Setting up email for your campaign

Just Canvass lets you send campaign email — event invites, GOTV reminders, volunteer asks, and updates — from your own domain (for example, team@yourcampaign.ca) instead of a generic address. Sending from your own domain builds trust with supporters and dramatically improves deliverability, so more of your email lands in the inbox instead of the spam folder.

To do that, you connect your domain once and add a few DNS records that authenticate it. This guide walks you through the whole thing, then covers how to stay compliant with Canada's anti-spam law.

Step 1 — Open Email Domains

1. Sign in to Just Canvass at app.justcanvass.ca and select your campaign.
2. Go to Campaign Management and open Email Domains.

Step 2 — Connect your domain

On the Connect Your Domain screen:

1. In the domain field (the one with the @ in front), type your domain without www or https — for example, yourcampaign.ca.
2. Click the arrow button to continue.
3. Just Canvass creates your domain and generates its DNS records. This takes about 10–15 seconds — you'll see "Domain created! DNS records are ready" when it's done.

Step 3 — Add the DNS records at your registrar

Once your domain is connected, Just Canvass shows a DNS Records Required table. There are three CNAME records to add:

• Two DKIM records — digital signatures that prove email is genuinely from your domain, which improves deliverability.
• One Return-Path record — handles bounced messages and delivery tracking.

Add each of these to your domain's DNS settings:

1. Sign in to your domain registrar or DNS host and open its DNS management / DNS records section.
2. For each row in the table, create a new record with Type: CNAME.
3. Use the copy buttons in Just Canvass to copy the Name / Host and the Value exactly — no extra spaces.
4. Save the record, and repeat until all three are added.

Not sure how your provider labels things? The names vary a bit:

• Name = Host, Hostname, Record Name, or Subdomain
• Value = Points To, Target, Canonical Name, Answer, or Destination
• TTL = leave the default, or set it to 1 hour (3600 seconds)

Just Canvass also has a built-in Step-by-Step Setup Guide right below the records table, with click-by-click instructions for GoDaddy, Squarespace, Wix, Cloudflare, Namecheap, Websavers (Canada), and other providers. Open it and pick your provider's tab.

Step 4 — Verify your domain

1. After adding all three records, wait for DNS to update. This is usually 15–30 minutes, but can take up to 48 hours (Cloudflare is often faster, around 5–10 minutes).
2. Back in Just Canvass, click Verify DNS Records.
3. When everything checks out, each record shows a green Verified badge and you'll see "Success! Your domain is verified and ready to send emails."

Staying compliant with Canadian anti-spam law (CASL)

Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) applies to campaign email. It's straightforward if you follow three rules. This is general guidance, not legal advice — when in doubt, check with your campaign's legal advisor.

• Have consent to email. Only email people who gave you their address for this purpose — supporters who signed up, volunteers, or contacts who opted in. Don't email a purchased or scraped list.
• Identify yourself. Every email must clearly say who it's from and include a real mailing address and a way to contact you.
• Include a working unsubscribe. Every email needs a one-click way to opt out, and you must honour opt-outs promptly.

Troubleshooting

Verification keeps failing

• Wait at least 15–30 minutes after adding the records — DNS changes take time to propagate.
• Double-check that you copied each Name / Host and Value exactly, with no extra spaces or characters.
• Make sure you pasted only the subdomain part in the Name / Host field, not your full domain.
• On Cloudflare, confirm the proxy is OFF (grey cloud, not orange).
• Check whether your records are live yet at whatsmydns.net.

A record still shows "Not Set"

That record either hasn't propagated yet or doesn't match. Re-open the row, re-copy the value from Just Canvass, and confirm it's saved at your registrar as a CNAME. Then wait and click Verify DNS Records again.

My domain is registered in one place but my website is somewhere else

DNS records must be added wherever your domain's nameservers point — which isn't always where your website is hosted. If your domain (at GoDaddy, Websavers, etc.) points to Cloudflare, Route 53, or another DNS host, add the records there instead. If you're unsure, your registrar's support can tell you which nameservers your domain uses.