Rules
Run a social media giveaway legally in Canada: the laws
Run a social media giveaway legally in Canada: the Competition Act, Criminal Code, CASL and PIPEDA, Quebec's Régie step, disclosure items, and records to keep.
What to take away
- To run a social media giveaway legally in Canada, check the Competition Act, the Criminal Code and CASL.
- Quebec adds a permission step and a post-contest report through the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux.
- A compliant rule set names the prize, the dates, the eligibility, the odds and the no-purchase route.
- Keep the posted rules, consent records and draw evidence; PIPEDA and Quebec's Law 25 require a defined retention limit rather than an open-ended archive.
- A missing permission or a misleading rule can stop the promotion before a prize is awarded.
Who has jurisdiction over a Canadian giveaway
Federal law reaches a promotion wherever the business sits in Canada. The Competition Act treats a promotional contest as advertising. Published rules must be clear enough for an entrant to know what is won and what must be done.
Is your giveaway an illegal lottery?
Does the promotion combine prize, chance and consideration?
Criminal Code lottery risk; add a free entry route
Promotion stays outside the lottery ban
The Criminal Code bans a lottery that combines prize, chance and consideration. A purchase requirement can create that combination. A free entry route removes it.
Most of the file sits with whoever runs the account, and the social media management decision about what to keep should be settled before entries open.
The Office of Consumer Affairs publishes plain guidance on contest rules that promoters can read before drafting. Federal business resources for small firms from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada cover the advertising side of a promotion.
What a compliant disclosure contains
A disclosure is the published rule set, not a caption on a post. It names the prize and its approximate value, the opening and closing dates, the region where entries are accepted, who may enter, and how the winner is chosen.
It states the odds when they are fixed. It says that no purchase is necessary and that buying something does not improve the chance of winning. Where the promotion is not a pure draw, it describes the skill element. It gives the promoter's legal name and a contact address. The Quebec version must be published in French.
Compliant disclosure checklist
- Prize and approximate value
- Opening and closing dates, with time zone
- Eligibility by province and age
- No-purchase statement and contact address
- Odds when fixed; skill element if any
- Promoter legal name and contact address
- Quebec version published in French
The document has to match what the post says. A caption that promises a different prize than the rule set is a deceptive marketing risk. Influencers who promote the giveaway need their own disclosure line, and Canadian guidance such as the Ad Standards Influencer Marketing Disclosure Guidelines expects a clear label for any material connection. That is why influencer campaign records belong in the file before outreach starts.
A giveaway also has to follow the rules of the platform it runs on. Meta, TikTok, X and YouTube each publish their own promotion or contest terms, so read the platform's terms alongside the Canadian requirements before entries open.
Records to keep after the winner is drawn
CASL requires a record of consent for each commercial electronic message, and the CRTC enforces it. Keep the consent basis, the date and the source. Under PIPEDA, and under Quebec's Law 25, entrant data needs a lawful basis and a retention limit.
Records to keep after the draw
- Consent basis, date and source for each message
- Entrant data lawful basis and retention limit
- The exact rule version that was published
- Entry log and draw method
- Winner notification record
- Quebec post-contest report
The Competition Bureau expects the promoter to show that the posted rules matched the contest that ran, so keep the version that was published rather than a later edit. Keep the entry log, the draw method and the winner notification. Quebec's regulator expects a report after the contest closes.
What happens if the rules are not followed
In Quebec, a promotion that needs Régie permission and lacks it can be ordered to stop. The promoter may be barred from awarding the prize.
Outside Quebec, the Competition Bureau can treat a misleading contest as deceptive marketing. It can seek a compliance order and a corrective notice. An illegal lottery under the Criminal Code is a criminal offense. Messages sent without CASL consent carry their own penalty.
A public backlash after a botched draw is a communications problem, and a social media crisis response plan helps before the winner is named.
Where the rules differ by province
Quebec is the outlier. A contest open to Quebec residents may need permission from the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux before it opens, and the rule set must be in French. The Régie administers the province's publicity contest rules under the Act respecting lotteries, publicity contests and amusement machines. A report follows the close of the contest. Other provinces rely on the federal Competition Act and on general consumer protection statutes.
Main instrument
- Canada
- Competition Act, Criminal Code, CASL
- Quebec
- Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux
- Other provinces
- Consumer protection statutes
- Entrant data
- PIPEDA and Quebec Law 25
Extra duty
- Canada
- Clear published rules, no illegal lottery, consent for email
- Quebec
- Permission before launch, French rules, post-contest report
- Other provinces
- Truthful advertising, no contest registry in most cases
- Entrant data
- Lawful basis and a retention limit
A purchase requirement turns a prize draw into an illegal lottery under the Criminal Code. A free entry route removes the consideration element and keeps the promotion on the right side of the line.
US sources describe a different system, and the US social media contest rules that circulate in templates do not cover the Régie or CASL.
