If you email customers in Quebec, there are two sets of rules to think about. The first is CASL, Canada's anti-spam law, which decides whether you can send at all. The second is Quebec's Charter of the French Language, which decides what language you send in. Plenty of teams have the first sorted and have never looked at the second.
The short version: if you market to people in Quebec, your marketing emails should be in French, and any English version should sit alongside the French, not replace it.
The Charter and Bill 96
The Charter of the French Language has made French the language of commerce in Quebec since 1977. Bill 96 (now An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec) was assented to on 1 June 2022 and rewrote large parts of it. You can read the Act as passed on the Publications du Québec site.
Three changes matter most for email marketers.
- A duty to inform and serve in French. A new section 50.2 says a business offering goods or services to consumers "must respect their right to be informed and served in French". Section 5 of the Charter already gave consumers that right; Bill 96 put the duty on the business side too, and extended it to business customers.
- Commercial documents in any medium. Section 52 has long required catalogues, brochures and similar publications to be in French. Bill 96 added "regardless of the medium used" and widened it to "any other documents of the same nature that are available to the public".
- French on terms at least as favourable. Section 52 now ends with a rule you'll see throughout the Act: no one may make such a document available in another language if the French version is not available on terms that are at least as favourable.
Does this cover marketing emails?
The Charter doesn't list "email" by name, so here's what the evidence says.
The OQLF has treated commercial email as caught by section 52 for a long time. A ROBIC commentary on an early case notes that the OQLF considers advertising "sent by fax or electronic mail by businesses located in Quebec" to fall under section 52, alongside website advertising. Bill 96's "regardless of the medium" wording only strengthens that reading. On top of that, a newsletter or promotional email is a plain example of informing a customer, which is what section 50.2 is about.
In practice, the safe working assumption, and the one most Quebec advisers take, is: treat every marketing email to Quebec customers as a commercial publication that must be in French. That covers newsletters, promotions, product launches, event invitations and automated journeys such as welcome series and abandoned basket emails. Transactional emails such as receipts and invoices are covered too, by section 57, which Bill 96 rewrote to say invoices and receipts "must be drawn up in French".
Can you send English as well?
Yes. The Charter doesn't ban other languages. It bans English (or any other language) instead of French, or ahead of it. For email, that gives you three workable set-ups:
- French only to Quebec subscribers.
- Bilingual in one email, with French first or at least as prominent as the English.
- Separate French and English versions, where the French is at least as easy to get as the English: same offer, same timing, same quality, and the subscriber can choose.
What doesn't work is English by default with a "Version française" link at the bottom, a French version that goes out a day later, or a French version with a weaker offer. Those are the things "at least as favourable" is there to stop.
Who it applies to
It isn't only Quebec companies. Osler's summary of Bill 96 says the Charter "applies to any business that carries on an activity for profit in the Province of Québec, regardless of whether that business has any establishment in the province", and that out-of-province e-commerce sites selling to Quebec residents are covered. Smart & Biggar makes the same point about websites.
So if you're a Toronto retailer, a US direct-to-consumer brand or a UK software company with Quebec customers on your list, assume it applies to the emails those customers get.
Key dates
- 1 June 2022: Bill 96 assented to. Most provisions, including the duty to inform and serve (s. 50.2) and the changes to commercial documents (s. 52), took effect that day.
- 1 June 2025: the new trademark rules for products, signs and commercial advertising (ss. 51.1 and 58.1) and the related changes to the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business came into force.
- 1 June 2027: end of a transition period. According to Cassels, products made before 1 June 2025 that don't meet the new trademark rules can still be sold until 1 June 2027, under conditions. This is about packaging, not email, but it explains why you'll see 2027 in Bill 96 articles.
Penalties and private actions
Enforcement mostly starts with a complaint to the OQLF. Under the amended Charter, the OQLF can order a business to comply within a set time (s. 177), and can apply to the Superior Court for an injunction (s. 183).
The fines in the Act as passed are:
- $3,000 to $30,000 per offence for a business, and $700 to $7,000 for an individual (s. 205).
- Doubled for a second offence and tripled for later ones (s. 207).
- Each day an offence continues counts as a separate offence (s. 208.0.1).
- Directors and officers face double the fines that apply to an individual (s. 208).
There is also a private route. Bill 96 added civil sanctions: where a right in sections 2 to 6.2 of the Charter is breached, which includes the consumer's right to be informed and served in French, the person affected "is entitled to obtain the cessation of the violation" (s. 204.17). That part doesn't apply to businesses with fewer than five employees. Law firms including Smart & Biggar describe this as a new private right of action that raises the risk of claims from Quebec residents.
Fines of a few thousand dollars won't frighten a large brand. A complaint, an order, a public notice and a rushed retranslation of your whole programme are what cost the time and money.
How the Charter fits with CASL
CASL and the Charter do different jobs, and you need both.
- Consent is CASL's business. Language doesn't change it: you still need express consent or implied consent that's in date. Ask for consent in French on Quebec sign-up forms, so the person knows what they agreed to.
- Identification is a CASL requirement: your business name, a mailing address and one other contact method. In a French email, put these in French too. "Adresse" and "Nous joindre" are as easy to write as their English equivalents.
- Unsubscribe must work and be actioned within 10 business days under CASL. CASL doesn't set a language, but under the Charter a French reader should be able to unsubscribe in French. That means the footer link, the unsubscribe page, any preference centre and the confirmation message.
Related guides
- Writing French emails for Quebec: prices, dates, times and punctuation the Quebec way.
- One email or two? How to set up English and French emails in your ESP.
- Canada email marketing calendar 2027, including Quebec's own dates.
- Bilingual email marketing in Canada: how Mailfois plans, translates and signs off both languages.
A practical workflow
Here's the workflow I'd set up, whatever ESP you use.
1. Plan French into every campaign
Put French on the plan from the brief, not after the English is signed off. Every campaign that goes to Canada gets a Quebec French version with the same send date. If the French can't be ready in time, the campaign for Quebec moves; it doesn't go out in English.
2. Use translators who know Quebec
Quebec French is not France French. Vocabulary, tone and some terms differ ("courriel" rather than "e-mail", "magasiner" for shopping). Use translators who write for Quebec and give them the whole email, not loose lines in a spreadsheet. Give them a way to check their work in context: spell-check in French, and checks that merge tags, prices and dates came through untouched. More on that in our page on email translation.
3. Translate the parts people forget
The common gaps are the bits outside the body copy:
- Subject line and preheader. These are the first French a subscriber sees. They must be French too.
- From name, if it includes words rather than just your brand.
- Image text and alt text. Text baked into a banner image still counts.
- Buttons and links. Links should go to French landing pages, not the English home page.
- Footer, legal lines, address and unsubscribe text.
- Unsubscribe page, preference centre and confirmation emails.
- Automated journeys, which are often set up once in English and forgotten.
Your trademarks can stay as they are where a recognised trademark exception applies, but any descriptive words around them should be in French.
4. Segment by language, not just by province
Store a language preference for every Canadian subscriber and default Quebec addresses to French. Let people choose English if they want it.
5. Sign off the French, not just the English
Have someone who reads French approve the French version as a separate step, on the real email rather than a screenshot. Keep a record of who approved which version and when. If a complaint ever arrives, that record shows a deliberate process rather than a gap.
Common mistakes
- English to everyone in Canada, with Quebec as an afterthought.
- A French link instead of a French email. "Cliquez ici pour la version française" at the top of an English email doesn't make the French available on equal terms.
- French body, English subject line.
- An English-only unsubscribe page or preference centre.
- Machine translation sent unchecked. It's often fine as a draft; it shouldn't go out without a human who writes Quebec French.
- Forgetting automations and transactional emails. Welcome series, basket reminders and receipts go out every day.
Frequently asked questions
Do marketing emails to Quebec have to be in French?
In practice, yes. Bill 96 requires businesses to inform and serve consumers in French, and section 52 of the Charter covers commercial documents in any medium. The OQLF has long treated commercial email as falling under section 52.
Can I send a bilingual email to Quebec subscribers?
Yes. You can send French and English together, or separate versions, as long as the French is available on terms at least as favourable as the English: same content, same timing, at least as prominent.
Does Bill 96 apply to businesses outside Quebec?
According to law firms including Osler and Smart & Biggar, it applies to businesses carrying on commercial activity in Quebec, including e-commerce sellers with no establishment there. If Quebec residents buy from you and you email them, assume it applies.
What are the penalties under Bill 96?
Fines for businesses are $3,000 to $30,000 per offence, doubled for a second offence and tripled after that, and each day an offence continues is a separate offence. Consumers can also go to court to make a business stop a breach of their right to be served in French.
Does CASL require emails to be in French?
No. CASL covers consent, identification and unsubscribes, and doesn't set a language. Quebec's Charter is what requires French, so your CASL details, footer and unsubscribe process should be in French for Quebec subscribers.
