it no longer than that.
Is it a crime in Canada to record a call you are not part of?
It can be. Intercepting a private communication without the consent of the speaker or of the person they meant to hear it is a criminal offence, punishable on indictment by up to five years' imprisonment, unless another exception in s. 184 applies.