A licensed trade in Canada can claim exactly what it can prove and what its licence actually covers. Three layers of rules apply at once: the federal Competition Act governs every claim you make, provincial trade certification governs what you may call yourself, and in British Columbia a safety regulator requires your licence number in the advertising itself. Most contractor websites breach at least one.
Written by Cody Wise, founder of Wise Media. This article summarises published rules from Canadian regulators as of November 2026. It is general information, not legal advice. Licensing and advertising rules differ by province and change, so confirm your own obligations with your regulator or a lawyer before changing your website.
Summary
- Every claim is covered federally. The Competition Act prohibits materially false or misleading representations, judged on the general impression they create, not their literal wording.
- Performance claims need testing first. A claim about how your work performs must rest on an adequate and proper test made before the claim is published. Customer testimonials are not that test.
- British Columbia is the strictest. Technical Safety BC requires licensed electrical, gas, elevating device, and boiler, pressure vessel and refrigeration contractors to show their licence number in advertising, websites and social profiles included.
- Ontario is actively enforcing. The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development enforces compulsory trade rules under the Building Opportunities in the Skilled Trades Act, 2021, with administrative monetary penalties.
- Alberta has a second licence most contractors forget. Taking a deposit on residential work can make you a prepaid contracting business requiring a provincial licence.
- Green claims now carry a substantiation burden. Environmental benefit claims must be backed by adequate and proper substantiation under an internationally recognised methodology.
Table of Contents
- Who regulates what a trade says on its website?
- The federal floor: the Competition Act
- Provincial rules: what you may call yourself
- British Columbia: the licence number rule
- Claim by claim: safe, conditional, do not use
- Red Seal, logos and badges
- Reviews, testimonials and before and after photos
- Common mistakes
- The compliance checklist
- Frequently asked questions
Who Regulates What a Trade Says on Its Website?
Four different bodies can take an interest in a single contractor homepage, and they do not coordinate.
| Layer | Who | What they govern |
|---|---|---|
| Federal advertising law | Competition Bureau | Whether any claim is false or misleading, including performance and environmental claims |
| Trade certification | Provincial authority, for example Skilled Trades Ontario, Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training, SkilledTradesBC | Who may perform and hold themselves out in a compulsory trade |
| Technical safety licensing | Provincial safety regulators, for example Technical Safety BC | Contractor licensing and, in BC, what must appear in your advertising |
| Consumer protection | Provincial consumer affairs, for example Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction | Business licensing, deposits, contract terms, door-to-door and prepaid work |
A marketing agency that only thinks about the first layer will build you a site that converts and quietly exposes you on the other three. We build trade and contractor sites with this stack in mind, which is part of what our trades and contractors work covers, alongside the lead system described in how Canadian contractors actually get leads.
The Federal Floor: the Competition Act Applies to Every Claim
The Competition Act prohibits materially false or misleading representations to promote a product, service or business interest. A representation is material if it could influence a consumer to buy. Enforcement runs on two tracks, criminal for representations made knowingly or recklessly, and civil for the rest. The Competition Bureau’s guidance on false or misleading representations sets out both.
The general impression test is the one that catches people
Claims are assessed on the general impression they convey as well as their literal meaning, and fine print often does not cure a misleading impression. Proof that anyone was actually deceived is not required.
In practice this is why an asterisk does not save a headline. “Licensed and insured” above the fold with a footnote explaining that only one of three divisions is licensed creates a misleading general impression, regardless of the footnote. Fix the headline, not the disclaimer.
Performance claims require a test that already exists
The civil regime prohibits performance representations that are not based on an adequate and proper test, and the Bureau’s own guidance is blunt about it: do not make the claim unless you can prove it, even if you believe it is accurate. The test has to exist before the claim is published, not after a complaint arrives.
For a trade, this bites on claims like “cuts your heating bill by 30 percent”, “lasts twice as long as standard shingles”, “eliminates ice damming” and “kills 99.9 percent of mould spores”. Each is a performance claim. Each needs a proper test behind it. The Bureau also notes that testimonials generally do not count as adequate proof of a performance claim, and that test results and testimonials may only be used with authorisation and without distorting their scope.
Environmental claims have their own substantiation rule
Claims about the environmental benefits of a product, service or business activity must be based on adequate and proper testing, or on adequate and proper substantiation in accordance with an internationally recognised methodology. “Eco-friendly insulation”, “green roofing”, “sustainable building practices” and “carbon neutral” are all covered. A supplier’s marketing brochure is not a methodology.
The penalties are not symbolic
Under the civil track, administrative monetary penalties reach up to $750,000 CAD for an individual and up to $10,000,000 CAD for a corporation on a first occurrence, rising to $1,000,000 CAD and $15,000,000 CAD for subsequent occurrences. Courts may also order the conduct to stop, order a corrective notice, and order restitution to consumers. On the criminal track, a summary conviction carries a fine of up to $200,000 CAD and up to one year of imprisonment, while an indictable conviction carries a fine at the court’s discretion and up to 14 years. Those are statutory maximums rather than typical outcomes, but they are the ceiling a small contractor is operating under.
Provincial Rules: What You May Call Yourself
Trade certification is provincial. A trade that is compulsory in one province may be voluntary in another, which means the same job title on the same website can be lawful in Edmonton and a problem in Toronto. Below are the three provinces where most Canadian contractors operate.
Ontario: compulsory trades, active enforcement
Ontario classifies 23 of its 144 prescribed trades as compulsory, including electrician for construction and maintenance, electrician for domestic and rural work, plumber, hairstylist and automotive service technician. To work in a compulsory trade you must hold a Certificate of Qualification or a Provisional Certificate of Qualification, or be a registered apprentice working under supervision. Employers are also barred from engaging unauthorised individuals for compulsory trade work. The province’s compulsory trades and enforcement page sets this out.
Enforcement sits with the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development under the Building Opportunities in the Skilled Trades Act, 2021, while Skilled Trades Ontario handles apprenticeship and certification. That split matters because the old Ontario College of Trades no longer plays the enforcement role, and sites still naming it are out of date. The Ministry’s tools run from educational material to compliance orders to a notice of contravention with an administrative monetary penalty set under O. Reg. 872/21. A notice can be reviewed by the Ontario Labour Relations Board within 15 days.
One timing note worth acting on. The Ministry has published an enforcement initiative running from 1 October 2026 to 31 January 2027 focused on electrical, sheet metal, plumbing and motive power work. If you advertise any of those in Ontario, this is the quarter to have your certification claims straight.
Alberta: compulsory certification plus a second licence most contractors miss
Alberta’s compulsory certification trades include electrician, plumber, gasfitter class A and class B, steamfitter-pipefitter, sheet metal worker, welder, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanic, ironworker, boilermaker, elevator constructor, crane and hoisting equipment operator, automotive service technician, heavy equipment technician, auto body technician, appliance service technician, motorcycle mechanic, recreation vehicle service technician, barber and hairstylist. To perform the restricted activities in those trades you must be a registered apprentice working under a certified journeyperson, a certified journeyperson, or the holder of a recognised trade certificate.
Separately, Alberta’s consumer protection regime captures residential contractors who take money before the work is finished. Under the province’s prepaid contracting rules, a business that solicits, negotiates or concludes prepaid contracts away from its own place of business, for construction, maintenance, repair, alteration or improvement of private dwellings, and takes payment before completion, is a prepaid contracting business and must be licensed with Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction. Prepaid contracts worth $200 CAD or more must be in writing. Commercial work, contracts between contractors and sub-trades, and certain new home warranty and water well work are treated differently.
The website implication is simple. If your site has a “pay your deposit online” button for residential renovation work, check your licensing position before you check your conversion rate.
British Columbia: skilled trades certification, phased in by trade
British Columbia reintroduced mandatory certification through SkilledTradesBC’s Skilled Trades Certification programme, which applies to a defined set of trades including electrical, mechanical and automotive groups, with additional trades added over time. Check the current list for your trade rather than relying on what was true when you started, because the programme has been phased in and expanded since launch.
British Columbia Also Requires Your Licence Number in the Advertising Itself
This is the single most specific website rule in Canadian trade advertising, and most BC contractor sites still fail it. Technical Safety BC requires licensed contractors to include their licence number when advertising regulated work. It applies to the electrical, gas, elevating devices, and boilers, pressure vessels and refrigeration licence categories.
According to Technical Safety BC’s own published guidance on contractor advertising, the requirement was phased in between January 2023 and January 2024, and it covers websites, social media profiles and branded company vehicles. From January 2024 it extended to storefronts and other major assets that display the company name. Unbranded vehicles are exempt. The regulator’s example format is simply the licence identifier stated alongside the company name, such as “TSBC Licence LXX1234567”. Monetary penalties apply to unlicensed contractors found advertising illegally, and compliance and discipline orders are available.
Where to put it so the site stays clean
- Global footer. One line, every page, including landing pages built for ads.
- Contact page. Alongside the legal business name and service address.
- Social profiles. The bio field on each platform you actually use.
- Google Business Profile description. It is a public business listing that advertises regulated work.
- Paid landing pages. These are frequently built outside the main theme and miss the global footer entirely. This is the most common gap we find.
If your site was built without a global footer component, this is a five minute change on a well-built site and a week of patching on a badly built one. It is one of the structural things our website packages set up from the start, and it is covered in more depth in our guide to contractor website design in Canada.
Claim by Claim: Safe, Conditional, Do Not Use
Use this as a review pass on your existing copy. The middle column is where most contractor sites live, and conditional claims are fine as long as the condition is actually met and documented.
| Claim | Status | What makes it defensible |
|---|---|---|
| “Licensed electrician” | Conditional | The person doing the work holds a current certificate in that province. Name the certificate type, not just the word licensed. |
| “Licensed and insured” | Conditional | Both are true today, for the work advertised, and you can produce the certificate and the policy. Review annually. |
| “Bonded” | Conditional | A bond actually exists. Many contractors use the word without one because it appears in competitors’ copy. |
| “Red Seal certified” | Conditional | The named individual holds the endorsement. It is personal, not a company credential. |
| “BBB accredited” or any third-party badge | Conditional | The accreditation is current and the badge is used per the issuer’s terms. Lapsed badges are a misrepresentation. |
| “25 years of experience” | Conditional | It is the company’s or a named person’s actual experience. Summing three employees’ careers is misleading. |
| “Cuts your energy bill by 30 percent” | Do not use without testing | A performance claim. Needs an adequate and proper test made before publication. |
| “Eco-friendly” or “sustainable” | Do not use without substantiation | Environmental claims require adequate and proper testing or substantiation under an internationally recognised methodology. |
| “Lifetime warranty” | Do not use loosely | Define whose lifetime, what is covered, what voids it, and whether it transfers. Publish the terms. |
| “Government approved” or “government certified” | Do not use | Holding a licence is not an endorsement. This implies approval that does not exist. |
| “Number one in Calgary” or “the city’s best” | Do not use without a basis | A superiority claim needs a verifiable basis. An internal opinion is not one. |
| “Free estimate” with conditions in the fine print | Do not use that way | If a trip charge or diagnostic fee applies, say so where the claim appears. |
| Your legal business name and service area | Safe | True, verifiable, and required anyway. |
| Photographs of your own completed work | Safe | They are yours, they are unaltered, and the caption does not overstate the scope. |
Red Seal, Logos and Badges
The Red Seal Endorsement is affixed to an individual’s provincial or territorial certificate of qualification after they pass the Interprovincial Red Seal examination. According to the Red Seal programme’s own guidance, permission is required to use the seal and is obtained from your provincial or territorial apprenticeship authority. The programme is also explicit that the seal shows only that the holder passed the examination, and does not indicate that a person is certified by a province or territory to carry on any trade.
Two practical consequences. First, a company cannot be Red Seal certified. A person can. Write “our lead technician holds a Red Seal endorsement in plumbing”, not “we are Red Seal certified”. Second, if that person leaves, the claim leaves with them, and the homepage needs editing the same week.
The separate Red Seal Proud Supporter logos may be displayed by anyone who wants to show support for the programme, provided they are used as supplied and without modification. They signal support, not certification, so do not place one where a visitor would read it as a credential.
Reviews, Testimonials and Before and After Photos
Social proof is where well-meaning contractors create the clearest violations, because the material looks like it belongs to the customer rather than to the advertiser. Once it is on your site, it is your representation.
- Never write a review you did not receive. Fabricated testimonials are a straightforward misrepresentation and the easiest kind to prove.
- Do not edit a quote into a stronger claim. Trimming “fixed it quickly once the part arrived” into “fixed it quickly” changes the representation.
- Get authorisation. Test results and testimonials may be used only if you are authorised to use them, and their scope must not be distorted.
- Do not use a testimonial to carry a performance claim. A customer saying their bill dropped by half is still your performance claim once you publish it as proof.
- Keep before and after photos honest. Same angle, same lighting, same property, no retouching beyond exposure. Caption what was actually done.
- Disclose material connections. If a reviewer was paid, given free work or is related to the business, that relationship has to be clear.
- Aggregate ratings must match reality. If your site displays a star rating, it should reflect the real distribution, not a selected subset.
The same discipline applies to your email marketing, where consent rather than accuracy is the governing rule. Our guide to whether your website is CASL compliant covers that side.
Common Mistakes
- Copying a competitor’s homepage. You inherit their claims without their certificates. This is the origin of most unsupported “bonded” and “certified” language in the trades.
- Advertising a service area you are not licensed in. Licensing is provincial and sometimes municipal. A service area page for a city you cannot legally work in is an advertising problem before it is an SEO problem.
- Naming a defunct regulator. Ontario College of Trades has been succeeded by Skilled Trades Ontario and the Ministry for enforcement. Old copy dates you and signals nobody has reviewed the page in five years.
- Leaving the licence number off ad landing pages. In BC the rule follows the advertising, not the main website.
- Letting certifications lapse on the page. A current claim about a lapsed credential is a live misrepresentation. Diarise an annual review.
- Treating the disclaimer as the fix. The general impression test means the headline governs, not the footnote.
- Using manufacturer claims as your own. If you repeat a supplier’s performance number on your site, you are making that claim. Ask the supplier for the substantiation in writing.
- Stock photos of other people’s work. A gallery that implies the work is yours when it is not is a misrepresentation, and customers increasingly reverse image search.
The Compliance Checklist
Run this once, then once a year. It takes about ninety minutes on a typical contractor site.
- List every claim on the site, including headlines, service pages, service area pages, ad landing pages, the footer and image captions.
- Mark each claim as factual, conditional or performance.
- For each conditional claim, locate the current document that proves it. If you cannot find it in five minutes, remove the claim until you can.
- For each performance claim, identify the test that supports it and the date it was done. No test, no claim.
- Check every environmental claim against a named methodology, or delete it.
- Confirm every trade title used matches current provincial certification for the person who does that work.
- In British Columbia, confirm the licence number appears on the website, every ad landing page, each social profile and branded vehicles.
- Confirm your service area pages only cover places you are licensed to work.
- Check every third-party badge is current and used within the issuer’s terms.
- Check Red Seal references name an individual, not the company.
- Review testimonials for authorisation, accuracy and undisclosed connections.
- Confirm “free estimate” and warranty claims have their conditions stated where the claim appears.
- Replace any reference to a superseded regulator.
- Save a dated PDF of the site’s claims and the supporting documents as your own record.
Step 14 is the one contractors skip and the one that matters if a complaint ever lands. A dated folder showing what you claimed and what you relied on is the difference between a correction and an argument.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I say “licensed contractor” if my company holds a business licence but I am not a certified tradesperson?
That phrasing is risky because readers understand “licensed” as trade certification, and the general impression is what gets assessed. If what you hold is a municipal business licence, say that specifically. If the work is in a compulsory trade, the person performing it must hold the relevant certification regardless of what the company holds.
Do I need my licence number on my website outside British Columbia?
Technical Safety BC’s advertising requirement is a British Columbia rule for its licence categories. Other provinces and municipalities may impose their own display requirements, so confirm with your regulator. Including it voluntarily is good practice everywhere, because it is verifiable, it builds trust and it costs nothing.
Is “we are the best roofer in Edmonton” illegal?
Pure puffery that no reasonable consumer would treat as a factual claim sits in a grey area, but the moment it becomes specific, “rated number one”, “highest rated”, “most trusted”, it becomes a claim that needs a verifiable basis. The safer move is also the better marketing move: replace the superlative with something concrete, such as a named certification, a response time you actually meet, or a specialisation.
Can I advertise in a city where I am not licensed if I plan to subcontract the work?
Advertising a service implies you can lawfully provide it. If the licensed party is a subcontractor, the honest presentation is that you coordinate licensed trades, and the licensing position of whoever performs the regulated work still has to be correct. Check the specific provincial rule before building service area pages for a market you cannot serve directly.
Who enforces skilled trades rules in Ontario now that the College of Trades is gone?
The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development enforces compulsory trade requirements under the Building Opportunities in the Skilled Trades Act, 2021. Skilled Trades Ontario handles apprenticeship, certification and trade classification. Enforcement tools include compliance orders and notices of contravention carrying administrative monetary penalties.
Does taking a deposit online change my licensing obligations in Alberta?
It can. Alberta’s prepaid contracting rules apply to businesses that solicit, negotiate or conclude residential prepaid contracts away from their own place of business and take payment before the work is complete. Those businesses must be licensed with Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction. Confirm your own position with the regulator before enabling online deposits.
How often should I review my website claims?
Annually at minimum, and immediately whenever a certified employee leaves, a certification or insurance policy lapses, a third-party accreditation changes, or you add a service area. Put the review on the same calendar date as your insurance renewal so it never gets forgotten.
Conclusion
Contractor advertising rules in Canada are less complicated than they look once you separate the layers. Prove every claim before you publish it, name the certification rather than waving at the word licensed, put your licence number where the regulator requires it, and keep a dated record of what you relied on. The contractors who do this do not just avoid penalties. They end up with specific, verifiable copy, which converts better than the vague superlatives their competitors are still using.
Have Your Site Reviewed Before a Regulator Does
Wise Media builds trade and contractor websites that are structured for compliance and built to convert, with licence details handled globally rather than page by page, and claims written to be defensible. If your site has claims you are not sure you can back up, or you are expanding into a new province, start with our intake form and we will tell you what needs fixing before we quote anything.
