Compliance

Bilingual labelling in Canada: what must be in French, and what Bill 96 changed

Canada's federal rule asks for less French than most people think. Quebec asks for more than most people know. The three items every package needs, the textile and cosmetic layers on top, and the June 2025 trademark rule that caught brands out.

Updated September 27, 2026 Reading time about 12 min Written for importers, brand owners and anyone printing packaging in China

The short version

Federally, three things must be on the label. The product's identity, its net quantity, and the name and address of the dealer. Identity and net quantity must be in English and French.1
Instructions and marketing copy are not federally required to be bilingual. But Quebec requires French on every inscription on the product, and most national retailers want bilingual packaging anyway.
Textiles and cosmetics add their own layers. Textiles need fibre content and a dealer or CA number; cosmetics need bilingual cautions and a Cosmetic Notification Form within 10 days of first sale.
Since June 1, 2025, only registered trademarks escape Quebec's French rule. A pending application is not enough, and generic words inside a trademark must now appear in French.
Fix it in the artwork, not with stickers. A sticker is legal for most labelling, but Amazon does not accept stickers as permanent branding for Brand Registry.

Every claim below links to the source it comes from. Where a figure is an estimate rather than a published number, this article says so.

Most of the bilingual-labelling advice online was written for food, which has its own, much heavier regime. For the consumer goods Ridgeport deals in — electronics, housewares, beauty and personal care — the federal rule is surprisingly narrow, and the real work is in the layers on top: textile rules, cosmetic rules, the certification labels for electronics, and Quebec's Charter of the French Language, which was tightened again in 2025.

This guide goes in the order you would deal with them when approving artwork from a factory. It covers prepackaged non-food consumer products. Food, drugs and natural health products have separate rules and are outside its scope.

Part one — the federal rules

1. The three declarations every package needs

The Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, administered by the Competition Bureau, requires three items on the label of a prepackaged non-food consumer product:1

Declaration	What it is	Bilingual?
Product identity	The common or generic name, or the function — “USB-C charger”, “stainless steel kettle”	Yes — English and French1
Net quantity	How much is in the package, in metric units where measured	Yes — English and French1
Dealer identity	The company name and full mailing address of the dealer	Either official language is acceptable

Everything else — directions for use, feature lists, promotional statements — is not federally required to be bilingual.1 That is the part people get wrong in both directions: they either assume the whole box must be translated (federally, it need not), or they assume an English-only box is fine for Quebec (it is not; see part three).

2. The dealer's name and address, and “imported by”

The dealer identity must be the company name and full mailing address — a post office box is not acceptable — in type at least 1.6 mm high.1 For imported goods, the Bureau accepts the Canadian dealer's details preceded by “Imported by / Importé par” or “Imported for / Importé pour”, or the foreign manufacturer's name and address.1

For a Canadian importer, the “Imported by” route is almost always the right one. It tells buyers and regulators who is responsible in Canada, it matches your commercial invoices, and it means a product recall or complaint reaches you rather than a factory in another time zone. Get the factory to print it on the carton artwork before production — adding it after arrival means stickering every unit.

3. Net quantity, metric units and type size

Net quantity uses metric units by type of product: millilitres or litres for liquids, grams or kilograms for solids, and millimetres, centimetres or metres for products sold by length.1 The numbers must be in bold type, with a minimum height that rises with the size of the principal display panel, from 1.6 mm on the smallest packages up to 12.7 mm on the largest.1

Where the contents are visible, identifiable and easily counted — a blister pack with two charging cables — a net quantity declaration is not needed.1 Most electronics fall into this category; most liquids and powders do not.

4. The exemptions, and why you probably will not use them

The regulations allow a few exemptions from the bilingual requirement:1 2

Test markets — a product being test-marketed can be labelled in one language for up to a year, if you notify the Bureau six weeks beforehand.
Specialty products — some imported goods with no Canadian equivalent, and some religious or seasonal items, can be labelled in one official language.
Local products — goods made and sold within certain adjacent local areas.

None of these is a practical route for a product you plan to sell nationally or on Amazon.ca, and none of them helps in Quebec. Budget for bilingual packaging from the first run.

Part two — product-specific layers

5. Textiles: fibre content and the CA number

Consumer textile articles — clothing, bedding, towels, soft bags, anything made wholly or partly of textile fibre — are covered by the Textile Labelling Act.3 The label must show:

The generic name and percentage of every fibre present at 5% or more of the total mass3
Plumage content, using the prescribed terms, for down- and feather-filled goods3
The dealer's name and postal address, or a CA identification number instead3 4

The information must be in English and French. For many articles the label must be permanent — able to survive at least ten cleanings — while others can use a hang tag.3 A CA number is useful for an importer: it identifies you on the label without printing your address on every garment.4

6. Cosmetics: bilingual cautions, INCI names, and the 10-day notification

Cosmetics have their own regulations under the Food and Drugs Act. On the label, the product identity and net quantity must appear in English and French on the principal display panel, as must directions and cautions — including the specific warnings for hair dyes, pressurised containers and flammable products.5

The ingredient list uses INCI names, which do not need to be repeated in both languages.5 And separately from the label, every manufacturer and importer must submit a Cosmetic Notification Form to Health Canada within 10 days of first selling each cosmetic in Canada.5 6 This is the step private-label beauty brands most often miss.

7. Electronics: certification labels are bilingual too

Radio devices and electrical equipment carry their own mandatory marks and statements — ISED certification numbers, the CAN ICES compliance statement, CSA or cUL marks — some of which must appear in both languages on the product, the manual or the packaging. They are covered line by line in our electronics compliance guide. When you approve artwork, check those alongside the three consumer-packaging declarations above; they are separate regimes and a factory that gets one right can easily miss the other.

Part three — quebec and bill 96

8. Quebec asks for French on everything

Quebec's Charter of the French Language goes further than the federal rule. For products sold in Quebec, every inscription on the product, its container and its wrapping — and on documents supplied with it, such as instructions and warranty certificates — must be in French. Other languages can appear too, but not more prominently than the French.7

In practice this is why national brands print fully bilingual packaging: it is the only way to ship one SKU to every province. If Quebec is part of your market — and for Amazon.ca and national retail it always is — treat the Quebec rule as the standard for the whole box.

9. June 1, 2025: what changed for trademarks

A trademark has long been allowed to appear on a product in another language without a French version. Bill 96 and its regulation narrowed that exception from June 1, 2025:

Registered only: Only trademarks registered in Canada qualify. The old allowance for unregistered, common-law marks is gone.7
Pending is not enough: A trademark application that is still pending does not qualify under the final rule.8
Generic words: Any generic or descriptive term inside a registered non-French trademark must also appear in French on the product or a medium permanently attached to it.7 8
Grace period: Products made before June 1, 2025 that meet the conditions may be sold until June 1, 2027. The transition applies only to the generic-term rule.7 8

So “ZVOLT Power Hub” can keep “ZVOLT” in English if it is a registered mark, but the generic “Power Hub” part now needs its French equivalent to appear on the packaging too. Brands with pending applications are filing early and following up with CIPO, because until registration the whole mark is treated like ordinary text.8

Part four — getting it right with a factory

10. An artwork workflow that avoids stickering

Every label problem is cheaper to fix on a dieline than on a pallet. The workflow we use:

Write the Canadian panel first. Product identity (EN/FR), net quantity (EN/FR, metric), “Imported by / Importé par” with your company name and address, and any certification marks and statements.
Translate with a Canadian French translator. European French and machine translation both produce terms Quebec consumers — and the Office québécois de la langue française — will notice.
Send the factory the full text, not a screenshot. Ask for a print-ready PDF proof back and check every character; Chinese typesetting software sometimes drops accents.
Put the label check on the inspection list. See our Alibaba guide for the pre-shipment inspection checklist.

Stickers are a legitimate way to add most mandatory information after arrival. But they are slow, they fall off, and Amazon does not treat stickers, labels, stamps or tags as permanent branding for Brand Registry.9 If you plan to sell under your own brand on Amazon, print the brand on the product or packaging.

The checklist

On every package

Product identity in English and French
Net quantity in English and French, metric, bold, correct minimum height
“Imported by / Importé par” with your company name and full street address (no PO box), at least 1.6 mm
Any ISED, CAN ICES, CSA or cUL marks and statements the product requires

For Quebec

French on every inscription, including instructions and warranty
French not less prominent than any other language
Trademark shown in English only if it is registered in Canada
Generic words inside the trademark also shown in French

Product-specific

Textiles: fibre content at 5% and above, dealer or CA number, permanent label where required
Cosmetics: bilingual identity, quantity and cautions; INCI ingredient list; Cosmetic Notification Form within 10 days of first sale

Before production

Canadian French translation, not machine or European French
Print-ready proof checked character by character
Label check on the pre-shipment inspection list

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Common questions

Does everything on a product label have to be in French in Canada?

Federally, no. The product identity and net quantity must be in English and French; the dealer name and address can be in either. But Quebec requires French on every inscription on products sold there, so products sold nationally are normally fully bilingual.

Can I use a sticker for the French label?

For most mandatory information, a sticker that stays on is acceptable. But it is slow and error-prone at volume, and Amazon does not accept stickers as permanent branding for Brand Registry. Printing on the packaging is the better route.

Does my trademark need to be translated into French for Quebec?

Not if it is registered in Canada. Since June 1, 2025, only registered trademarks qualify for the exception — a pending application does not — and any generic or descriptive words inside the trademark must also appear in French.

What is a CA number?

A CA identification number is issued by the Competition Bureau to Canadian dealers of textile products. It can be used on textile labels instead of the dealer name and postal address.

Do cosmetics need to be registered with Health Canada?

Not approved, but notified. Manufacturers and importers must file a Cosmetic Notification Form with Health Canada within 10 days of first selling each cosmetic in Canada, and the label must meet the cosmetic labelling rules.

Sources

Every figure and rule above comes from one of these. Where this article draws a conclusion the source does not state literally, or gives an estimate rather than a published number, it says so in the text.

Last reviewed September 27, 2026. Rules and rates change. If you find something here that has gone out of date, tell us and we will fix it. This guide is general information, not legal or customs advice.