Do my texts to Quebec customers have to be in French?

We don't give legal advice on the Charter of the French Language. Practically, most Quebec callers expect French, and the OQLF publishes guidance for businesses on French in commerce. Read it, or ask a lawyer, before deciding how your texts handle language.

Can you write French scripts?

Yes. We plan French scripts from the start and have them written or reviewed by a fluent speaker, so they read naturally rather than like a translation.

Which privacy law covers my Quebec customer records?

Quebec has its own private-sector privacy law, which the Office of the Privacy Commissioner says may apply instead of PIPEDA in some cases. Check the official sources or a lawyer for your situation.

Missed-Call Texting for Quebec Contractors

Quebec is a different texting market from the rest of Canada for one simple reason: the conversation happens in French. A missed-call text that arrives in English, or in stiff machine-translated French, tells a Quebec caller that the business wasn't really set up for them. Our Quebec work starts with French scripts written for the way people actually text, then adds English versions where your clientele needs them.

We're a marketing and consulting service; we are not a contractor and hold no trade licence of any kind. We don't do construction work in Quebec or anywhere else.

Quebec callers and seasons

The largest markets are Montréal, Québec City, Laval, Gatineau and Longueuil, followed by Sherbrooke, Lévis and Saguenay. Winters are cold and snowy with a long heating season, especially away from the St. Lawrence lowlands.

Quebec's heating picture is unlike any other province. Electric heat is the default: Statistics Canada puts electricity as the main heating energy in 70% of Quebec homes in 2023, far ahead of natural gas (5%) and wood (4%). Calls lean toward electric heating, heat pumps and plumbing rather than gas furnaces. Heat-pump questions, often linked to Hydro-Québec programs, are a large share of non-urgent inquiries.

French-first scripts

We write the French version first and treat it as the original.

A business-hours example, with placeholders:

Bonjour, ici [Nom de l'entreprise]. Désolés d'avoir manqué votre appel; nous sommes chez un client. Comment pouvons-nous vous aider? [Prénom] vous répondra d'ici [heure]. Répondez STOP pour ne plus recevoir de messages.

A few points we follow:

Write for Quebec, not France. Vocabulary and tone differ; a fluent Quebec speaker should review every line.
Vous by default. Most businesses start formal and let the customer set the tone.
Bilingual businesses: some Montréal and Gatineau contractors serve both languages. Start in French and switch to English only if the caller replies in English.
Opt-out wording in both languages if you serve both.

Language rules: summarise, link, don't guess

Quebec has specific rules on the use of French in commerce under the Charter of the French Language, as amended by Bill 96. They cover areas such as commercial advertising and online content for Quebec customers.

We don't interpret those rules for you. The Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) publishes guidance for businesses, and a Quebec lawyer can tell you how it applies to your texts, website and ads. What we can do is make sure your French materials are well written and ready.

Regulators and programs

Linked for reference only.

RBQ (Régie du bâtiment du Québec) licenses anyone carrying out construction work for others, unless exempt.
The CCQ (Commission de la construction du Québec) certifies the competency of people working in the construction industry.
Office de la protection du consommateur handles consumer protection.
Privacy: the Office of the Privacy Commissioner's summary lists Quebec among provinces with their own private-sector privacy law.

Programs, as of October 2026: Hydro-Québec's LogisVert program is open, and Hydro-Québec says requests are being processed normally while noting the federal heat pump rebate coming in 2027. Rénoclimat changed on 2026-10-01, and Chauffez vert stopped accepting applications after 2026-03-31. Scripts should point callers to the official pages rather than confirm eligibility.

Measuring French and English threads

If you serve both languages, measure them separately: missed calls, replies, minutes to a human answer and booked threads, split by the language the caller used. A gap between the two usually points to the scripts or to who's available to answer in French, and it's one of the easiest improvements to make once you can see it. Our missed-call math guide covers the base numbers.

Getting started in Quebec

Tell us which languages your callers use and in what proportion. We'll plan the French scripts first, set up text-back with French as the default, and build reply scripts for your common jobs. See pricing, compare with New Brunswick, or return to all regions.

Missed-call texting for contractors in Quebec