What Are the Influencer Advertising Rules in Canada (2026)

Regulated markets · Advertising rules Canada

A plain-English guide to what you can and can't say across supplements, cosmetics, food and wellness products. June 2026. Numbers in brackets [n] point to the source list at the end.

The big idea: In Canada, the claim you make decides how a product is regulated. The very same item can be a cosmetic, a natural health product, or a drug, depending only on what you say about it [3]. So every campaign starts by checking which claims are allowed for that exact product, and the creative is built around that answer.

Contents

• The rules across Canada
• The rules change by product type
• Disclosure and influencers
• Quebec is its own market
• Pre-clearance
• How we run a campaign
• Do and don't
• The honest note

1. The rules across Canada

• Natural health products need a licence. Vitamins, minerals, herbals and probiotics are natural health products. Health Canada licenses each one, and it carries an 8-digit Natural Product Number (NPN) on the label. You may only make claims Health Canada has accepted, often taken from its ingredient monographs [1][2].
• The claim decides the category. A product is a cosmetic until it claims to change how the body works or to treat a condition. Then it becomes a drug or natural health product and needs a licence, a Drug Identification Number (DIN) or NPN [3].
• No disease claims to the public. You cannot advertise a product to the public as a treatment, prevention or cure for the serious diseases on the government's Schedule A list, such as cancer, diabetes or asthma [4].
• Food claims follow set lists. Food health and nutrient claims, like source of fibre, must match Health Canada's approved wording, and the food agency, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), enforces it [5].
• Cosmetics must stay cosmetic. Beauty claims are fine, but the moment one promises a health or body-changing result, it becomes a drug [6].
• Cannabis is almost a no-go. The Cannabis Act bans nearly all promotion, including price, testimonials, lifestyle, or anything that could appeal to young people [7].

2. The rules change by product type

• Natural health products (vitamins, minerals, herbals). Use only the claims Health Canada accepted for that licence [1][2]. Watch out: going beyond the approved monograph claim is a violation.
• Food. Use Health Canada's set list of nutrient and health claims [5].
• Cosmetics and beauty. Truthful beauty claims are fine [6]. But treats acne or relieves eczema turns it into a drug.
• Borderline and disease claims. Anything that says it treats or cures becomes a drug needing approval, and Schedule A diseases cannot be advertised to the public at all [3][4].
• Cannabis and CBD (cannabidiol). Promotion is heavily restricted under the Cannabis Act, so treat it as near unadvertisable to the public [7].

3. Disclosure and influencers

• Tell people it is an ad. Ad Standards, Canada's ad self-regulator, says influencers must clearly show any material connection to the brand (money, free product, discounts, family ties). #Ad is the gold-standard label, placed where people will see it, not buried in hashtags [8].
• The brand is on the hook. The Competition Bureau enforces the federal Competition Act. Endorsements must be genuine and based on real use, connections must be disclosed, and the advertiser is responsible for what its influencers say [9][14].
• Bigger penalties now (2024). Bill C-59 strengthened the rules on misleading ads, hidden fees (drip pricing), and green claims, which now need proper testing. Penalties can reach $10 million for a first offence (and $15 million for repeats), or 3% of worldwide revenue, whichever is higher [10].

4. Quebec is its own market

• Advertise in French. Under the Charter of the French Language (Bill 96), ads and signs for Quebec must be in French, and French must stand out at least twice as much as any other language. Major sign rules took effect 1 June 2025 [11].
• No ads to young children. Quebec bans advertising aimed at children under 13, across all media including online [12].

5. Pre-clearance

• Run consumer health ads past Ad Standards. For consumer health-product and direct-to-consumer ads, Ad Standards, Advertising Standards Canada (ASC), is the recognized body that pre-clears the advertising. It is voluntary but strongly encouraged, and it is the cheapest insurance against a takedown [13].

6. How we run a campaign

• Check the product and its licence first. Find the NPN or DIN and pull the exact accepted claims before any copy is written [1][2].
• Lead with products that have room. Build claim-based ads on licensed products with accepted claims; keep anything disease-related or cannabis to brand and lifestyle messaging only [4][7].
• Lock the creator brief. Give influencers the accepted wording and a clear do-not-say list, and approve content before it posts [8][9].
• Disclose every time, and translate for Quebec. Use #Ad up front, and make a proper French version for Quebec audiences [8][11].
• Pre-clear and keep the proof. Run consumer health ads past Ad Standards and save the claim sources and disclosure records [13][14].

7. Do and don't