New First Aid Regulations in Ontario

As of June 22nd, 2026, First Aid has changed in Ontario (businesses don’t be alarmed, they are simple changes). WSIB has aligned with Canadian Standards Association (CSA) for First Aid Training and Supplies.

This information is here to help you and your business choose the right level of training to be compliant with Ontario Occupational Health and Safety as well as WSIB. If you have any questions, please reach out to me, Erika Andrusiak, owner of Durham First Aid Inc. erika@durhamfirstaid.com | 905-240-0092.

Name Change of Courses

• Standard First Aid is now Intermediate First Aid
• Emergency First Aid is now Basic First Aid.

What does this mean for your business?

• If you have a current Emergency First Aid you are still compliant for a business with 1-5 employees, under WSIB Regulation 1101. Before your certification expires you will need to take Basic First Aid Course to continue to be compliant.
• If you have a current Standard First Aid you are still compliant for a business with 6+ employees, under WSIB Regulation 1101. Before your certification expires you will need to take an Intermediate First Aid Course to continue to be compliant.

Recertification Guidelines:

• Basic First Aid (Emergency First Aid) can not be recertified in the province of Ontario. To maintain your certification take the full Basic First Aid course every three years.
• Intermediate First Aid (Standard First Aid) can now recertify to an Intermediate First Aid certificate. This can be done once with any WSIB-approved training provider. Before June 22nd, 2026, recertifications had to be completed with the same provider as your previous full certification.  Now the requirements to recertify are:
  • Have a current non-expired certification for Intermediate First Aid (or Standard First Aid).
  • That the last course taken was a full Intermediate First Aid (or Standard First Aid) course, not a recertification (Current certification states “is certified in”).
  • That your current certificate was provided by any WSIB-approved training provider.

Requirements to meet OHS and WSIB remain the same, that you must have at least 1 person on shift that holds the appropriate certification for the size of the workplace:

• For workplaces with five or fewer people working on any one shift, at least one person must have a Basic First Aid certificate.
• For workplaces with six or more people working on any shift, at least one person must hold an Intermediate First Aid certificate.

If you or your business has any questions about what course you require for your workplace, please reach out, or cheque out our FAQs on workplace First Aid Training here: Workplace First Aid & CPR Training – Durham First Aid.

First Aid Kit Changes

WSIB, aligned with CSA requirements for First Aid Training, however, has not yet formally adopted the CSA Standard First Aid Kits.

Employers governed under Ontario’s WSIB, can satisfy the first aid kit requirements in one of two ways:

• Provide the first aid kits described in Sections 8–13 of Regulation 1101, or
• Provide a CSA Z1220 workplace first aid kit that meets the applicable CSA standard.

Ontario’s WSIB is allowing a choice to businesses. Other provinces have already adopted CSA Z1220 first aid kit standard (ie. no choice).

In summary of kits:

• CSA Type 1: Personal First Aid Kit are for personal use, for any person that works alone, or works in isolation.
• CSA TYPE 2: Basic First Aid Kit are for workplaces with a low risk work environment – A workplace in which activities with a low likelihood of the occurrence and severity of harm predominates.
• CSA TYPE 3: Intermediate First Aid Kit is suitable for workplaces with a higher-risk work environment. Type 3 Kits are typically found in auto shops, wood shops, construction sites, mining, oil & gas, forestry, machine shops, metal fabrication, remote working locations, or any industrial construction type application where the risk of severe injury is elevated.

CSA Kits come in 3 sizes, Small, Medium and Large. The size of kit depends on the number of employees you have on site.

• For those with 2-25 workers per shift they require 1 small kit.
• For those with 26-50 workers per shift, they require 2 small kits
• For those with 51-100 workers per shift, 4 smalls kits.

What is great about the new CSA kits is that workplaces can choose the Small Kits and put them in various locations around the office making them easily accessible, instead of one large kit in a first aid designated area.

Durham First Aid Inc. has all the new CSA kits in stock, and they can be viewed and purchased on our website here: First-Aid Products for Sale | Durham First Aid Inc. Oshawa & Whitby.

Sources:

First Aid Program | WSIB

Canadian Red Cross updates to Training Partners

https://www.csagroup.org/