Canada has long had a strong and dynamic customer contact industry, employing nearly 182,000 people, and for many good reasons.
The country has a prosperous economy (CAD$3.1 trillion), a well-educated, technology-savvy population, and a relatively stable political system.
But Canada and its peoples (I am also a Canadian) are arguably not well understood by those in other countries. That is largely because the nation is overshadowed by the U.S., particularly in entertainment and media, and, to an extent, by its lingering ties to the U.K.
Even so, Canadians have particular characteristics, shaped by Canada’s climate, geography, history, and immigration, that pose both opportunities and challenges that need to be considered when seeking to deliver excellent customer experiences (CXs).
As examples, Canada has distinct holidays and telemarketing legislation (see BOXES on these two topics). It also has unique privacy and other laws (federal and provincial) that impact contact centers (see the article “The U.S. – Canada Compliance Gap” in this issue).
Canadian Holidays
Canada has several federal and provincial/territorial statutory or public holidays. These may impact contact center staffing, such as scheduling agents, and costs, such as overtime pay for when employees work on those days.
Some of the following holidays are unique/not common and may be unfamiliar to those outside of Canada:
- Family Day
- Victoria Day
- Fete Nationale/Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (legal holiday in Quebec)
- Canada Day (also observed as Memorial Day in Newfoundland and Labrador)
- Civic Holiday (not observed in Quebec)
- National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
- Thanksgiving (second Monday of October; celebrates the fall harvest)
- Boxing Day (day after Christmas)
Note: both Family Day and Civic Holiday have different names depending on the province e.g., Family Day is referred to as Louis Riel Day in Manitoba, while Civic Holiday is known (naturally enough) as B.C. Day in British Columbia.
Note also that Canadians may take the time out to honor those fallen in war on Remembrance Day (Nov.11); it is a statutory holiday federally and in several provinces. Many people wear fabricated red poppies or poppy pins out of respect.
The poem, “In Flanders Fields” was written by a Canadian, Lt. Col. Dr. John McCrae, who served as a physician in World War I and died before it ended.
There is also an unofficial “holiday” and that is spring break, which is in mid-to-late March but also in April depending on the province.
This is when the elementary, junior, and high schools, and the CEGEPS (in Quebec), are closed. It is when many families have their vacations at the end of the country’s typically arduous winters.
To learn more about Canada and contact centers, I had a great conversation recently with two leading Canadian industry experts and practitioners, Mike Aoki, President, Reflective Keynotes Inc. and Afshan Kinder, CEO, elevate2Great.
I hope you find it enlightening. I certainly did.
Q. What are the factors that make Canadians as a people or peoples unique in the world? And do these attributes affect providing excellent CXs to them?
MIKE AOKI
President
Reflective Keynotes Inc.
One of the immediate, most noticeable, and classic things you hear from Canadians is “sorry.” Someone bumps into you at the grocery store, but you say, “I’m sorry,” even though they’re the ones who bumped into you.
In Canada, “sorry” is used as a pleasantry rather than an admission of remorse. But in some U.S. jurisdictions, saying “sorry” can be viewed by courts as an admission of guilt. So, agents who serve U.S. customers need to avoid saying “I’m sorry” because of that legal issue.
Lawsuit amounts in Canada are capped monetarily. So even if you do win an action here, you’re not going to get that much, whereas in the U.S. you could be awarded damages from a massive multimillion-dollar class action lawsuit.
This leads to another characteristic of Canadians that, like Britons and Europeans, we’re looking to get a problem solved and are not necessarily looking to sue as easily or as readily.
So, it draws some different customer behaviors and different agent responses because of that. Conversations with Canadian customers tend to focus more on fixing their problems and with them being seen as valued. Meanwhile, ideal agent behavior focuses on fixing the problems AND fixing the relationships.
AFSHAN KINDER
CEO
elevate2Great
What makes Canadians unique is a combination of our attitudes about our cultural mix, communication style, and the values we share across our country.
Our original heritage is a blend of British and French traditions, Indigenous cultures, and, through the centuries, a multicultural population.
Like the U.S., Canada was largely settled by the British, but we evolved in a different cultural direction. While both countries share British roots, Canada retained more British traditions over time, partly because our political development was more gradual and less shaped by conflict.
We also have a strong French heritage that played and which continues to play a major role in our national identity.
Rather than describing ourselves as a “melting pot,” Canadians often use the term “mosaic,” reflecting a cultural identity where diversity is preserved and celebrated. This influences how we think, how we communicate, and how we deliver an outstanding CX.
“...we respond better when the interaction feels respectful and the solution is thoughtfully explained.” —Afshan Kinder
You can still see these influences today, even in small details like our spelling. For example, we write centre instead of the American spelling center or flavour, neighbour, honour, colour, etc.
I don’t mean to generalize, but one could say that Canadians are perceived as more polite and tactful compared to an American communication style, which is often direct and to the point.
When you compare us with U.S. customers, there is a difference. Again, without generalizing, Americans tend to want things fast. That is, fast answers, fast resolution, and fast decisions. Canadians, on the other hand, put more weight on clarity and fairness.
I remember reading some consumer research from Deloitte and McKinsey that really underscored this point. Their research indicated that Canadians are more deliberate and value-oriented, and we respond better when the interaction feels respectful and the solution is thoughtfully explained.
So those expectations naturally carry over into the way Canadians want their CX delivered, which is with clear information, a respectful tone, patience, and a sense that we’re not being rushed or pushed into a decision.
Differences Within Canada, Between Canadians
Canada is not only a distinct country and peoples that require knowing about and paying attention to when serving them, but there are cultural, language, and regional differences within its borders that can (and will) affect these strategies.
So, we asked Mike Aoki and Afshan Kinder about them. Here are their insights.
Mike Aoki:
I would like to point out especially to our American audiences that 90% of Canada’s population lives within about 100 miles (yes, 160 kilometres) of the U.S. border. It is spread out mostly east to west and concentrated in a handful of major urban areas located in the southern part of the country.
So, some of the regional differences end up being more east-west, than north-south, within Canada. Here are some examples:
- Newfoundland and Labrador, which has a distinct identity and dialect. They were a British colony, and briefly a self-governing dominion until 1949, when it joined Canada. The residents value relationships and want customer service that values that relationship.
- In Quebec, French is the only official language, and uses French common law, rather than the British common law which forms the basis of both English-Canadian and U.S. law.
- Most large Canadian contact centers value staff who can speak both English and French. Also, the solutions offered to Quebec-based customers must conform to Quebec laws, which may differ from those in the other provinces and territories.
- People in Toronto tend to be very fast-talking and impatient, wanting answers quickly.
- In contrast, being on the West Coast, Vancouverites are more laid back and speak slower, like Los Angeles residents which they share with the film industry i.e., “Hollywood North.”
- Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, which are Canada’s central provinces, prefer straightforward customer service and are suspicious of fast-talking reps.
There are also differences between urban and rural areas. Rural residents may have slower rates of speech than urban residents and want more time spent during the conversations on pleasantries and small talk; I can attest to that as I come from a rural community in southwestern Ontario.
So, when I’m training agents, I always mention to listen to the customer’s rate of speech and speed up or slow down accordingly. Also, adjust your level of formality from “strictly business” to “professional but customer-relationship-focused” depending upon the clues the customer provides.
In Canada we’re also trying to cover many time zones in the same continent. They range from the Newfoundland Time Zone, which is -3.5 Universal Standard Time (UST) to the Pacific Time Zone, which is -8 UST, which affects agent shift scheduling and coverage (British Columbia, which is on Pacific Time, recently made daylight savings time permanent).
Also, if you say bilingual to an American, they’re thinking English and Spanish. But in Canada it’s English and French.
Canada also tends to be more multilingual. It’s not uncommon for Canadian contact centers to officially offer English and French, but have another dozen or two dozen languages that they could accommodate. At least somebody there will speak that language.
Afshan Kinder:
One of the biggest misconceptions, especially from outside the country, is that Canada is one big market with one personality. It’s not. We’re a country of 10 provinces and three territories, and each has its own identity, priorities, and expectations.
Take French Canadian customers as an example. They’re not limited to just Quebec. We have strong francophone communities in Eastern Canada, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. They tend to value warmth and relationship building, and they respond well to a more conversational tone.
“...Canada's diversity, regionally and culturally, shapes customer expectations.” —Afshan Kinder
Our Indigenous communities bring another dimension that needs to be understood. Because of the historical trauma they’ve experienced, trust and respect are incredibly important.
Many Indigenous communities are also in remote areas where connectivity isn’t always reliable, and that affects their access to digital channels, which is a disadvantage.
This is being recognized and there was promising news that an Indigenous-led consortium in the Yukon is working to secure the funding needed to become the region’s primary telecommunications provider. If successful, it would mark the creation of the first Indigenous-owned telco in Canada, which would be an incredible milestone.
We’re also a highly multicultural country. Immigration standards are high, so newcomers bring strong education and a range of cultural norms.
That shows up in how the customer experience (CX) is delivered. Some cultures are indirect in stating their needs; others prefer more formality; some are uncomfortable with conflict.
So yes, Canada’s diversity, regionally and culturally, shapes customer expectations. If you understand that, you can design much better Canadian CXs.
Q. What are the key, Canada-specific-and-shaped challenges faced by contact centers?
Mike Aoki:
Because Canada has a smaller population and overall talent pool, employee engagement and employee retention are key challenges for Canadian contact centers.
We don’t want or can’t afford to bleed off 30%, 50%, and 100% of the agent workforce a year. It’s just too expensive to go and lose that kind of talent. It is not uncommon in smaller cities to have agents who have worked for multiple companies in the past.
Also, Canada’s infamous winter weather poses a workforce management (WFM) challenge! WFM teams need to keep an eye on weather reports because a snow or ice storm or severe flooding can mean half your agents cannot get into work, and the other half cannot get home!
Hybrid and work-from-home (WFH), including emergency WFH models, can help ease that problem. But as these weather events also affect homes, contact centers need to have agents in other climatic and geographic areas to provide business continuity.
“...Canada's infamous winter weather poses a workforce management (WFM) challenge!” —Mike Aoki
Meanwhile, in Toronto (which, I understand from Wikipedia, ranks just behind Mexico City, New York City, and Los Angeles, as the fourth largest metropolitan area in North America), traffic congestion and the cost of living downtown mean WFH or hybrid are very popular options for contact centers.
Afshan Kinder:
A few come to mind and they’re very tied to who we are as a country. When the pandemic hit, we moved incredibly fast to remote work.
Now many centers have transitioned to become hybrid, while others want their teams to be on-site. It may not be a unique challenge to Canada, but variances in productivity is an issue that is top of mind here.
What may be unique is that a number of Canadian businesses are taking advantage of the access they have to talent across our nation versus confining themselves to a geographic footprint.
We no longer have to go just to Quebec to find bilingual team members. We have countrywide access to bilingual agents, technical specialists, and people living in isolated areas where access is by ferry or small aircraft. For Canadian businesses, expanding that recruitment reach has been a major win.
When it comes to modernizing operations, large Canadian organizations such as banks, insurers, and even some telecom providers tend to adopt new technologies and AI more cautiously than their U.S. counterparts.
So, modernization is happening, but it’s slower because the foundational upgrades required are both complex and costly.
Before companies can fully leverage AI and automation, they need to rebuild or modernize their core platforms. That initial phase doesn’t generate ROI on its own; it simply lays the groundwork for the capabilities that will create value later.
Canada’s stringent regulatory environment also plays a role. When you layer rigorous compliance requirements onto technology roadmaps, timelines naturally stretch out.
Even Canadian organizations that are further along in their modernization, ROI isn’t guaranteed. One of my clients implemented Agent Assist and realized little benefit.
Here’s why. The client hadn’t asked the most important question, namely “What problem are we solving?” They also had a very tenured, highly knowledgeable team that often knew the answers better than the AI bot.
This lesson there is real. And it applies to all contact centres, in Canada and elsewhere. If employees don’t see or trust the value in a tool, adoption stays low and ROI becomes negligible.
Complying With Canada’s Telemarketing Laws
By Florentina G. Stancu-Soare
Canada has a set of distinct telemarketing laws and regulations. If you are calling Canadian consumers or businesses, the Canadian rules apply, regardless of where your team is based. Canadian companies may be held liable for violations committed by their agents even if they are offshore.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) enforces the federal telemarketing rules through the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules.
Canada’s federal National Do Not Call List (DNCL) is a registry where consumers register their phone numbers to opt out of telemarketing calls.
Here are the key provisions of Canada’s telemarketing rules.
Compliance Requirements
Contact centers must build compliance into their operations. Before launching any campaign, the fundamentals must be in place:
- Subscribe to the National DNCL.
- Scrub calling lists against the registry every 31 days at most.
- Verify any exemptions.
- Maintain records for three years.
During every call, agents must:
- Display valid caller ID.
- Identify themselves, company name, and purpose of call.
- Log all do not call (DNC) requests.
There are new call traceback capabilities, which mean that carriers must be able to identify and trace the origin of suspicious or fraudulent calls across networks. This should help address practices like local number spoofing as it becomes more easily detectable.
Calling Hours
The permitted calling hours are as follows based on the recipient’s local time, not the caller’s:
- Weekdays: 9:00 AM – 9:30 PM
- Weekends: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
It’s important to always check local holiday calendars as they vary by province and territory. Calling on statutory holidays is prohibited in several jurisdictions, including (but not limited to) Ontario, Nova Scotia, Alberta, and British Columbia.
Automated Dialing Devices (ADADs)
If using auto-dialers, which are systems that automatically dial phone numbers and deliver pre-recorded messages, the ADAD rules apply.
Key requirements include:
- Mandatory express consent to use an ADAD.
- A live agent must be available to handle the call when a consumer engages.
- Inclusion of a recorded message that clearly identifies the company and provides a contact number.
Before launching a campaign, verify that you meet the ADAD requirements.
Exemptions
Certain relationships and consent types create exemptions to the DNCL requirements, but they come with strict conditions. Exemptions include existing business relationships (recent purchases or inquiries) and business-to-business calls.
Canadian companies may be held liable...even if they are offshore.
Even with these exemptions, if a consumer asks to be added to an internal DNC list, that request must be honored within 14 days, and records kept for three years. No exceptions.
Penalties
Violations carry administrative monetary penalties of up to $1,500 per violation for individuals and up to $15,000 per violation for businesses.
In 2024-2025, the CRTC issued 154 warning letters, five citations, and 25 Notices of Violations (NoVs).
Here are common compliance mistakes:
- Calling numbers that are on the National DNCL.
- Using stale DNCL data (older than 31 days).
- Ignoring internal DNC requests.
- Not providing proper identification during calls.
- Failing to display valid caller ID.
- Calling outside permitted hours.
Q. What are your recommendations to Canadian contact center leaders, and to Canadian customer-serving companies based outside of Canada in meeting the opportunities and also the challenges of serving Canadians?
Mike Aoki:
Canada’s smaller population means a smaller talent pool. That scarcity, plus a higher pay scale for unionized agents in the financial services and telecom industries, means the cost of replacing an agent, and the lost productivity from the ramp -up curve of a new agent, are high.
So, focus on employee engagement. Reduce agents’ stress levels by training them on how to handle upset customers. Support them with helpful coaching. Use AI agent assist tools to help streamline their jobs and remove tedious work. This way they can focus on the customers.
Finally, treat the people in your contact center well because they are the ones interacting with your customers and hopefully, making a great impression.
And when serving Canadians, be attuned to the fact that we tend to be indirect when we are annoyed or disagree.
“Canada’s smaller population means a smaller talent pool...the cost of replacing an agent, and the lost productivity from the ramp-up curve of a new agent, are high.” —Mike Aoki
Phrases such as “You may be right about that” or “We have to agree to disagree on that one” may sound friendly, but they can also be passive-aggressive ways for Canadians to express strong disagreement.
That can also show on customer satisfaction scores (CSAT) or NPS scores where Canadians chose the “mushy middle” of giving a 6 or 7 score where an American would give a 0 or 1.
So, take any negative feedback and double the intensity to get a true read on how upset a Canadian is when they contact customer service!
Afshan Kinder:
My first recommendation is to treat Quebec as its own market. The cultural identity, the language laws, the regulatory environment are all different, and they require a tailored approach. Trying to treat Quebec like every other region simply doesn’t work.
“...you have to understand how Canadians communicate. We tend to be polite, indirect, and less confrontational.” —Afshan Kinder
Beyond that, understand the regional differences across the country. Toronto is not Saskatchewan, and Alberta is not Atlantic Canada. Each region has different nuances and expects different things from service interactions.
It’s also essential to recognize Canada’s multicultural reality. We’re a mosaic. That means hiring teams that reflect the customers you serve.
This is not just in English and French, but in other languages that matter to your market. And it means training agents on cultural communication styles, because not everyone expresses dissatisfaction or urgency the same way.
And lastly, you have to understand how Canadians communicate. We tend to be polite, indirect, and less confrontational. When Canadians are upset, we often sound neutral. Agents need to listen for the subtle cues to ensure that excellent service is delivered.
Whether you’re operating inside Canada or serving Canadians from somewhere else, your strategy should reflect that Canadians are diverse, regionally unique, culturally layered, and communication sensitive. When you build around that, you deliver an experience that feels genuinely Canadian.
How, Where to Serve Canadians
Canada has a strong, culturally/linguistically diverse domestic market that has long required advanced contact centers with highly skilled agents to meet the needs.
We reached out to Dennis J. Donovan, principal at Wadley Donovan Gutshaw Consulting (WDGC), to find out how and where best to locate contact center operations there.
DENNIS J. DONOVAN
Principal
Wadley Donovan Gutshaw Consulting
Strategy
A hybrid workplace model would generally be the best for recruiting/retaining workers in Canada, Dennis points out. It is often more favorable than full-time on-premise due to flexibility for the customer service agents.
“Flexibility allows for greater work/family balance,” says Dennis. “In turn, this enhances agent recruitment and retention.”
In a hybrid workplace model, customer service agents would be in the office three to four days a week and work at home one to two days a week. Ideally the agents should reside within 30 minutes of the physical office (for ease of commuting).
A more national remote workplace model would not be among Dennis’ recommended staffing strategies in Canada. Here’s why:
- Declining employee engagement.
- Erosion of company culture.
- Reduced collaboration/spontaneous support.
- Challenges for successful team building.
- Performance monitoring/management.
- Security/compliance.
A fully remote strategy could work if these agents are in the same metro areas as their companies’ offices with mandatory on-site meetings at least once a quarter, i.e., “local remote.”
“If a company believes that the benefits of at least partial in-office are not critical then a local remote workplace model might be acceptable,” says Dennis.
Community Types
The location strategies pertaining to U.S. contact center locations also generally apply in Canada (see April Feature). In the Tier 1 metros, Dennis advises choosing suburban submarkets that are proximate to where targeted skill sets reside. These submarkets should be characterized by:
- Extensive labor pools (direct customer service experience in a specific industry, pools of workers with previous customer interfacing experience, and presence of underemployed).
- Available office space that confers an HR advantage for recruiting/retaining agents (e.g., access, internal work environment, amenities).
- Favorable labor/demographic profiles within the primary commute shed (e.g., 30 minutes) from candidate office sites.
In Canada, there are no formal metro tiers as there are in the U.S. and, reflecting the country’s smaller population, WDGC’s definition is as follows, with examples (see FIGURE 1):
“Of course, in Canada, multilingual (English and French) is important,” says Dennis. “Occasionally trilingual (English, French, and Spanish) can become a criterion.”
Going Small-Midsized?
Contact centers should give serious consideration to locating in small-to-midsize (Tiers 5, 6) metros in Canada.
“In these metros there is less intensive competitive labor demand, ample supply of qualified skills, moderate turnover levels, lower operating costs especially labor, and minimal risk of future cost escalation (especially labor),” says Dennis.