WHMIS: Canada's Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System

Who it applies to

WHMIS has a split structure. The federal Hazardous Products Act and the Hazardous Products Regulations (HPR) govern suppliers: manufacturers, importers and distributors who sell or import hazardous products for use in Canadian workplaces. Employers and workers are covered by occupational health and safety legislation in each province and territory and for federally regulated workplaces, which requires labeling of workplace containers, access to sheets, worker education and training, and hazard controls. Details therefore vary somewhat between jurisdictions.

What it requires for labels and SDSs

• Classification under HPR hazard classes derived from the GHS. WHMIS adds a class for biohazardous infectious materials, and classes for physical hazards not otherwise classified and health hazards not otherwise classified.
• Supplier labels with product identifier, initial supplier identifier, pictograms, signal word, hazard statements, precautionary statements and supplemental label information as needed. Labels must be bilingual, in English and French.
• Safety data sheets in the 16-section GHS order, available in both official languages. The HPR specifies the required content for each section. See the 16 sections.
• Workplace labels and worker education and training by employers, with site-specific training on procedures and controls.
• Confidential business information claims are handled through a federal claim-for-exemption process; the HPR allow withholding of specified items once an exemption is granted or while a claim is pending. See trade secrets on SDSs.

Key differences versus OSHA HazCom

• Bilingual requirement. Canadian labels and sheets must be in English and French. OSHA requires English.
• Split jurisdiction. Supplier duties are federal; workplace duties vary by province. HazCom is a single federal rule (with state plans).
• Hazard classes. WHMIS includes biohazardous infectious materials as a class with its own pictogram, which OSHA does not. Both skip environmental classes.
• GHS revision. Amendments to the HPR that came into force in December 2022 align WHMIS with GHS Revision 7 and parts of Revision 8; the transition period ended on December 14, 2025. Some category and classification details still differ from OSHA's.
• Label terms. WHMIS uses an "initial supplier identifier" and has rules on supplemental label information.
• Exemptions. Certain consumer products, pesticides, explosives, cosmetics, foods, drugs, medical devices and radioactive substances are regulated under other federal laws and are excluded from WHMIS.
• SDS currency. Suppliers must update the SDS within 90 days of becoming aware of significant new data. The old WHMIS 1988 rule that supplier sheets expire after three years no longer applies to suppliers, but some OHS rules, such as the federal Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, still require employers to seek an updated sheet every three years.

Practical points for employers in Canada

1. Confirm the OHS law that applies to your site: provincial, territorial or federal.
2. Check that the supplier labels and SDSs are in both languages when needed.
3. Label secondary containers with workplace labels (product identifier, safe handling information and reference to the SDS), as the local law requires. See secondary container labels for the general principles.
4. Deliver both general WHMIS education and site-specific training.
5. Keep an inventory and make sheets accessible.

Cross-border businesses should compare the US and Canadian versions of each sheet because the classification and the contact details may differ. See also OSHA HazCom and the UN GHS.

Worked scenario: a US product used in a Canadian plant

A Canadian plant buys a US-made solvent for use in its process. The supplier's sheet is an English OSHA-style sheet with a US phone number. For WHMIS, the supplier selling into Canada should supply a sheet and label meeting the HPR, in English and French, with a contact reachable from Canada. If the plant imports the product itself for its own use, it may take on supplier-level responsibilities as an importer. The plant should ask the supplier for a Canadian version and not simply file the US sheet.

Frequently asked questions