Is call recording legal in Canada?
By Jared Ohman · Updated June 2026
A plain-English answer for service-business owners: what one-party consent means, why you should disclose recording anyway, and how a Canadian-built receptionist handles it. This is general information, not legal advice.
The short version
Canada follows a one-party consent rule for recording a conversation. If you are one of the people on the call, you can generally record it without the other person's explicit permission. For a business answering its own customer calls, that means the recording itself is usually permitted.
That is not the whole story, though. Being allowed to record is different from being allowed to do anything you like with the recording. How you collect, store, and use call data is governed by privacy law — federally by PIPEDA, with provincial equivalents — and regulators expect you to be transparent with the people you record.
Why you should disclose it anyway
Even though one-party consent allows it, the practical and expected thing is to tell callers the call may be recorded, right at the greeting. It keeps you onside with privacy expectations, it is the norm callers are used to, and it builds trust rather than eroding it if a recording ever comes up later. A single sentence at the start of the call does the job.
The harder part for most owners isn't the disclosure — it's handling the data responsibly after the call: where it's stored, who can access it, and which third parties touch it. That is what PIPEDA is really about, and it's worth knowing how any service you use answers those questions.
How HeyDiane handles it
Diane discloses that the call may be recorded at the start of every call, which lines up with Canada's consent rules and the CRTC's expectations for business calls, and she discloses that she is AI on request. Call data is handled with PIPEDA in mind, every subprocessor is listed in the Privacy Policy, and you keep every call recording.
The wider point: HeyDiane is built and run by an Alberta company, not a US tool billed in US dollars with no local team. If Canadian data handling matters for your business, that's part of why it's worth comparing the options rather than defaulting to whichever app shows up first.
Common questions
Is it legal to record phone calls in Canada?
Generally, yes, when you are one of the people in the conversation. Canada follows a one-party consent rule: a party to a call can record it without the other person's explicit permission. That said, businesses that record customer calls are expected to be transparent about it, and privacy law (PIPEDA, and provincial equivalents) governs how that recording is collected, stored, and used. This is general information, not legal advice.
Do I have to tell callers the call is being recorded?
It's the right practice, and privacy regulators expect transparency. Even though one-party consent allows the recording itself, telling callers at the start of the call that it may be recorded keeps you onside with privacy expectations and builds trust. A short disclosure at greeting is the simplest way to do it.
How does HeyDiane handle call recording and consent?
Diane discloses that the call may be recorded at the start of the call, which lines up with Canada's consent rules and CRTC expectations for business calls, and she discloses that she is AI on request. Call data is handled with PIPEDA in mind, every subprocessor is listed in the Privacy Policy, and you keep every call recording.
Is my customers' data kept in Canada and handled under Canadian law?
HeyDiane is built and run by an Alberta company and handles call data with Canadian privacy law in mind, rather than as a US tool billed in US dollars with no local team. The Privacy Policy lists how data is handled and which subprocessors are involved so you can check it against your own obligations.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. For how the rules apply to your specific business, talk to a lawyer or your provincial privacy regulator.