But a scroll through the Airbnb website suggests users are falsifying their permit numbers to sneak past the authentication process.
For example, CTV News found at least five listings by the same host containing the policy number 123456. These listings were for units in various locations.
Two Montreal Airbnb listings at distinct locations, ran by the same host but different co-hosts, list 123456 as their policy numbers. Multiple other listings by the host include this number as well.
In fact, Airbnb uses 123456 as an example when prompting prospective hosts to enter their policy numbers.
Airbnb uses the numer 123456 as an example when prompting Quebec users to enter their policy number.
In another instance, two separate establishments that appear to be run by different hosts shared the same registration number of 299398.
Cédric Dussault, spokesperson for Quebec housing advocacy group RCLALQ, said he's come across similar discrepancies on the platform.
"It's clear that there's no crosschecking whatsoever," he alleged in an interview with CTV News.
"There are some users that have a registration number for one location, but they are using the same one for various locations."
Quebec law requires each tourist establishment to have its own registration number. To get this number, applicants must share proof of compliance with municipal laws, photos of the residence, and proof of civil liability insurance.
Until recently, Airbnb didn't require users to input their permit numbers when creating a listing. As a result, many of the accommodations on the site were unregistered -- including a handful of units inside a building in Old Montreal.
On Tuesday, Airbnb removed all Quebec listings without a permit number from its platform.
But Dussault believes this move is a "PR operation."
"Don't be fooled by the public discourse by Airbnb, they perfectly know what they're doing," he alleged.
When asked whether a system was in place to confirm the validity of permit numbers, Airbnb said the responsibility lies with the Quebec government.
"The Province issues the CITQ [Corporation de l'industrie touristique du Quebec] number directly to Hosts, not Airbnb. As such, it's the Province's responsibility to enforce their legislation. We have offered the City Portal to the Province," reads a statement from the company.
The City Portal tool allows participating municipalities to "view Airbnb listings within their registration systems" and offers "tools to help enforce their laws," according to the Airbnb website.
Quebec's Tourism Ministry has yet to respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante's office responded that "firm respect for the law must be enforced on all platforms if we want to recover the illegal housing that deprives Montrealers of a home."
Foreign interference special rapporteur David Johnston has resigned, CTV News has confirmed. In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Johnston cited the intense politicization of his appointment and work, as the reason for his coming departure.
Fires across the country are burning millions of hectares of land but what does that really look like? CTVNews.ca compared the blazes to some cities and lakes in the country showing just how big they have gotten.
Former U.S. president Donald Trump is facing 37 felony charges related to the mishandling of classified documents, according to an indictment unsealed Friday that alleges that he described a Pentagon 'plan of attack' and shared a classified map related to a military operation.
Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson shocked Britain on Friday by quitting as a lawmaker after being told he will be sanctioned for misleading Parliament.
Despite the alarming facts and figures, experts say Canada is far more reactive than it is proactive when it comes to wildfires and they’re calling for a national campaign on wildfire education to better prepare for the future.
Showers are predicted Saturday over the aggressive wildfire threatening Tumbler Ridge, but forecasters say thunderstorms could sweep through the parched region without bringing any rain.
Air Canada says it made a mistake in rejecting some compensation claims from the thousands of travellers affected by delayed flights due to computer malfunctions.
A Vaughan man thought he had done the right thing by equipping his brand new SUV with tracking technology offered by the manufacturer — but when it was stolen, he faced plenty of roadblocks sharing that location with the police chasing after it.
Nova Scotia says it has identified more details about the records stolen in a file transfer service cyber attack, impacting teachers, students and health care workers' records.
London, Ont.’s soaring skyline has come with a substantial price tag for local taxpayers. A municipal financial incentive intended to encourage residential construction in downtown London has reimbursed developers millions of dollars to offset development charges in recent years.
A tenant displaced in the downtown Sudbury fire last month said her hotel is denying her request to move her room to a centralized location following an attempted break-in.
About 40 people who say they've been impacted by an increase in crime since the Living Space homeless shelter moved into their neighbourhood have taken their messages to the street.
Disturbing new details about a man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting women in Calgary have come to light, as court documents exposing accounts from his alleged victims have been unsealed.
Calgary police are warning the public about a high-risk offender who was released into the community on Friday after spending time behind bars for a series of sexual assaults.
Police have shut down a section of Highway 401 westbound between Woodstock and Cambridge after a crash involving a transport truck and an Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) vehicle.
The Waterloo Region Integrated Drug Strategy (WRIDS) is sounding the alarm after a significant number of drug overdose and poisonings were reported over the last few days.
Authorities in West Vancouver say it's lucky more people were not harmed when a driver crashed his car through the entrance of a Whole Foods Friday, coming to a stop in the busy produce section.
An "incredibly volatile" wildfire is moving closer to the B.C. community of Tumbler Ridge and officials are urging the roughly 150 people who have stayed behind—in spite of an evacuation order—to leave immediately.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith named her new cabinet Friday, about two weeks after her United Conservative Party took the majority of seats in Alberta.
Hundreds of counter-protesters gathered near three schools in Ottawa's west end on Friday to take a stand against a B.C. man who is protesting what he calls "gender ideology."
Foreign interference special rapporteur David Johnston has resigned, CTV News has confirmed. In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Johnston cited the intense politicization of his appointment and work, as the reason for his coming departure.
The Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway in Ottawa's west end will be renamed Kichi Zībī Mīkan, if approved by the National Capital Commission's board of directors.
The head of Saskatoon’s chamber of commerce responding with frustration to the city’s announcement of a $75 million deficit over the next two years — and the tax hikes that will likely be needed to help makeup some of the the shortfall.
Two Montreal Airbnb listings at distinct locations, ran by the same host but different co-hosts, list 123456 as their policy numbers. Multiple other listings by the host include this number as well. 
Airbnb uses the numer 123456 as an example when prompting Quebec users to enter their policy number. 
