Are electronic signatures legal in Canada?

Two layers: provincial acts and PIPEDA

Most contracts between a business and its customers are governed by provincial law, so the statute that matters is usually your province's. Ontario's Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 (S.O. 2000, c. 17) is typical. A legal requirement that a document be signed is satisfied by an electronic signature (s. 11(1)), which it defines as electronic information a person creates or adopts in order to sign a document, placed in, attached to or associated with that document (s. 1(1)).

British Columbia's Electronic Transactions Act (SBC 2001, c. 10) uses almost the same definition and says a record can't be denied legal effect just because it's electronic (s. 3). Federally, Part 2 of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (S.C. 2000, c. 5) lets an electronic signature meet a signature requirement in a federal law, but only for the laws listed in its schedules. Sworn statements and witnessed signatures under those laws need a secure electronic signature (ss. 44–46).

Consent can be inferred, but make it explicit

Nobody has to accept electronic documents. Ontario's act says nothing in it requires a person to use or accept information or a document in electronic form without their consent, and that consent may be inferred from conduct when there are reasonable grounds to believe it's genuine (s. 3). A clear "I agree to sign electronically" step is better evidence than conduct alone.

Documents the acts exclude

Ontario's list (s. 31) is a fair picture of what Canadian provinces keep on paper:

• Wills and codicils, and trusts created by them.
• Powers of attorney for an individual's financial affairs or personal care.
• Negotiable instruments such as checks and promissory notes, and documents of title, apart from the act's rules on contracts for the carriage of goods (s. 23).
• Anything the province adds by regulation.

British Columbia's act adds documents that create or transfer interests in land and need registration to be effective against third parties (s. 2(4)(d)). Ontario's current list has no land item. Either way, land registration runs through each province's own electronic registry, so your lawyer or notary handles that step.

Where SignMaster fits

SignMaster collects a simple electronic signature: the signer opens an emailed link, agrees to sign electronically and signs. It isn't a PIPEDA secure electronic signature. When everyone has signed, each party gets the PDF with a certificate of completion showing who signed, when, their email and IP address, plus a SHA-256 fingerprint that reveals any later change. Signers can switch the signing page to French or English, among 6 languages.