Cancelling a Contract in Ontario: The Rights Most People Never Use
Ten days, or one year, or any time before the work starts — which one applies depends on what went wrong.
In short
Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act gives you three separate routes out of a contract, and most people know about none of them.
A contract signed in your home always has a cooling-off period: cancel for any reason within ten days of receiving a written copy. If the business misled you, you have one year. If the work simply never starts, you can cancel any time before it does, once thirty days have passed.
And a clause in the contract forcing you into private arbitration instead of court does not bind you, even if you signed it.
What are the three ways to cancel?
| Route | When it applies | How long you have | What you get back |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooling-off period | Always for contracts signed in your home; some others too | 10 days from receiving the written agreement | Full refund, generally within 15 days |
| Unfair practice | The business represented the goods or services falsely, misleadingly or deceptively | 1 year from entering the contract | Money back, and you owe nothing for what you did not request |
| Late delivery | Work or goods not delivered within 30 days of the contract date, or the date stated | Any time before they deliver or start | Cancellation — but the right ends if you accept late delivery |
How does the ten-day cooling-off period work?
You cancel for any reason at all, and you do not have to give one. The clock runs from the day you receive a written copy of the agreement, not from the day you signed — which is one reason the written copy matters.
Send the cancellation by email or registered mail so you have a record of the date, and keep a copy. A phone call is not nothing, but it is not evidence either; if you do call, write down the date and what was said.
The business then has fifteen days to return your money for most contracts, and two days for a payday loan. If a product was involved, collecting it is their responsibility and their cost, not yours.
What counts as an unfair practice?
Representing the goods or services in a false, misleading or deceptive way. Where that has happened, you may give notice and withdraw from the contract within one year of entering it — a far longer window than most people assume exists.
There is a second protection alongside it that gets used more often than it should need to be. A business cannot bill you for goods or services you did not request, or that differ from what the contract says. You do not have to pay for them, and if you already paid by debit or credit you can demand that money back.
One more thing worth knowing before an argument starts: where contract wording is unclear or vague, Ontario’s guidance is that the law interprets it in the consumer’s favour.
Can a contract stop you going to court?
No, and this one is worth knowing because the clause appears regularly.
Some businesses write in that disputes must go to private arbitration rather than to court or to the ministry. Ontario’s guidance answers it in one line: you are not bound by these clauses, even if you have accepted the agreement. You keep the right to seek help and to take legal action.
So a signature on that clause has not cost you anything. Reading it and worrying about it, on the other hand, has stopped plenty of people from complaining at all.
What must be in the contract?
Most agreements for a product or service over $50 must be in writing — including hiring a contractor, a mover or a snow removal company, along with memberships, subscriptions and anything bought from someone at your door.
Can a business change or renew the contract on its own?
Not without telling you properly. Written notice is required, and it has to contain four things: all the proposed changes, the date they take effect, how you are to respond, and what happens if you do not respond at all.
You must also be given the option of not accepting. An automatic renewal that simply appears on a bill, with no notice that met those requirements, is worth challenging rather than paying.
Red flags when signing
What to do next
If you are inside ten days of a contract signed at home, write the cancellation today and send it by email or registered mail. Do not phone it in. The date you can prove is the date that counts.
If a business refuses to honour a cancellation or a refund, file a complaint with the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement, which enforces the Act. Consumer Protection Ontario can be reached at 1-800-889-9768. Note that they respond to complaints — they will never call you first, and anyone claiming otherwise is running a scam.
Before you sign the next one, read our guide to the ten per cent rule on written estimates, and compare businesses on home services in Ontario. Ontario24 is a classified directory — we help you find and compare, and we do not vet anyone, so our safety tips cover what to check first.
Before you call anyone, it helps to know what this job should cost and what the next one will. What things cost in Ontario in 2026 puts 75 service prices in one table.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. A contract signed in your home always carries a cooling-off period, and you may cancel it for any reason within ten days of receiving a written copy of the agreement. Send the cancellation by email or registered mail so you have a record of the date.
Fifteen days for most contracts once you have cancelled within the cooling-off period. Payday loans must be refunded within two days. If the contract was for a product, the business is responsible for collecting it or paying for collection if it wants the item back.
You may withdraw from the contract by giving notice within one year where the business represented its goods or services in a false, misleading or deceptive way. You also cannot be billed for anything you did not request or that differs from what the contract says.
The business has thirty days from the delivery date in your contract, or from the date you signed if no date is given, to deliver the goods or start the services. If it misses that, you may cancel any time before delivery begins. Accepting late delivery ends that right.
Under the Consumer Protection Act most agreements for a product or service costing more than $50 must be in writing. That includes hiring a contractor, a mover or a snow removal company, along with memberships, subscriptions and anything bought from a door-to-door salesperson.
No. Some businesses insert clauses requiring private arbitration rather than court or ministry assistance. Ontario’s guidance is explicit that you are not bound by those clauses even if you accepted the agreement, and you keep the right to seek help or take legal action.
Not silently. It must give written notice setting out the proposed changes, the date they would take effect, how you are to respond and what happens if you do not. It must also give you the option of refusing the change, renewal or extension.
Sources
Everything above follows the Government of Ontario’s own guidance, “Your rights when signing or cancelling a contract”, last updated 1 April 2025, which sets out the rules under the Consumer Protection Act. Checked 17 September 2026. Note that Ontario passed a new Consumer Protection Act in December 2023 which comes into force on proclamation, so check the province’s current page before relying on any deadline here. This is general information and not legal advice — for a specific dispute, contact Consumer Protection Ontario at 1-800-889-9768 or speak to a lawyer. Ontario24 is a classified directory and is not a party to any contract you sign.