How Do Canadians Feel About Advertising?
Discover insights from Ad Standards and Numerator’s 2024 survey on The State of Advertising Perceptions & Attitudes.
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News Archive
2025
2024 Annual Complaints Report Published
Nov. 17 – Ad Standards has issued its 2024 Annual Complaints Report, highlighting key trends and insights. Learn more
New CGA Code for Responsible Gaming Advertising
Oct. 24 - The Canadian Gaming Association has launched a new code for responsible gaming advertising, administered by Ad Standards.
Learn more
Influencer Marketing Disclosure Guidelines Updated
Oct. 8 - Ad Standards has released updated influencer marketing disclosure guidelines with new direction on AI, affiliates, and child audiences.
Learn more
FOP Nutrition Symbols in Food & Beverage Ads
July 14 – Ad Standards has issued guidance on the new requirement for front-of-package nutrition symbol labelling. Read the guidance.
Gambling Advertising Complaints: A Three-Year Review
June 19 – This new report examines consumer complaints about gambling advertising from April 2022 to April 2025. Read the report.
2025-26 Board of Directors Announced
June 18 – Following our Annual General Meeting on June 17, Ad Standards is pleased to announce this year’s board of directors. View all board members.
ICAS Think Tank Explores AI in Advertising
June 16 – Ad Standards joins the International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation’s Think Tank, contributing to global discussions on ethical AI use in advertising. Learn More.
2025 Ad Standards Scholarship Winners Announced
May 27 - We are pleased to announce that Zachary Roy of Université Laval and Helenna Swift of University of British Columbia, are the recipients of the 2025 Ad Standards Scholarship. Read more about the winners.
AdChoices Accountability Program – 10th Annual Compliance Report
April 28 – This annual report highlights progress made by companies committed to the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada (DAAC) Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioural Advertising. Read the report.
Inaugural Annual Report on Responsible Food & Beverage Advertising to Children
March 18 – Ad Standards has released its first Annual Report on the Code for the Responsible Advertising of Food and Beverage Products to Children, covering the first full year of implementation. Read the report.
The State of Advertising Perceptions & Attitudes in Canada
February 20 – Ad Standards collaborated with Numerator to find out the impact of a misleading ad on consumer behaviour, and more, with The State of Advertising Perceptions & Attitudes in Canada survey.
Advisory on Canadian Origin Claims
February 6 – Ad Standards has issued an advisory to the ad industry to help ensure that Canadian origin claims comply with the provisions of the Code. Read the advisory.
Advisory on the Code for Municipalities, Transit Authorities and Their Agencies
January 8 - To provide guidance on how to accurately reference the Code in a company’s advertising policy and public communications, Ad Standards recently issued an advisory. Read the advisory.
2024
New Quebec Chair of Standards Council
December 12 - Ad Standards is proud to announce the appointment of Marie-Josée Beauchamp as the new Chair of the Standards Council in Quebec. Read more about it in our most recent newsletter.
Important Information for All Submitters
November 20 - Ad Standards has launched a new portal for preclearance submissions for all divisions. For the latest information, visit our Clearance Services Portal Information Page.
Media Literacy Week 2024
October 21 – Ad Standards is pleased to support Media Literacy Week. This year, we produced a video to teach children about sponsored content and advertising disclosure in influencer media. Watch the video.
Attention Medical Device Clearance Submitters
July 12 - Preclearance procedures for Class II medical devices have changed. Read the details of these changes.
Preclearance Rate Adjustments
2023
Canadian Attitudes Toward Influencer Marketing
June 20 – What do Canadians think of influencer marketing? Find out with our 2023 research, conducted by Caddle Canada.
Ad Standards CEO Retires
May 3 – After 40 years in the advertising industry, today marks the retirement of our CEO, Jani Yates. Read the media release.
AdChoices Accountability Compliance Report
April 12 – Our 2022 AdChoices Accountability Program Compliance Report is out! Read the full report.
Advertising Dispute Procedure Notes
January 4 – To clarify aspects of our Advertising Dispute Procedure, we have created a new resource page: Procedural Notes. Procedural Note 1 explains how to create an acceptable submission to launch a dispute between advertisers under the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards.
2022
Media Literacy Week
October 25 - Check out our new video for teens on how they can spot influencer marketing content in their social feeds. Watch the video.
We're hiring!
October 6 - We are seeking a Health Products Advertising Preclearance Copy Reviewer. Read the job description.
The State of Advertising Perceptions & Attitudes
May 30 – To understand Canadians’ attitudes toward advertising we conducted research with Numerator, exploring four topic areas: 1) acceptability of advertising; 2) commercial brands and industry sectors; 3) what is considered unacceptable and offensive; 4) the importance of advertising rules and regulations.
AdChoices Compliance Report 2021
April 25 – Today we released the 2021 Compliance Report under the AdChoices Accountability Program, demonstrating Participants’ continued compliance with the principles governing Interest-Based Advertising. Learn more about the Program.
Consumer Complaint Procedure Update
March 24 – Effective April 1, 2022, Ad Standards is removing the limitation of accepting only 10 complaints per ad. All complaints received will now be considered by staff. While the number of complaints received does not change how the Consumer Complaint Procedure is applied, this procedural change is in keeping with our mandate to build public trust in advertising. It also will help Ad Standards more accurately report concerns raised by the public. See the updated Procedure.
Advertising Dispute Procedure Notes
January 4 – To clarify aspects of our Advertising Dispute Procedure, we have created a new resource page: Procedural Notes. Procedural Note 1 explains how to create an acceptable submission to launch a dispute between advertisers under the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards.
2021
Environmental Claims
Ad Standards has updated Interpretation Guideline #3 (Environmental Claims).
Influencer Marketing Research 2021
Check out our latest consumer research, conducted in conjunction with Caddle Canada.
Responsible Advertising To Children
A coalition of Canada's largest advertisers, food and beverage brands and manufacturers and restaurants announced their commitment to a Code and Guide to govern the advertising of food and beverage products to children. The commitment was made by four leading industry associations. Learn more.
Influencer Marketing Updates
Ad Standards has released updates to both Interpretation Guideline #5 and the Influencer Disclosure Guidelines. Interpretation Guideline #5 speaks to the obligation under the Code to disclose when there is a material connection between the influencer and a brand. Updates to the Influencer Disclosure Guidelines provide more examples of what triggers the need to disclose a material connection, and how to make that disclosure.
Preclearance Check Mark
We are excited to share our updated Preclearance Check Mark logo, newly re-designed to communicate in digital, video and print formats that an ad or information message has been vetted by our Clearance Services.