Canada recording laws

In-person conversations

Participant recording may be permitted under the cited rule

Section 184 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence to wilfully intercept a private communication, and section 184(2)(a) excepts an interception made with the express or implied consent of the originator or the intended recipient. On that basis, recording a face-to-face conversation you are taking part in may be permitted under this specific provision.

Conditions that matter

• This is a criminal-law provision only. It does not decide whether you may keep, share, publish or rely on the recording.
• Section 193 makes it a separate offence to use or disclose a private communication, or even its existence, outside the listed exceptions.
• If you are recording for an organisation rather than for yourself, PIPEDA or a substantially similar provincial privacy statute is likely to apply, and those have their own consent and purpose requirements.
• British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador have their own privacy statutes or Civil Code provisions creating civil liability for violation of privacy. Those are separate from the Criminal Code.

Exceptions

• The exception depends on your being the originator or intended recipient of the communication, or having their consent.

What this source does not resolve

• ?Whether a recording is admissible, and whether making it breaches an employment or professional obligation, are separate questions this tool does not answer.

Telephone calls

Participant recording may be permitted under the cited rule

Section 184 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence to wilfully intercept a private communication, and section 184(2)(a) excepts an interception made with the express or implied consent of the originator or the intended recipient. On that basis, recording a call you are taking part in may be permitted under this specific provision.

Conditions that matter

• This is a criminal-law provision only. It does not decide whether you may keep, share, publish or rely on the recording.
• Section 193 makes it a separate offence to use or disclose a private communication, or even its existence, outside the listed exceptions.
• If you are recording for an organisation rather than for yourself, PIPEDA or a substantially similar provincial privacy statute is likely to apply, and those have their own consent and purpose requirements.
• British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador have their own privacy statutes or Civil Code provisions creating civil liability for violation of privacy. Those are separate from the Criminal Code.

Exceptions

• The exception depends on your being the originator or intended recipient of the communication, or having their consent.

What this source does not resolve

• ?Whether a recording is admissible, and whether making it breaches an employment or professional obligation, are separate questions this tool does not answer.

Internet calls and video meetings

Participant recording may be permitted under the cited rule

Section 184 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence to wilfully intercept a private communication, and section 184(2)(a) excepts an interception made with the express or implied consent of the originator or the intended recipient. On that basis, recording an internet call or video meeting you are taking part in may be permitted under this specific provision.

Conditions that matter

• This is a criminal-law provision only. It does not decide whether you may keep, share, publish or rely on the recording.
• Section 193 makes it a separate offence to use or disclose a private communication, or even its existence, outside the listed exceptions.
• If you are recording for an organisation rather than for yourself, PIPEDA or a substantially similar provincial privacy statute is likely to apply, and those have their own consent and purpose requirements.
• British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador have their own privacy statutes or Civil Code provisions creating civil liability for violation of privacy. Those are separate from the Criminal Code.

Exceptions

• The exception depends on your being the originator or intended recipient of the communication, or having their consent.

What this source does not resolve

• ?Whether a recording is admissible, and whether making it breaches an employment or professional obligation, are separate questions this tool does not answer.

Recording when you are not part of the conversation

Recording by someone who is not a participant is restricted

Criminal Code s. 184 is aimed squarely at someone who is not part of the conversation capturing it. Recording people you are not talking to — for example by leaving a device running in a room — does not benefit from any participant exception in Canada and can carry criminal as well as civil consequences.

Conditions that matter

• Consent obtained from one participant does not necessarily cover the others in this situation.
• Harassment, stalking, trespass and child-protection rules can apply on top of the recording statute.

What this source does not resolve

• ?Whether a specific arrangement counts as participating in the conversation is a fact question that should be put to a local lawyer.

Expectation of privacy

Whether the participants reasonably expected not to be recorded is part of the analysis here. That is a question about the circumstances, not about the room: a conversation can still be private in a café, an office, a car or a street when people reasonably expect not to be overheard. Being in a public place does not by itself remove the question.

Sharing and publishing the recording

• Section 193 of the Criminal Code addresses using or disclosing a private communication. Lawfully making a recording does not automatically make it lawful to share or publish it.

Workplace recording

• Recording colleagues, managers or HR meetings can breach an employment contract or workplace policy even where the Criminal Code exception applies.

Organisational and data-protection considerations

• PIPEDA applies to personal information collected, used or disclosed in the course of commercial activity. A recording made for a business purpose is very likely to be personal information.
• Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec have private-sector privacy laws declared substantially similar to PIPEDA, and those apply instead within those provinces.

Calls that cross a border

When the other participants are somewhere else, more than one set of rules may be relevant, and which one a court would apply is a fact-specific determination this site does not make. Anyone telling you the strictest rule automatically governs is offering a rule of thumb rather than the law. The course that works either way is express consent from everyone — see recording across state lines.

Sources

Official sources first. Secondary guides are used to cross-check interpretations, never as the sole basis for a conclusion.