Are dash cams legal in Canada?

Two questions came to my mind when I first entertained the idea of buying a dashboard camera (a.k.a. black box or dash cam) for my car:

• Are dashcams legal in Canada?
• Will dashcams perform properly in the Canadian winter?

Fortunately, anyone in Canada can take pictures or record videos in public places. There is no Canadian law preventing you from doing that. Moreover, dash cam footage has helped the police with ongoing investigations, including collisions and hit-and-runs. Also, voluntarily submitted dash cam footage is helping the police to crack down on bad drivers. So, no doubts here, dash cams are legal in Canada. 

I read somewhere on the Internet that drivers commuting through the US-Canada border sometimes get some grief about the dash-cam from the US border agents. It seems the American border agents don’t appreciate you recording the Points of Entry to the US. If you are in this case, it might be best if you unmount the camera from your dashboard before heading to the US. 

As for my second question, consider reading my thoughts here: Dash cams for cold weathers and snowy winters.

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Dash cams for cold weathers and snowy winters

When it comes to cold climates, the most vulnerable element of the dash cam is the battery. Batteries don't get along with extreme temperatures, neither extremely low nor extremely high. A solution to this problem is to use a capacitor (instead of a battery), which is immune to the cold or heat.

Another aspect to consider is that during the winters, the days become shorter and shorter while the nights are correspondingly longer.  Furthermore, visibility conditions are often poor during the winter even during the day. A dash cam with night vision support is the way to go to work-around these issues.

I live in Toronto, Canada and I ended up buying  a DDPai mini2 dashcam. It is equipped with a built-in supercapacitor and it features night vision as well. In addition, I bought a separate 128 GB MicroSD card with Class 10 rating that is not included with the camera and it is required to store the footage.

I am happy so far with the camera and I definitely recommend it. 

If you have a dash cam and live in a cold place as well, do you mind telling us about it? What kind of camera did you get? Is it working properly? Any other tips that we should consider when buying a dash cam for a cold climate? I would definitely appreciate if you leave us a comment below and give this article thumbs-up by clicking the Google Plus (G+) button at the beginning of this post.