Advertising in Canada with Google Ads: how to launch in English and French

In short

• Do you need one campaign per language in Canada? Yes, or at least one ad group per language: Google matches ads by their language, so each language has its own keywords, ads and landing page.
• Must the advertising be in French in Quebec? Yes: the Charter of the French Language requires French in commercial advertising, alone or markedly predominant next to another language.
• Are the taxes the same everywhere? No: GST, HST or QST depend on the billing address of the account, and a registration number added to the payments profile changes what Google charges.
• Is there still a country-specific surcharge? No: according to Google, the old fee tied to the digital services tax no longer applies to ads served in Canada.
• Can you target a single province? Yes, and it is mandatory for sports betting, online casinos and fantasy sports, which require a provincial license.
• Can an advertised price leave out fees? Only charges imposed by the government, such as sales taxes, may be added on top; other mandatory fees must be part of the advertised price.

Key takeaway: In Canada, plan one campaign per language, the French-language rule in Quebec, taxes tied to the billing address and gambling rules by province, then check each keyword on Canadian Google before you bid.

Country fact sheet

Data verified on 14 October 2026. Each value was read on its source on the date shown. It may have changed since: the source prevails.

The method, step by step

1. Step 1 — Choose the languages and the areas

   First decide who you are after: Quebec in French, the rest of the country in English, or both depending on your offer. One campaign per language and per area keeps budgets, bids and reports readable; failing that, at least one ad group per language. Split further later, once your data justifies it.

2. Step 2 — Set the location targeting

   In the campaign settings, pick Canada or the province you want. Google generally recommends the broad “Presence or interest” option on Search, and keeps the “Presence” option for sensitive sectors or strict areas, such as gambling licensed by province.

3. Step 3 — Write each campaign in its own language

   Google has removed the language setting from Search campaigns: there is no language to pick in the campaign anymore. Ads are matched by their language, and Google gives priority to the ones that match the language of the search term. So build one campaign, or at least one ad group, per language, with the ads, the keywords and the landing page written in that language, and prices in Canadian dollars.

4. Step 4 — Rebuild the keywords in each language

   Start from Keyword Planner set to Canada and to the chosen language, then open the matching Google results page. Keep the searches that show buying intent, and prepare your negative keywords from the start for job offers, training courses and curiosity searches.

5. Step 5 — Analyze before you spend

   Run your list through Should I Bid by choosing Canada, then the language. The intent analysis reads the Google results page of that market and returns a Bid, Test or Skip verdict. Do it once in English and once in French for the keywords that serve both audiences.

6. Step 6 — Apply the French-language rule in Quebec

   For Quebec, write the ads and the landing pages in French, or with markedly predominant French if another language appears. Have someone from Quebec proofread them, and have a lawyer validate the borderline cases.

7. Step 7 — Prepare billing and taxes

   Check the billing address of the account and, if you have GST/HST or QST registration numbers, add them to the payments profile. Do not plan for a country surcharge: according to Google, there is none left for ads served in Canada.

8. Step 8 — Check the rules for your sector and your prices

   Gambling: a provincial license and targeting limited to that province. Other sectors: read Google’s advertising policies before launch. For consumers, check that the advertised price includes all mandatory fees, apart from sales taxes.

What changes in Canada: two languages, several markets

Canada has two official languages, English and French, and that is the first difference to build into a campaign before launch. The Official Languages Act gives both languages equality of status in the institutions of Parliament and of the federal government. Its preamble also recalls that in Quebec, the Charter of the French Language makes French the official language of the province. For an advertiser, that means one country but at least two search audiences, who do not type the same words.

Google Ads recognizes both languages, and the facts table at the top of the page confirms it, but it is no longer a campaign setting. According to Google Ads Help on language, Google has removed that setting for Search campaigns: ads are matched by their language, and Google gives priority to ads in the language of the search term. Language therefore comes from what you write, and location from the geographic area. You can reach Quebec with ads in French, the rest of the country with ads in English, or another combination, and it is up to you to check that each combination is allowed.

A province can be targeted on its own, but do not split the country before you have a reason to. Google Ads location targeting accepts areas within a country, not only the whole country. Start simple, with one campaign (or ad group) per language and per large area, then split further when your search terms, your taxes or your rules show real differences. The guide on how to choose Google Ads keywords gives the general method to repeat in each language.

Quebec: commercial advertising must be in French

In Quebec, the Charter of the French Language requires commercial advertising to be in French. Section 58 also allows advertising in both French and another language, provided French is markedly predominant. The text provides exceptions, for example for certain registered trademarks. This paragraph is not legal advice: if you target Quebec, have a lawyer or the Quebec French-language office (OQLF) validate your ads and your pages.

The OQLF goes further than the ad: the website must also be available in French. In its document on social media, websites and advertising materials, the office writes that the website of a business operating in Quebec must be accessible in French, with all of its content, product descriptions included, and equivalent quality. It adds that content in another language remains possible if the content aimed at Quebec customers is always accessible in French. For Google Ads, this reaches the landing page: a French ad that leads to a page only in English needs checking before launch.

Vocabulary can differ between Quebec French and the French spoken in France, and a keyword copied from one market to the other can miss its target. Do not start from your French list. Open Keyword Planner set to Canada and to French, then the Google results page with the same settings to see what Google really shows. Have someone from Quebec proofread your ads before you pay for a single click.

English-language ads served in Quebec raise the same question. Nothing in Google Ads stops you from reaching Quebec with ads in English, but the rule in section 58 applies to commercial advertising. Before you spend budget there, have a lawyer check your case: the law sets precise conditions, including markedly predominant French when another language is used.

Search engines and devices: read the facts table before you bid

Google dominates search in Canada, but Bing carries enough weight to deserve a look. The facts table at the top of the page gives the share of each engine for the most recent month published by StatCounter. Google Ads does not show you on Bing: that audience goes through another advertising network. Start with Google, measure your results, then decide whether a second channel is worth the effort.

The split between mobile, desktop and tablet is also in the facts table: read it before you set bids by device. Do not copy the behavior of your home country. Check your landing pages on both formats, in both languages, then read the device reports after the first weeks of delivery before pushing one format over another.

Should I Bid can analyze a keyword on Canadian Google, in English or in French. The intent analysis reads the results page of the chosen country and language, ads included, then compares it with what your business sells. The same keyword does not necessarily get the same verdict in both languages, since the ranking pages and the advertisers are not the same: run it in each. Our guide to search intent in Google Ads explains how to read that page by hand.

Billing and taxes: GST, HST and QST

In Canada, the sales tax on a Google Ads account depends on its billing address. Google Ads Help devotes a section to accounts served by Google Canada Corporation: they are subject to sales tax based on the account’s billing address, at the current rate. The facts table gives the company that serves the account and the tax regime. The GST, HST and QST rates are in it too, with their source at the Canada Revenue Agency, and they vary from one province to another.

GST and HST apply to accounts with a billing address in Canada, unless you add a registration number to your payments profile. For a monthly invoicing account, you must contact Google support and give them the number. For a postpay or prepay account, the update is made in the account’s billing settings. In Quebec, QST follows the same principle, with its own registration number.

Do not count on a country surcharge anymore: Google has dropped the one for Canada. Google’s page on surcharges by jurisdiction keeps an entry for Canada, but it is there to say that ads served in Canada are no longer subject to the digital services tax that had prompted the fee. The details are in the facts table. If an older source still announces a markup, compare it with Google’s official page before you inflate your test budget.

The price you advertise must be payable as stated, and Canadian law looks at added fees. The Competition Bureau of Canada explains that promoting a price that cannot be obtained, because of fixed charges consumers must pay, is against the law, except for charges imposed by the government on purchasers, such as sales tax. In practice, an ad or a landing page can show a price before sales tax, but not a price that leaves out other mandatory fees. If you sell to consumers, have a lawyer review your price mentions.

Gambling and other sectors: rules province by province

For online gambling, Google does not let you target all of Canada. According to its advertising policies, lotteries must be run by government entities or hold a license from federal authorities. Sports betting, online casinos and fantasy sports require a license from the relevant province and may target only that province. Google certification is required before you serve ads, and the facts table sums up the rule.

In that case, location targeting becomes a compliance rule, not a comfort setting. Google itself says the “Presence” option makes sense for a sensitive sector with strict targeting limits. Create one campaign per province where you hold a license, with the right area, and do not let broad targeting serve your ads where you are not authorized.

For other sectors, read Google’s list of advertising policies before launch, because some rules are specific to each country. Health, finance, alcohol: do not assume that what passes in your home country passes as is in Canada, and check whether the sector needs certification or comes with restrictions for that country. A keyword can be excellent on paper and unusable in your sector. Our advice on whether to bid on a keyword still holds, but it comes after compliance.

Calendar: the Quebec National Holiday and Canada Day

Two public holidays fall a few days apart: the Quebec National Holiday, then Canada Day. The CNESST, which publishes the list of public holidays in Quebec, notes that special rules apply to the National Holiday, and that the Canada Day holiday moves by one day when its date falls on a Sunday. The Canada Revenue Agency, for its part, lists Saint-Jean-Baptiste as a public holiday specific to Quebec. The exact dates are in the facts table at the top of the page.

Do not copy the commercial calendar of your home country: look at when your searches rise, province by province and language by language. Set Google Trends to Canada, then to the province you care about, and compare French and English. Some activities slow down on a public holiday and others rise; your data will tell you better than a general rule. Use it to plan your test budgets, then look at the Google results page to see who bids on those days, which our guide on who bids on your keywords also shows.

Pitfalls specific to Canada

The mistakes to avoid in Canada come mostly from language, taxes and province, more than from technique. The list below sums them up, and each one can be fixed before launch.

Every keyword needs a reading in its own language before it gets a budget. Run the same check twice, once in English and once in French, opening the results page set to Canada each time. A search that shows ads and merchant pages deserves a bid, a search that mostly shows articles gets tested or skipped. To measure what clicks with no buying intent already cost you, try the wasted budget calculator.

• Translating a keyword list instead of rebuilding it for each language.
• Targeting Quebec in English only, without checking the French-language rule for commercial advertising.
• Sending a French ad to a landing page that exists only in English.
• Copying the vocabulary of the French spoken in France without checking it on Canadian Google.
• Assuming taxes work as in another country: they follow the billing address of the account.
• Still budgeting a country surcharge that, according to Google, no longer applies.
• Targeting the whole country for betting or online casinos when the license is provincial.
• Showing a price that leaves out mandatory fees other than sales taxes.

FAQ

How do I launch a Google Ads campaign in Canada?

Create one campaign, or at least one ad group, per language, English and French, and set the location targeting to Canada or to the province you want. Rebuild the keywords in each language, write ads and landing pages in that language, check the French-language rule in Quebec, then plan for sales taxes based on the billing address. The detailed steps are higher up on this page, and the facts table gives the languages Google Ads recognizes and the rules.

Do I need French ads for Quebec?

Yes, Quebec law requires it for commercial advertising. The Charter of the French Language requires French, alone or markedly predominant next to another language. The Quebec French-language office also expects a website that is accessible in French. This text is not legal advice: have your ads and your landing page validated before you spend budget in Quebec.

Does Google Ads apply a surcharge in Canada?

Not anymore, according to Google. Its page on surcharges by jurisdiction keeps an entry for Canada, but it states that ads served in Canada are no longer subject to the former digital services tax fee. Sales taxes do remain: GST, HST or QST depending on the billing address and the registration number added to the account. The facts table gives the details.

Can I target a single province with Google Ads?

Yes. Google Ads location targeting accepts areas within a country, so a province works. It is even mandatory for sports betting, online casinos and fantasy sports, which require a provincial license and may target only that province. For other sectors, splitting by province only makes sense if your results, your taxes or your rules differ.

How do I reach both languages of Canada in Google Ads?

Write in English and in French: Google has removed the language setting from Search campaigns and matches ads by their language, giving priority to the ones that match the language of the search term. One campaign or ad group per language keeps keywords, ads and reports separate. Language follows the person, not their province: watch your reports by area, and do not assume that French only reaches Quebec.

Does Should I Bid analyze keywords on Canadian Google?

Yes. Should I Bid reads the Google results page of the country and language you choose, among 50 countries. For Canada, pick English or French: the analysis reads the ads and the ranking pages, compares them with your offer and returns a Bid, Test or Skip verdict. It gives neither search volume nor cost per click: see pricing for how credits work.

Sources

• Justice Canada: Official Languages Act — Justice Canada
• LégisQuébec: Charter of the French Language (section 58, commercial advertising) — Gouvernement du Québec
• Office québécois de la langue française: social media, websites and advertising materials (PDF, in French) — Office québécois de la langue française
• Google Ads Help: Target ads to geographic locations — Google Ads Help
• Google Ads Help: Language and ad matching — Google Ads Help
• Google Ads Help: Taxes in your country (Canada section) — Google Ads Help
• Google Ads Help: Jurisdiction-specific surcharges — Google Ads Help
• Google Advertising Policies: Gambling and games (Canada section) — Google Advertising Policies Help
• Canada Revenue Agency: GST/HST rates by province — Canada Revenue Agency
• Competition Bureau Canada: Drip pricing — Competition Bureau Canada
• CNESST: Public holidays in Quebec — CNESST
• Canada Revenue Agency: Public holidays — Canada Revenue Agency