Be careful about how you use emojis. In a recent Saskatchewan case a farm corporation was held liable to pay about $82,000 for flax ordered from a grain company because the defendant had replied with a thumbs up emoji …

… to an text fixing the amount and price. This was considered sufficient to establish the contract: a contract was formed because there was (1) an offer by one party that is (2) accepted by the other with (3) the intention of creating a legal relationship and (4) supported by consideration. All were present here, and the emoji was considered the acceptance. This was especially easy for the court because the defendant had, in the past, responded to similar texts with acceptances like “looks good” or “ok” or “yup”.

Case: South West Terminal Ltd. v Achter Land, 2023 SKKB 116 (CanLII)