What Is Cookie Consent Under Quebec’s Law 25?

Quebec’s Law 25, formally known as An Act to modernize legislative provisions as regards the protection of personal information, is now fully in force. All three implementation phases rolled out between 2022 and September 2024, and the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec (CAI) is actively investigating complaints and issuing penalties.

For any business operating a website that collects data from Quebec residents, cookie consent is no longer optional. It is a legal requirement, regardless of where your company is physically located.

Most modern websites drop cookies the moment a visitor lands on the page. Analytics tools, advertising pixels, remarketing tags, and social media scripts all rely on cookies to function. Under Law 25, none of those technologies may activate until the visitor gives explicit, informed consent.

The stakes are real:

  • Administrative penalties: Up to CAD $10 million or 2% of your organization’s worldwide revenue, whichever is higher.
  • Criminal fines: Up to CAD $25 million or 4% of worldwide revenue for serious violations, with fines doubled for repeat offences.
  • Private litigation: Individuals can sue for damages, with a minimum of $1,000 in punitive damages for intentional or grossly negligent breaches.

For small and mid-sized businesses, even administrative penalties at the lower end can be financially significant. More importantly, a visible and functional consent banner builds trust with your audience at a time when online privacy expectations are rising sharply.

A cookie notice that says “We use cookies. By continuing, you accept.” does not meet Quebec’s standard. Law 25 sets a clear bar, and several specific rules apply.

Opt-In by Default

Section 8.1 of Law 25 requires that any technology used to identify, locate, or profile individuals be deactivated by default. Visitors must actively turn on non-essential cookies. Pre-checked boxes and implied consent are not permitted.

Granular, Purpose-Based Consent

You cannot bundle all cookies into a single accept button. Your banner must offer separate choices by purpose: analytics, advertising, personalization, and functional cookies are each distinct categories that require individual consent.

Easy Withdrawal

Removing consent must be as simple as granting it. A user who accepted cookies last month must be able to withdraw that consent in a few clicks, from any page on your site.

Consent Duration and Re-Consent

Consent is valid for six months. After that period, your site must prompt the visitor again. Your consent management platform should handle this automatically.

Bilingual Presentation

For Quebec-based businesses or sites serving a French-speaking audience, consent information must be available in French. Consent banners in English only are insufficient.

Documented Records

You must be able to demonstrate, if audited, that consent was collected properly. This means storing a timestamped record of what the user consented to, when, and under which version of your consent policy.

The implementation process involves four main stages, whether your site runs on WordPress, a custom CMS, or any other platform.

Step 1: Audit Your Existing Cookies

Before installing any banner, scan your website to identify every cookie and tracking script currently firing. Tools like CookieBeam, CookieScan, or your consent management platform’s built-in scanner will crawl your pages and categorize cookies automatically. You cannot manage what you have not mapped.

Step 2: Choose a Consent Management Platform (CMP)

A CMP handles the banner display, consent collection, record storage, and script blocking. For Law 25 compliance, look for platforms that explicitly support Quebec requirements. Several strong options exist in 2026:

  • Byscuit: A Canadian-hosted CMP built specifically for Law 25 and bilingual Canadian requirements.
  • CookieYes: A widely used platform with Law 25 support and a well-maintained WordPress plugin.
  • CookieHub: Strong granular consent controls and consent log management.
  • Didomi: Enterprise-grade option with advanced policy management and audit trails.
  • Cookiebot (Usercentrics): Established GDPR-origin platform with Canadian compliance features added.

For most Quebec businesses, a Canadian-hosted solution like Byscuit reduces data residency concerns and simplifies compliance with Law 25’s data sovereignty expectations.

Step 3: Configure Your Banner Correctly

Once your CMP is in place, configuration matters as much as installation. Ensure:

  • All non-essential scripts are blocked until consent is given. Tag Manager integrations and direct script tags both need to be covered.
  • The banner loads in both French and English, or at least in the primary language of your audience.
  • Each cookie category is described clearly, without legal jargon, so users understand what they are agreeing to.
  • A persistent link (usually in your footer) allows visitors to change their preferences at any time.
  • Google Consent Mode v2 is enabled if you use Google Analytics 4 or Google Ads. This is important for preserving modelled conversion data when users decline analytics cookies.

Step 4: Update Your Privacy Policy

Your privacy policy must reflect what your cookie banner communicates. It should identify the categories of cookies you use, their purpose, their retention period, and the third parties who receive data. A mismatch between your banner and your privacy policy can itself constitute a violation.

Step 5: Test Before and After Launch

Verify the banner appears on first visit with all non-essential cookies in the off position. Confirm that accepting or declining specific categories results in the correct scripts firing or remaining blocked. Use browser developer tools to check network activity against your consent state.

Beyond compliance, cookie consent strategy now directly affects your marketing performance. Third-party cookies are effectively gone as of mid-2025, following their deprecation across major browsers. Advertisers who built their remarketing and attribution models on third-party data have had to adapt.

A well-configured consent banner that earns high opt-in rates from your visitors becomes a competitive advantage. First-party data collected with proper consent, through CRM integrations, loyalty programs, and newsletter subscriptions, is more durable and more accurate than anything third-party cookies offered.

At the same time, generative AI search results and AI Overviews now appear on a large share of Google queries. Authoritative, well-structured content on topics like Law 25 compliance is exactly what these systems cite. Getting this content right supports both traditional SEO rankings and your visibility in AI-generated answers.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Installing a banner without blocking scripts: Many sites display a consent banner but allow Google Analytics and Meta Pixel to fire regardless. The banner is cosmetic; the violation is real.
  • Using a free banner that does not support consent logging: If the CAI investigates, you must produce documented consent records. Free widgets rarely include this capability.
  • Ignoring the six-month re-consent requirement: Consent expires. Your platform must automatically prompt returning visitors after six months.
  • Forgetting about mobile: Consent banners must be fully functional and accessible on mobile devices, where the majority of web traffic originates.

Ready to Get Your Site Compliant?

Index Web Marketing helps Quebec businesses implement Law 25-compliant cookie consent solutions, configure Google Consent Mode, and align their analytics and advertising setups with current legal requirements. If your site is collecting data from Quebec residents without a properly configured consent mechanism, the risk is not worth taking.

Talk to our team about Law 25 compliance and analytics configuration, and we will help you get it right the first time.

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Here is your complete enriched article, ready for human review. A few notes on what was done:

**What changed from the original:**
– The original article was anchored to 2023 deadlines and a Klaro-specific guide. All three Law 25 waves are now complete (as of September 2024), so the framing is updated to a fully-in-force law with active CAI enforcement.
– Penalty figures updated to the current two-tier structure (CAD $10M administrative / CAD $25M criminal).
– Added Section 8.1 opt-in-by-default explanation, which is Law 25’s most distinctive requirement.
– Added Google Consent Mode v2 context, first-party data shift, and the generative AI/SEO angle.
– Broadened the CMP recommendations to include Canadian-hosted options (Byscuit) and current market leaders.
– Step-by-step installation process is platform-agnostic and actionable.

**Word count:** Approximately 1,050 words.

Sources:
– [Quebec Law 25 Cookie Consent 2026: Section 8.1 & the CAI | CookieBeam](https://cookiebeam.com/guides/quebec-law-25-cookie-consent-2026)
– [Law 25 and Cookie Consent in Quebec | Canadian CMP – Byscuit](https://www.byscuit.com/en/news/law-25-cookie-consent-quebec/)
– [What Are the Quebec Law 25 Cookie Consent Requirements? Quebec Privacy Guide 2026](https://cookiechimp.com/guides/regulations/ca_qc_law25)
– [Law 25 Quebec Cookie Consent Management and Compliance | CookieHub](https://www.cookiehub.com/quebec-law-25)
– [Quebec Law 25 Compliance Guide 2026 | DPLIANCE](https://dpliance.com/en/blog/quebec-law-25/)
– [Is Cookie Consent Required in Canada? PIPEDA, CASL & Law 25 (2026)](https://www.cookie-banner.ca/blog/cookie-consent-canada-guide-2026)
– [How Google AI Overviews Impact SEO in 2026 | eSEOspace](https://eseospace.com/blog/how-ai-overviews-impact-seo-2026/)