# Is It Legal to Record a Conversation Without Consent in Canada?

> Federally (applying identically in Ontario, Alberta, and every province), recording a private conversation is legal if you are a participant in it, even without the other person's knowledge. This is called 'one-party consent' (Criminal Code s 184(2)(a)). Recording a conversation you are not part of is a criminal offence. Businesses and police face additional rules.

Published 2026-08-10 · Last reviewed 2026-08-03 · [Canonical page](https://canadalegalcenter.ca/articles/is-it-legal-to-record-a-conversation-without-consent-in-canada/)

Legal information, not legal advice.

## One-party consent is legal, eavesdropping is not

**Usually yes, if you are taking part in the conversation.** Federal criminal law, which applies the same way in Ontario, Alberta, and every other province, makes it an offence to knowingly intercept (record) a "private communication" using an electronic or mechanical device, punishable by up to five years' imprisonment (Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46, s 184(1)). But the same section carves out an exception: it is not an offence if you have the consent, express or implied, of the person who made the communication or the person it was intended for (s 184(2)(a)). In practice, this means a participant in a conversation can record it without telling the other person, a rule sometimes called "one-party consent."

The offence only covers a "private communication," defined as one made by a person in Canada or intended to be received by a person in Canada (s 183). Recording a conversation you are part of, in person or on the phone, generally falls squarely within the consent exception. Recording a conversation between two other people, where you are neither the originator nor the intended recipient and have no one's consent, falls outside the exception and can expose you to criminal liability.

## What flips the answer

**You are not a participant.** The consent exception in s 184(2)(a) applies to consent from the originator or intended recipient. If you plant a device to record a conversation you are not part of, and no participant consented, the general prohibition in s 184(1) applies in full.

**The recording is done by police or another state agent.** The Supreme Court of Canada has described one-party consent recording by an agent of the state, often police using an informant or undercover officer, as "consent surveillance" (*R v Duarte*, [1990] 1 SCR 30). Because the state is a party to the interaction, this kind of recording can engage Charter rights even though it may fall within the Criminal Code's consent exception, and courts must then consider whether any Charter infringement is justified and whether the recording is admissible as evidence. This branch of the law is specific to police and state actors; it does not change the rule for private citizens recording their own conversations.

**A business is doing the recording.** If a company records calls with customers, federal privacy guidance under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) requires the organization to inform the customer that the call is being recorded, state the purpose, and ask for consent. This is a separate compliance obligation from the Criminal Code exception, and it falls on the business, not on the individual customer. In Alberta, provincially-regulated private businesses are instead governed by Alberta's own Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), while federally-regulated businesses operating in Alberta, such as banks, airlines, and telecom companies, remain subject to PIPEDA.

**In Ontario, a lawful recording can still lead to a civil claim.** Even where a recording does not breach the Criminal Code, the Ontario Court of Appeal has recognized a tort called intrusion upon seclusion: an intentional intrusion into someone's private affairs that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person (*Jones v Tsige*, 2012 ONCA 32). Damages under this tort have historically been capped in a modest range, up to $20,000. This is a civil cause of action separate from criminal legality, meaning a recording can be legal under the Criminal Code and still expose the person who made it to a lawsuit in Ontario.

## What you can do next

If you are considering recording a conversation, the Criminal Code's one-party consent rule tells you whether the recording itself risks criminal liability, not whether it is wise or without consequence in other respects. Someone who believes they were secretly recorded in a way that intruded on their private affairs can consider a civil claim in Ontario courts under the intrusion upon seclusion tort. Someone who believes a business recorded them without proper notice can raise the issue with the organization directly or file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada under PIPEDA, or with Alberta's Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner where Alberta's PIPA applies. Anyone facing a criminal allegation related to an interception should get advice specific to their situation, since the private communication definition and the consent exception both turn on the facts of who made the recording and who consented.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I record a phone call with my bank or another business without telling them?**

As a participant on the call, this is legal under the federal one-party consent rule. Separately, the business itself must tell you it is recording, state the purpose, and get your consent under federal privacy guidance (PIPEDA) or, for Alberta provincially-regulated businesses, under Alberta's PIPA. That obligation runs on the organization, not on you.

**Is it a criminal offence in Ontario or Alberta to record a conversation between two other people?**

Yes, in both provinces, because the Criminal Code offence is federal and applies identically everywhere in Canada. Recording a private communication you are not a party to and do not have consent to intercept can carry up to five years' imprisonment, regardless of which province you're in.

**Can I be sued in Ontario even if a recording was legal under the Criminal Code?**

Possibly. Ontario courts recognize a civil claim called intrusion upon seclusion for intentional intrusions into someone's private affairs that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, with damages historically capped in a modest range up to $20,000. This is separate from, and does not require, a criminal conviction.

**Do police need a warrant to record a suspect's conversation with an informant?**

Federally, when police rely on one party's consent to record (sometimes called 'consent surveillance'), the Supreme Court of Canada has held this can engage Charter rights, requiring courts to weigh whether any infringement is justified and whether the recording can be used as evidence.


## Sources

1. [Criminal Code - Interception of communications](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/section-184.html), Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46, s 184(1) (retrieved 2026-07-17)
2. [Criminal Code - Consent exception](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/section-184.html), Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46, s 184(2)(a) (retrieved 2026-07-17)
3. [Criminal Code - Definition of private communication](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/section-183.html), Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46, s 183 (retrieved 2026-07-17)
4. [R v Duarte](https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1990/1990canlii150/1990canlii150.html), R v Duarte, [1990] 1 SCR 30, 1990 CanLII 150 (SCC)
5. [OPC Guidance: Recording of Customer Telephone Calls](https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/surveillance/02_05_d_14/), Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, SC 2000, c 5 (retrieved 2026-07-17)
6. [Alberta.ca - Personal Information Protection Act](https://www.alberta.ca/personal-information-protection-act), Personal Information Protection Act, SA 2003, c P-6.5 (retrieved 2026-07-17)
7. [Jones v Tsige](https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/2012/2012onca32/2012onca32.html), Jones v Tsige, 2012 ONCA 32, 108 OR (3d) 214