First aid in Canada
Everything First Aid Angel offers for Canada: free first aid guides, online courses, in-person training providers, first aid kits and the local emergency number.
Emergency number in Canada: 911
First aid in Canada: what to know
Our guides follow the Australian (ANZCOR) guidelines. CPR is the same everywhere — 30 compressions to 2 breaths at 100–120 per minute, and use a defibrillator as soon as one arrives — but training in Canada differs in a few places worth knowing.
- Guidelines
- Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada and Canadian Red Cross — AHA guidelines; the steps match ours except where noted here.
- Choking
- For a conscious adult who cannot cough, breathe or speak: abdominal thrusts (the Heimlich manoeuvre) until the blockage clears; some training bodies teach cycles of 5 back blows and 5 abdominal thrusts. Our guides describe the Australian method (back blows and chest thrusts).
- Defibrillators
- Several provinces and cities run AED registries and the PulsePoint app.
- Helping is protected
- Each province and territory has Good Samaritan protection for people who help voluntarily in an emergency.
Training in Canada
In-person first aid courses from education providers listed in our directory.
Online courses
Learn at your own pace and finish with a certificate of completion.
First aid kits
Kits available for North America.
Local emergency details
Emergency numbers, languages and crisis lines for Canada.
Learn, train and prepare in Canada
Free guides to read now, local training, online courses, and the kit to have ready.
Free first aid guides
First Aid Angel never replaces emergency services. In an emergency call 911 or your local emergency number first.