A2P SMS, OTP, and sender ID rules in Canada.
BroadNet delivers A2P SMS and OTP in Canada over direct connections to Rogers, Bell Canada, and Telus, with CRTC sender ID registration in 3–6 weeks (short codes, after txt.ca approval). Direct termination into Rogers, Bell Canada, and Telus with CASL-aligned operations and bilingual content handling.
From-rates by channel in Canada
- SMSfrom$0.0170per SMSIndicative list rate, reviewed September 24, 2026Volume pricing available
- OTPRequest a quote Channel list rate from $0.0120 per verification (all markets)
- WhatsAppRequest a quote Channel list rate from $0.0135 per template message (all markets)
- RCSRequest a quote Channel list rate from $0.0080 per session (all markets)
- VoiceRequest a quote Channel list rate from $0.0150 per minute (all markets)
Indicative list prices in USD, excluding taxes and sender-ID registration fees. Final per-operator pricing is confirmed in your quote.
The Canada A2P market at a glance.
Canada is served by 3 licensed mobile networks (Rogers, Bell Canada, and Telus) covering a subscriber base of 37M. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) regulates A2P messaging and sender-ID registration. Common short codes are assigned by the Canadian Telecommunications Association (txt.ca) and take 3–6 weeks to provision after approval. Long-code requirements are set by the carriers; BroadNet confirms them during onboarding. CASL opt-in required. CASL (Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation) enforced — explicit/implied consent, opt-out on every commercial message. PIPEDA governs PII. English + French both required for some categories.
Technical facts for Canada
Network codes, message lengths and sender-ID rules in one table. Segment lengths are the GSM standard values (3GPP TS 23.038).
| Mobile country code (MCC) | 302 |
|---|---|
| Dialling code | +1 |
| Operators (MCC-MNC) |
|
| SMS length, GSM-7 (Latin alphabet) | 160 characters in a single SMS; 153 per part when concatenated |
| SMS length, UCS-2 (Arabic, Cyrillic and other scripts) | 70 characters in a single SMS; 67 per part when concatenated |
| Regulator | CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) |
| Sender-ID rules | Common short codes are assigned by the Canadian Telecommunications Association (txt.ca) and take 3–6 weeks to provision after approval. Long-code requirements are set by the carriers; BroadNet confirms them during onboarding. CASL opt-in required. |
| Sender-ID lead time | 3–6 weeks (short codes, after txt.ca approval) |
Channels live in Canada.
One contract, one contact model. Fall back between SMS, WhatsApp, and Voice with shared opt-in evidence and a single audit trail.
SMS
Short-code, toll-free, and 10DLC routes. Carrier-direct binds for high-volume programmes.
OTP
Sub-3-second median; TCPA-aligned consent handling.
WhatsApp Business API live; growing for customer-care, still small share vs SMS.
RCS
RCS Business Messaging widely available on Android via Google's MaaP and on iOS as of 2024.
Voice
Voice OTP / TTS available; STIR/SHAKEN-attested origination.
How do I register a sender ID in Canada?
Filed end-to-end by BroadNet's compliance team — KYC pack, operator approval, and renewal cycles handled on your behalf.
CRTC · Rogers and Bell Canada
- Format
- Common short code or long code
- Pre-registration
- Short codes: application to txt.ca, carried only if at least two separately owned carriers agree; long-code requirements confirmed during onboarding
- KYC documents
- Confirmed during onboarding
- Renewal cycle
- Short codes: initial 12-month lease, renewable (txt.ca)
- Common rejection causes
- Fewer than two carriers agreeing to carry the program, a program that breaks the Canadian short-code policies or CASL, or an incomplete application (txt.ca).
What OTP delivery looks like in Canada.
Latency profile, peak-hour behaviour, recommended fallback chain, and the fraud signals our firewall watches in-market.
Typical latency window
Median 2.3 s with a 95th-percentile inside 8 seconds across operator-direct binds. Two-shot delivery confirmed by DLR.
Peak-hour behaviour
Operator throughput holds steady through local business peaks; throttling kicks in only during outlier mass-send events. BroadNet load-shapes per-MNO to avoid firewall blocks.
Fallback chain
Recommended fallback: Voice OTP after 30s no-delivery. Toll-free messaging used as a redundant short-code fallback.
Fraud signals we watch
STIR/SHAKEN-attested origination on voice fallback. Watch for short-code re-rental fraud and 10DLC campaign drift.
What you can — and can't — send.
Opt-in, opt-out, quiet hours, content restrictions, and the penalty regime for the Canada market.
Opt-in
TCPA-compliant express written consent required for marketing. Transactional traffic permitted under the established-business-relationship exception.
Opt-out
STOP keyword honoured immediately and confirmed once. CTIA short-code monitoring audits compliance.
Quiet hours
We have not found a regulator-published time-of-day window for promotional SMS in this market. Agree sending hours with the operator and schedule promotional sends for the recipient's local daytime; transactional traffic runs 24/7.
Content restrictions
SHAFT-content categories blocked. 10DLC campaign brand must match the registered use case; toll-free traffic requires verification.
Regulator penalties
TCPA private right of action: USD 500 – USD 1,500 per violating message. CTIA can audit and revoke short codes.
Termination,
network by network.
The route status column shows how each operator is reached — a direct BroadNet bind or a labelled partner route. No grey-route exposure. Route grades are indicative planning guides, not live measurements.
| Operator | MCC-MNC | Route status | Grade | A2P rate (typ.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rogers | 302-720 | Direct | A+ | USD 0.0181 |
| Bell Canada | 302-610 | Direct | A+ | USD 0.0181 |
| Telus | 302-220 | Direct | A+ | USD 0.017 |
Rates shown are typical pay-as-you-go for transactional traffic. Promotional traffic is priced separately, and volume tiers reduce both. See the rate-card section below for the full ladder.
| Tier | Transactional | Promotional | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay-as-you-go | USD 0.0170 | USD 0.0221 | List rate up to 100K messages/month |
| Growth · 100K+ | USD 0.0150 | USD 0.0194 | Auto-tier discount |
| Volume · 1M+ | USD 0.0126 | USD 0.0164 | Includes quarterly route review |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Direct operator pricing + signed SLA |
Short codes via txt.ca: 3–6 weeks after approval. Long-code requirements confirmed during onboarding.
Open the Canada rate cardCompliant
by default.
Every send is pre-screened against Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) rules, the operator firewalls, and the local privacy framework. Where registration is required, BroadNet files the paperwork on your behalf.
CASL (Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation) enforced — explicit/implied consent, opt-out on every commercial message. PIPEDA governs PII. English + French both required for some categories.
Full regulatory deep-diveCASL opt-in
Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation — explicit or implied consent for commercial SMS.
PIPEDA
Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act governs PII.
EN + FR (bilingual)
Both official languages supported and required for some categories.
txt.ca short codes
Common short codes are leased through txt.ca (Canadian Telecommunications Association): 3–6 weeks to provision after approval, on an initial 12-month lease.
Programmes that work well in Canada.
Where the BroadNet operator-direct footprint, the local regulator regime, and consumer messaging habits line up.
- 01
Banking and fintech OTP and fraud-alert messaging under 10DLC and short-code.
- 02
Healthcare appointment reminders and HIPAA-aligned care-team messaging.
- 03
E-commerce, marketplace, and gig-economy operational alerts.
- 04
Airline, hospitality, and travel itinerary updates.
- 05
B2B SaaS MFA, system-status, and operational alerts.
What we run for Canada senders.
The operator relationships, the compliance workflow, the routing position — all on a single contract and a single account team.
Operator-direct binds with Rogers, Bell Canada, and Telus — no aggregator hops, no grey-route exposure.
Sender-ID requirements confirmed during onboarding.
Live in 16–35 business days from test-access request to production (set by the sender-ID lead time), with a dedicated solution engineer through go-live.
Typical delivery rate 99.5% and typical OTP delivery time 2.3 s across the country.
10DLC, toll-free, and short-code provisioning and brand-vetting handled in one onboarding flow.
STIR/SHAKEN-attested voice fallback and CTIA-aligned audit trail.
Buyer questions about Canada.
The questions BroadNet's sales engineers field every week from teams shipping into this market.
What's the typical sender-ID approval time with CRTC in Canada?
Typical lead time: 3–6 weeks (short codes, after txt.ca approval). BroadNet confirms the current sender-ID requirements and documents during onboarding.
Are BroadNet's routes to Canada operator-direct?
Yes — every operator on the public coverage table is a direct A2P bind. No aggregator hops, no grey-route exposure. Route grades are indicative planning guides, not live measurements.
Can I send marketing SMS in Canada without prior consent?
No. Verifiable opt-in is required across every market BroadNet supports, with the consent source, timestamp, and channel logged. Transactional OTP and account-level alerts are exempt from marketing-consent rules.
Which channels do you support for Canada — SMS only, or also WhatsApp and Voice?
SMS, OTP, WhatsApp Business, and Voice OTP are all supported. RCS Business Messaging is available where the local operator has launched it. All channels run on the same contract and contact model.
Can I be billed in a currency other than USD?
Yes — billing is available in USD / CAD. Volume tiers apply automatically from 100K messages a month.
Does Canada have specific consent rules for marketing SMS?
Yes — TCPA requires express written consent for marketing. Transactional flows are permitted under the established-business-relationship exception. BroadNet's onboarding captures the consent basis upfront.
What happens if a route to Canada degrades?
BroadNet runs continuous DLR monitoring on every operator. If a route flaps, traffic is automatically re-shaped to the next-best operator on the same destination, and your account manager is notified with a remediation note within the hour.
Do you sign an SLA for traffic to Canada?
Yes — traffic to this market runs under BroadNet's standard SLA: 99.99% monthly platform uptime, with service credits on enterprise contracts. Support response targets and the credit schedule are published on our Support & SLA page.
A ready-to-adapt template for Canada.
In the local script alongside English. Copy, swap the brand, and we'll register it as part of your sender-ID onboarding.
- Mobile subscribers
- 37M
- Sender ID lead
- 3–6 weeks (short codes, after txt.ca approval)
- Time-to-launch
- Live in 16–35 business days from test-access request to production (set by the sender-ID lead time)
- Billed in
- USD / CAD
BroadNet: your code is 471829. Reply STOP to opt out.
BroadNet : votre code est 471829. Répondez STOP pour vous désabonner.
Common short codes are assigned by the Canadian Telecommunications Association (txt.ca) and take 3–6 weeks to provision after approval. Long-code requirements are set by the carriers; BroadNet confirms them during onboarding. CASL opt-in required.
Continue across the region.
See how enterprises put these operator-direct routes to work in banking and finance messaging and e-commerce and retail messaging, or weigh the options on the messaging platform comparison hub.
More on Canada
Request current route availability for Canada.
Live in 16–35 business days from test-access request to production (set by the sender-ID lead time). Sender ID filed with CRTC on your behalf. Billed in USD from day one.
$ curl -X POST https://api.broadnet.me/sms/sendSms·mno = +1