Are electronic signatures legal in Canada? PIPEDA, provincial acts and exceptions

Canada was an early adopter of e-signature law, but it did it the Canadian way: one federal statute for federal matters and a separate act in every province and territory. The result is that "can I e-sign this?" is usually answered by your province's act: and the exceptions differ slightly from one province to the next.

This guide covers the federal rules, the main provincial acts, the documents that are still excluded, and what to use in practice.

The short answer

• Electronic signatures are legally recognised throughout Canada. Every province and territory has adopted legislation based on the Uniform Electronic Commerce Act prepared by the Uniform Law Conference of Canada in 1999.
• Federal law: for dealings under federal statutes. Is covered by Part 2 of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), with a special secure electronic signature for the few federal requirements that demand one.
• The common exclusions are wills, trusts created by wills, powers of attorney for property or personal care, and negotiable instruments. Some provinces also exclude documents that transfer an interest in land.
• British Columbia has allowed electronic wills since 1 December 2021. Ontario allows remote witnessing of wills and powers of attorney by video, but the documents themselves are still signed on paper.

The law: federal and provincial

PIPEDA Part 2 and the Secure Electronic Signature Regulations

PIPEDA (S.C. 2000, c. 5) is best known for privacy, but Part 2, "Electronic Documents", lets federal laws that assume paper be satisfied electronically. It does not apply automatically to every federal law. It covers the provisions listed in its schedules or that departments opt into.

For the rare federal requirement for a seal, a signed original or a statement made under oath, Part 2 calls for a secure electronic signature. The Secure Electronic Signature Regulations (SOR/2005-30) define it as a digital signature made with a digital signature certificate from a certification authority recognised by the President of the Treasury Board and listed on the Treasury Board Secretariat's website. In practice this matters mainly for dealings with the federal government, not private contracts.

Ontario: Electronic Commerce Act, 2000

Ontario's Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 (S.O. 2000, c. 17) says a legal requirement for a signature is satisfied by an electronic signature, and that a contract may be formed and accepted electronically. Nobody is required to use or accept electronic documents, though consent can be inferred from conduct.

Its exclusions are listed in section 31. The Act does not apply to:

• wills and codicils;
• trusts created by wills or codicils;
• powers of attorney, to the extent they relate to an individual's financial affairs or personal care;
• negotiable instruments;
• documents prescribed by regulation.

It also does not apply to documents of title (for example, warehouse receipts), except in connection with contracts for the carriage of goods.

Ontario used to exclude documents that create or transfer interests in land. That exclusion was repealed with effect from 1 July 2015, which is why agreements of purchase and sale and leases in Ontario can now be signed electronically. The transfer itself is registered through Ontario's electronic land registration system, which lawyers use with their own registration credentials, not by uploading a signed PDF.

British Columbia: Electronic Transactions Act

BC's Electronic Transactions Act (S.B.C. 2001, c. 10) follows the same model. It does not apply to wills, trusts created by wills, powers of attorney for financial affairs or personal care, and documents that create or transfer interests in land and require registration to be effective against third parties. Land title documents in BC are filed electronically with the Land Title and Survey Authority by lawyers and notaries using their own digital credentials.

Alberta: Electronic Transactions Act

Alberta's Electronic Transactions Act (S.A. 2001, c. E-5.5) excludes, in section 7: wills and trusts created by wills or codicils, enduring powers of attorney, personal directives, records that create or transfer interests in land (including mines and minerals), guarantees under the Guarantees Acknowledgment Act, negotiable instruments, and prescribed records. In February 2020 Alberta amended the Electronic Transactions Act General Regulation to delete exclusions for employment-related records, certain Public Health Act and Mental Health Act documents, and Residential Tenancies Act notices, so employment contracts and residential leases can now be handled electronically. A contract to buy land may be e-signed. For the transfer itself, the Land Titles Office's digital signature policy lets authorised submitters using Alberta Land Titles Online (ALTO) file a transfer of land, mortgage, caveat or discharge that the client signs electronically, but the supporting affidavits (such as the affidavit of execution and affidavit of value) still need wet-ink signatures.

Quebec: Act to establish a legal framework for information technology

Quebec's civil-law system uses the Act to establish a legal framework for information technology (CQLR, c. C-1.1), adopted in 2001. Under section 39, a person's signature may be affixed to a document by any process that meets article 2827 of the Civil Code of Québec, which defines a signature as a name or distinctive mark a person regularly uses to show consent. A signature on a technology-based document can be set up against the signer if the integrity of the document is ensured and the link between the signature and the document was established at signing and has been maintained.

Notarial acts are handled separately. An Act to modernize the notarial profession and to promote access to justice (S.Q. 2023, c. 23) provides for notarial acts en minute to be executed and kept on a technological medium, with digital central records run by the Chambre des notaires du Québec. The Act was assented to in October 2023 and made technology-based notarial acts, first allowed as a temporary pandemic measure in 2020, a permanent feature. Executing an act remotely is now the exception rather than the rule: the notary decides whether the circumstances justify it, so ask your notary.

Evidence: the Canada Evidence Act

Sections 31.1 to 31.8 of the Canada Evidence Act deal with electronic documents in federal proceedings. The person offering an electronic document must prove it is what it claims to be (31.1); the best-evidence rule is met by proving the integrity of the electronic documents system (31.2), which is presumed in certain circumstances (31.3); regulations may create a presumption for secure electronic signatures (31.4); and courts may consider recognised standards (31.5). Most provinces have similar rules in their own evidence acts. In practice, a signature backed by records showing who signed, when, and that the file was not altered is far easier to prove.

Documents you cannot sign electronically (or need a special process)

Wills in more detail

British Columbia was the first province to allow electronic wills. Amendments to the Wills, Estates and Succession Act made by the Wills, Estates and Succession Amendment Act, 2020 came into force on 1 December 2021, allowing a will to be made, signed and witnessed electronically, including with witnesses present by video.

Ontario made remote witnessing of wills and powers of attorney permanent through amendments to the Succession Law Reform Act and the Substitute Decisions Act, provided at least one witness is a lawyer or paralegal licensed by the Law Society of Ontario. The will can be signed in counterparts, but the signatures are still on paper: Ontario does not accept electronic wills. See Can you sign a will electronically?.

Saskatchewan likewise lets witnesses attend the signing of a paper will by video under its Wills Act, 1996, provided at least one witness is a lawyer who verifies the testator's identity and follows the Law Society of Saskatchewan's requirements.

Common situations

Employment contracts

Offer letters and employment agreements can be signed electronically in every province. Keep the signed PDF and signing record, in a dispute about a termination clause, you will need to show which version was accepted and when. See Can an employment contract be signed electronically?.

Residential leases

Leases, including Ontario's standard form of lease, can be e-signed. Landlord-tenant notices that start formal proceedings follow the rules of the provincial tribunal. See Can you e-sign a lease or rental agreement?.

Real estate

Agreements of purchase and sale are routinely signed electronically through brokerages. The closing documents and the land transfer are handled by your lawyer (or, in BC and Quebec, notary) through the land registry system.

Company documents

Federal and provincial corporate statutes allow electronic documents and signatures for resolutions and many filings. Directors' written resolutions signed electronically are common practice.

Tax

The Canada Revenue Agency accepts electronic signatures on specific forms, such as the authorisations taxpayers give to tax preparers to e-file. Other filings go through CRA's own portals.

Certificates in Canada

Canada has no nationwide "qualified signature" tier for private contracts. Some professions use certificate-based signatures. For example engineers, architects and notaries in several provinces sign plans and acts with certificates issued to members through their professional orders. Whether you can use such a certificate on a website depends on whether it is issued as an exportable .pfx/.p12 file; many are held on a token or in a cloud service that cannot be exported.

Signing with KovaPDF

• Contracts, leases, offer letters and approvals: Request Signatures sends the PDF to each signer in order or all at once; signers use a private link and need no account. Everyone receives the signed PDF with a certificate of completion (names, emails, open and sign times, IP addresses and the document fingerprint), and the file is sealed with a trusted timestamp. That is the integrity evidence the Canada Evidence Act and provincial acts look for. Legally it is a simple electronic signature, not a PIPEDA secure electronic signature.
• Just your own signature on a form: Sign PDF.
• A certificate you hold as a .pfx or .p12 file: Digital Signature applies a PAdES signature with a trusted timestamp and long-term validation data where available.
• Checking a signed PDF: Verify PDF Signature.

No online tool can make an Ontario will electronic, register a land transfer, or replace a Quebec notary. KovaPDF can help you prepare the documents.