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Selling consumer products in Canada

In Canada, most product rules are federal. Health Canada sets food, health product, cosmetic and consumer product safety rules; the CFIA enforces food law; ISED regulates radio equipment; and the Competition Bureau enforces packaging, labelling and textile rules for non-food products. Labels are generally in English and French. Provinces control the sale of alcohol.

Updated · Each section links to the official source it comes from

Food
Health Canada sets standards; the CFIA enforces
Supplements
Natural health products, licensed by Health Canada
Cosmetics and consumer products
Health Canada
Radio equipment
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)
Non-food labelling and textiles
The Competition Bureau
Alcohol sales
Provincial and territorial liquor boards
Label language
English and French, across most regimes

By product

What each kind of product has to meet in Canada.

Before a product goes on sale

The questions to answer, in the order they usually come up.

  1. 1Which product class is it, and which Act and regulator cover it? Read more
  2. 2Does it need a licence or notification before it goes on sale? Read more
  3. 3What must the label show, and in which languages? Read more
  4. 4Who keeps the records, and who reports incidents and recalls? Read more
  5. 5Which province will it be sold in, and does that province add rules? Read more

The rules, by area

What each area covers, the texts that set it, and what the official pages say.

How Canadian product rules work

Who writes the rules, which law covers which product, and who enforces.

  • Food, natural health products and cosmetics fall under the Food and Drugs Act, with the Food and Drug Regulations, the Natural Health Products Regulations and the Cosmetic Regulations, administered by Health Canada.
  • The Safe Food for Canadians Act and Regulations set licensing, preventive control, traceability and recall rules for food; the Canadian Food Inspection Agency enforces food law.
  • Most other consumer products fall under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, administered by Health Canada; food, cosmetics, drugs and natural health products are excluded from it.
  • Radio apparatus and interference-causing equipment are regulated by ISED under the Radiocommunication Act.
  • The Competition Bureau administers the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act for non-food products and the Textile Labelling Act; the CFIA does so for food.

How we help: Compliant Always works out which of these regimes apply to your product and keeps the documents behind each one ready. Ask about this

Licences, notifications and post-market duties

What is done with the regulator before and after a product goes on sale.

  • Food importers and certain food businesses hold a Safe Food for Canadians licence and keep a preventive control plan.
  • Natural health products need a product licence, shown as an NPN, and sites that manufacture, package, label or import them need a site licence.
  • Manufacturers and importers notify Health Canada of a cosmetic within 10 days after first sale.
  • Under the CCPSA, businesses keep supply records for six years and report consumer product incidents within two days.
  • Radio apparatus is certified and listed by ISED before it is sold.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps each licence, notification and certificate with the product it covers, and shows what is missing or expiring. Ask about this

Bilingual labelling

English and French on the label, a theme across product regimes.

  • Mandatory information on consumer prepackaged food is in English and French; the name and principal place of business may be in either.
  • For non-food prepackaged products, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations require information in both official languages, except the dealer's identity.
  • Cosmetic label information is in English and French except INCI ingredient names; toy warnings, consumer chemical hazard labels and textile fibre content are bilingual too.
  • Narrow exemptions cover local, specialty and test market products.

How we help: Compliant Always reads both language versions of your label against the particulars that apply, and flags text present in one language only. Ask about this

Provinces and territories

Where provincial rules sit beside federal ones.

  • Provincial regulations may add labelling requirements for products sold within a province.
  • Quebec has additional requirements on the use of French on products marketed there.
  • Liquor imported into a province is purchased by and consigned to the province's authorised liquor body, and liquor boards may set their own requirements.

How we help: Compliant Always records which provinces a product is sold in and keeps each province's additional documents with it. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
BrandThe product sold under its name, its bilingual label and its claims.The rules that apply, with the paperwork behind each, in one place.
ManufacturerMaking the product to the rules, licences where needed, and the evidence that it was.Specifications, test reports and certificates ready for each customer's form.
ImporterLicences to import food, notifications, records and incident reports for imported products.Suppliers' documents read and dated before the goods arrive.
RetailerSupply records and incident reporting for what it sells.Supplier documents ready when a regulator or customer asks.

Provinces and territories

The federal Acts and regulations in these guides apply across Canada. Provincial regulations may add labelling requirements for products sold within a province, and Quebec has additional requirements on the use of French on products marketed there.

Alcohol is largely provincial: provincial and territorial liquor boards set their own requirements, and liquor imported into a province is consigned to the provincial body authorised to sell it.

Questions businesses ask

Who regulates consumer products in Canada?
Mainly federal bodies: Health Canada for food standards, health products, cosmetics and consumer product safety; the CFIA for food enforcement; ISED for radio equipment; and the Competition Bureau for non-food packaging, labelling and textiles. Provinces control alcohol sales.
Do product labels in Canada have to be in English and French?
Generally yes. Food, cosmetics, natural health products, consumer chemicals, toy warnings and non-food prepackaged products all require bilingual information, with narrow exemptions. Quebec has additional French requirements.
Which law covers food in Canada?
The Food and Drugs Act and Food and Drug Regulations, set by Health Canada, and the Safe Food for Canadians Act and Regulations. The CFIA enforces both.
How are supplements regulated in Canada?
Generally as natural health products under the Natural Health Products Regulations. Each product needs a product licence and NPN, and sites that manufacture, package, label or import need a site licence.
Do cosmetics need approval in Canada?
No pre-market approval, but manufacturers and importers notify Health Canada within 10 days after first sale, and the product must be safe and meet the Cosmetic Regulations and the Hotlist.
Which law covers general consumer product safety in Canada?
The Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, administered by Health Canada, with regulations for specific products such as toys, cribs and consumer chemicals. It excludes food, cosmetics, drugs and natural health products.
Do businesses have to report unsafe products in Canada?
Yes. Under the CCPSA, manufacturers, importers and sellers give Health Canada information on an incident within two days. Food businesses notify the CFIA immediately of a recall for health risk, and natural health product licensees report recalls within three days.
Do provinces have their own product rules?
Some. Provinces may add labelling requirements, Quebec has additional French language requirements, and provincial liquor boards control the import and sale of alcohol.
How does Compliant Always help with selling in Canada?
Our team reads the rules for the markets you sell in, including Canada's federal rules and the bilingual labelling they share. Compliant Always shows which apply to your product, keeps the documents behind each one ready, and watches the sources for changes. It shows what the requirements say and what your documents show; you decide.

Sources

Compliant Always is a product of Lettuce Labs LLC. It shows what requirements say and what your documents show. It is not legal advice, and you decide.

Tell us what you make, and we will show you the rules for it.

Name the product and the markets you sell in. We will come back to you with what applies in Canada and what your paperwork needs to show.

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No card, no account, and no call to book. Tell us what you make and where you sell it, and we will come back to you.

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