ARTICLE · 14 JANUARY 2025

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Quebec's Privacy Law 25: What You Need To Know

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The Canadian market is ripe with opportunities for U.S. companies seeking to expand beyond domestic borders. Before diving in, however, it can be helpful to have a basic understanding of Canada's legal system...

CanadaPrivacy

Stephan Grynwajc

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The Canadian market is ripe with opportunities for U.S. companies seeking to expand beyond domestic borders. Before diving in, however, it can be helpful to have a basic understanding of Canada's legal system, as well as the compliance obligations that may apply to your business, including potential data privacy requirements arising at both the federal and provincial/territorial levels.

Similar to the U.S., Canada is a federal state with multiple levels of government. In terms of privacy legislation, there are two federal privacy laws¹ along with privacy legislations in each of the 10 provinces and 3 territories. Under this system, federal law takes precedence, except when provincial laws are deemed substantially equivalent. Currently, only 3 provincial privacy laws meet this standard – those in the Provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec.

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