How to get a first aid certificate in Canada: Ontario Regulation 1101 levels, BC Basic, Intermediate and Advanced levels, and Red Cross and St John courses.
Applies in: CA
A first aid certificate proves you completed a recognized first aid course. In Canada there is no single national first aid certificate: provinces and territories set workplace requirements, and recognized providers deliver the courses. The level you need depends on who is asking for it and where the work takes place, so this guide is framed around the requirement, not around medical techniques. It contains no first aid instruction. Every level, duration, and validity figure below comes from the official or provider page named for that figure, and figures are never averaged across programs.
Start with the document that asks for the certificate: an employer's posting, a regulator's rule, a school placement letter, or a program requirement. Copy its exact wording, including whether it names Emergency First Aid, Standard First Aid, Basic First Aid, Intermediate First Aid, an occupational level such as a British Columbia level, a CPR or AED level, or a specific provider. Course names changed in Ontario and British Columbia in recent years, and the old and new names now sit side by side in provider and regulator material. Matching the exact wording is the step that prevents taking the wrong course.
Ask three questions before booking: which level is named, which provider or recognition the requirement accepts, and whether the certificate must be current on a specific date, such as a placement start date. If the requirement names only a CPR level with no first aid course, do not assume a first aid certificate is a substitute, and do not assume a CPR-only course meets a first aid requirement. Ontario's Regulation 1101, for example, requires a first aid certificate in charge of each station, and a stand-alone CPR certificate is not the certificate the regulation names.
In Ontario, Regulation 1101, First Aid Requirements, made under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, sets first aid equipment, facilities, and trained personnel by the number of workers in any one shift. The certificate levels in the regulation are St. John Ambulance Emergency First Aid and St. John Ambulance Standard First Aid, or their equivalents:
The regulation also requires a notice board with the Board's Form 82 poster, the valid first aid certificates of the trained workers on duty, and an inspection card, quarterly inspection of first aid boxes, and a record of each accident and each first aid treatment. The expense of furnishing and maintaining first aid appliances and services is borne by the employer.
Course names are changing while the regulation names stay the same. St. John Ambulance Ontario states that as of June 22, 2026, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board will implement updated first aid training designed to comply with Canadian Standards Association standard Z1210-24, that Emergency First Aid will become Basic First Aid and Standard First Aid will become Intermediate First Aid, that current course content will not change and only names will change, and that all valid certificates remain recognized until their expiry date. The same document states the course-type requirement is unchanged: 1 to 5 employees need Basic First Aid, and 6 or more employees need Intermediate First Aid. When a posting uses a new name and the regulation uses an old name, confirm with the employer or the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board which course satisfies the posting before booking.
In British Columbia, first aid services are required under the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, and the level at a workplace is set by a first aid assessment, not by headcount alone. The British Columbia first aid page states that, as of November 1, 2024, the level is determined by staff numbers, proximity to a BC Ambulance station, accessibility of the workplace to BC Ambulance staff, and the activities of the workplace. Workplaces must complete a documented annual review, and a new complete assessment is required if workplace conditions change.
The British Columbia course levels, renamed to align with other provinces and national standards, are:
Whether an employee needs new training depends on the assessment result. If the assessment shows the same or a lower level than the employee's current level, no retraining is needed until the current certificate expires. If it shows a higher level, the employee must take the higher course. Current certificates are valid under the new regulation until their current expiration dates, stated as 3 years from the date of the course. A remote workplace, defined as more than 30 minutes travel time from a BC Ambulance station under normal travel conditions, and a less accessible workplace, where ambulances cannot access the site or attendants cannot safely access it, may face higher requirements, including emergency transport arrangements.
Do not carry an Ontario level into British Columbia, or a British Columbia occupational level into another province. The names sound alike and the systems are different: British Columbia's Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced levels are occupational levels under its own regulation, while Ontario's bands come from Regulation 1101 and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board program.
The two national providers named by the regulators are St. John Ambulance and the Canadian Red Cross, and each province's regulator recognizes certificates from approved providers and equivalents. In Ontario, the regulation names St. John Ambulance certificates or their equivalents, so a Canadian Red Cross certificate that the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board recognizes as equivalent satisfies the same band. In British Columbia, the new courses are available from the same providers workplaces have used in the past. Book with a provider the regulator or employer recognizes, and keep the booking confirmation showing the exact course name.
The Canadian Red Cross Standard First Aid and CPR fact sheet describes Standard First Aid and CPR as a comprehensive two-day course of 14 to 16 hours, with 100% attendance, skills demonstration, and a 75% minimum passing grade on the written exam, leading to a 3-year certification in Standard First Aid, CPR Level A, C, or HCP, and AED, with recertification of 6 to 9 hours. That fact sheet is an older provider document, so confirm the current duration, format, and CPR level with the training partner before booking, and confirm that the course meets the regulation your requirement names.
St. John Ambulance lists Standard and Intermediate First Aid for comprehensive workplace, school, or personal-interest training, Emergency and Basic First Aid for basic training, CPR and AED training, and Advanced First Aid for workplace first aiders and emergency response teams, which requires a Standard First Aid course within 1 year from an approved occupational health and safety program. St. John Ambulance states that all First Aid certificates are valid for 3 years, with CPR and AED training recommended annually, and that recertification availability and regulations vary by province, so contact the local branch or council. Its certificate recertification page states the same 3-year validity. Certificates are numbered and recorded in a centralized national database, and replacement certificates are handled through the local office.
Check the expiry date printed on your certificate, not a general rule. St. John Ambulance certificates run 3 years. British Columbia certificates run to their expiration date, 3 years from the course date. Canadian Red Cross Standard First Aid certification runs 3 years on the fact sheet cited above. Each figure belongs to its own program, so do not average them or carry one program's recertification rule into another's. If your certificate lapses, expect to retake the full course rather than a shorter recertification, and confirm the rule with your provider before the expiry date. Keep a copy of the certificate where the employer or program can see it: in Ontario, valid certificates of the trained workers on duty must be displayed on the first aid station notice board, and in a first aid room the certificate must be prominently displayed.
No course fee, schedule, or duration is stated in this guide beyond the Red Cross Standard First Aid duration and the British Columbia course lengths above, because provider pricing and local schedules were not verified on an official or provider page. No requirement is stated for Alberta, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Atlantic provinces, or the territories, because it could not be verified on an official page; their first aid rules differ, so do not apply the Ontario or British Columbia levels there. Recertification eligibility, including whether a lapsed certificate can be recertified and how many times, is not stated as a single national rule and is stated only as a local check. Confirm the level, provider recognition, fee, format, and recertification rule with the regulator or employer that set your requirement before booking.
Ontario Regulation 1101 sets the level by workers in any one shift. Not more than 5 workers needs a worker holding a valid St. John Ambulance Emergency First Aid Certificate or its equivalent in charge of the first aid station. More than 5 and up to 15, and more than 15 and fewer than 200, need a worker holding a valid Standard First Aid Certificate or its equivalent. At 200 or more workers, the first aid room must be in the charge of a registered nurse or a worker holding a valid Standard First Aid Certificate or its equivalent. The regulation still uses the names Emergency First Aid and Standard First Aid.
St. John Ambulance Ontario states that as of June 22, 2026, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board is implementing updated first aid training aligned with Canadian Standards Association standard Z1210-24, and that Emergency First Aid becomes Basic First Aid and Standard First Aid becomes Intermediate First Aid, with course content unchanged and only names changing. Valid certificates remain recognized until expiry. The course-type requirement stays the same: 1 to 5 employees need Basic First Aid, and 6 or more need Intermediate First Aid.
British Columbia sets the level by a workplace first aid assessment, using staff numbers, proximity to a BC Ambulance station, accessibility of the workplace to BC Ambulance staff, and the activities of the workplace. The course levels are Basic, a 1-day course equivalent to the old Level 1, Intermediate, a 2-day course equivalent to the old Level 2, and Advanced, a 10-day course equivalent to the old Level 3. Do not pick a level without the assessment result.
Validity is set by the issuing program, never averaged across programs. St. John Ambulance states that all First Aid certificates are valid for 3 years, with CPR and AED training recommended annually. British Columbia states that current certificates are valid until their current expiration dates, 3 years from the date of the course. The Canadian Red Cross Standard First Aid and CPR fact sheet states a 3-year certification in Standard First Aid, CPR Level A, C, or HCP, and AED.
The Red Cross fact sheet describes Standard First Aid and CPR as a comprehensive two-day course of 14 to 16 hours, requiring 100 percent attendance, skills demonstration, and a 75 percent minimum passing grade on the written exam, with recertification of 6 to 9 hours. It states the course meets federal and a variety of provincial and territorial regulations for Standard First Aid and CPR. Check with the provider for the current format, since blended and in-person formats vary.
Course formats vary by provider and province, and an online awareness course alone does not always lead to certification. Ask the provider whether the exact course you are booking is the certified course your employer or regulator named, whether any in-person skills assessment is required, and whether recertification is available in your province. St. John Ambulance directs learners to contact the local branch or council about recertification availability and the regulations that apply.