WHMIS 2025 Updates for Employers

What Changed with WHMIS in 2025?

In 2025, Canada updated the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) to align with the seventh revised edition (Rev. 7) of the United Nations' Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). These changes, enacted through amendments to the Hazardous Products Act (HPA) and the Hazardous Products Regulations (HPR), introduce new hazard classes, modify existing classification criteria, update safety data sheet (SDS) requirements and refine supplier label elements. Canadian employers who handle, store, or use hazardous products in the workplace must understand these regulatory shifts and update their compliance programs before the transition deadlines take effect in 2026. [Source: Health Canada WHMIS page]

Background: Why WHMIS Is Changing Again

WHMIS has been Canada's national hazard communication standard since 1988. It was overhauled in 2015 to align with GHS, replacing the old classification system with pictograms, standardized hazard statements, and the 16-section SDS format that most safety professionals know today. However, the GHS is a living framework - the United Nations issues revised editions every two years. Canada's 2025 amendments bring the HPR into alignment with the most recent revisions, closing gaps in hazard classification and improving consistency with international trading partners.

This matters for employers because compliance is not optional. Federal, provincial and territorial occupational health and safety (OHS) legislation all reference WHMIS. When the federal regulations change, provincial adoption follows - and your workplace obligations shift accordingly.

Key Changes in the WHMIS 2025 Updates

1. New and Revised Hazard Classes

The most significant change is the introduction of new hazard classes and the revision of existing classification criteria. These include:

• Chemicals under pressure: A new physical hazard class for gases dissolved or liquefied under pressure that do not meet the criteria for compressed gases.
• Desensitized explosives: A new physical hazard class covering explosive substances that have been phlegmatized (desensitized) to suppress their explosive properties during transport and handling.
• Revised flammable gas criteria: Updated sub-categories, including the addition of chemically unstable gases and pyrophoric gases as distinct sub-categories within the flammable gases class.
• Revised aerosol classification: Aerosols may now be reclassified under refined criteria that better reflect their flammability and pressure hazards.

These additions mean that products previously unclassified - or classified under a less specific category - may now require new supplier labels and updated SDS documents. [Source: Health Canada WHMIS page]

2. Updated Safety Data Sheet (SDS) Requirements

The 16-section SDS format remains the standard, but the 2025 amendments introduce refinements to the information required within specific sections. Employers should expect to see changes in:

• Section 2 (Hazard Identification): New hazard classes must be reflected with appropriate signal words, pictograms and hazard statements.
• Section 9 (Physical and Chemical Properties): Additional data points may be required to support the new hazard classifications.
• Section 11 (Toxicological Information): Refined criteria for reporting health hazard data.

Suppliers and manufacturers are responsible for generating compliant SDSs, but employers are responsible for ensuring the SDSs in their workplace are current and accessible. If you are still managing SDS binders on paper, this regulatory shift is a strong signal to move to a digital system. Make Safety Easy's document management platform allows you to store, organize and instantly retrieve SDSs across all your job sites - a critical advantage when regulatory updates require rapid turnover of outdated documents.

3. Label Updates and Pictogram Changes

With new hazard classes come new labelling requirements. The 2025 updates affect both supplier labels (applied by manufacturers and importers) and workplace labels (applied by employers). Key labelling changes include:

Employers must ensure that any product transferred to a secondary container has a compliant workplace label that reflects the current classification. Outdated labels are not just a compliance gap - they are a safety hazard.

Employer Obligations Under the Updated WHMIS Framework

Whether you operate under federal jurisdiction or provincial OHS legislation, your core WHMIS obligations remain structured around three pillars: labels, safety data sheets, and worker education and training. The 2025 updates reinforce and expand these duties.

Transition Timelines and Compliance Deadlines

Health Canada has established transition periods to allow suppliers and employers to adopt the new requirements. The general structure includes:

1. Supplier compliance deadline: Manufacturers, importers and distributors must provide products with updated SDSs and labels that comply with the amended HPR by the specified deadline (expected to be phased through 2025-2026).
2. Employer compliance deadline: Employers must ensure all workplace labels, SDS inventories and training programs reflect the updated requirements. Provincial regulators will set their own adoption timelines, but most are expected to align closely with the federal schedule.
3. Sell-through provisions: Products already in the supply chain with compliant pre-amendment labels may be sold through for a limited period, but employers should not rely on this grace period as a substitute for updating their programs.

Specific dates vary by province and territory. Employers should consult their provincial OHS regulator and the Health Canada WHMIS page for the most current deadlines.

Worker Training Requirements

Training is not a one-time event. Under WHMIS, employers must provide education (general WHMIS concepts) and site-specific training (hazards and procedures relevant to the actual workplace). The 2025 updates trigger a retraining obligation because:

• Workers must understand the new hazard classes and what the associated pictograms and hazard statements mean.
• Any changes to SDSs or labels for products already in use require updated training so workers can identify and respond to hazards correctly.
• Provincial OHS regulations typically require retraining whenever there is a change in hazard information - the 2025 amendments clearly qualify.

Delivering this training does not have to be burdensome. Short, focused sessions - often called toolbox talks - are one of the most effective ways to communicate regulatory updates to frontline workers without pulling them off the job for full-day classroom sessions. Digital toolbox talk platforms let you assign, deliver and document these sessions with a complete audit trail.

SDS Management: The Compliance Backbone

Your SDS inventory is the backbone of WHMIS compliance and the 2025 updates make proactive SDS management more important than ever. Here is what employers need to do:

1. Audit your current SDS inventory. Identify every hazardous product on site and confirm you have a current SDS (not older than three years from the supplier's issue date).
2. Request updated SDSs from suppliers. Contact manufacturers and distributors to obtain SDSs that reflect the amended HPR classifications.
3. Make SDSs readily accessible. Workers must be able to access SDSs during their shift. Paper binders in a locked office do not meet this standard. Digital safety management platforms outperform paper systems in accessibility, version control and auditability.
4. Document everything. Maintain records of when SDSs were received, updated and distributed. This documentation is your first line of defence in a compliance audit or workplace incident investigation.

Provincial Adoption: What to Watch For

WHMIS is a national system, but occupational health and safety is provincially regulated for most workplaces. This means each province and territory must adopt the federal HPR amendments into their own OHS legislation. Historically, provincial adoption has been relatively swift, but timelines can vary. Employers operating across multiple provinces should:

• Monitor announcements from their provincial OHS regulator (e.g., Ontario's MOL, Alberta OHS, WorkSafeBC).
• Plan compliance activities based on the earliest applicable deadline rather than waiting for the last jurisdiction to adopt.
• Use a centralized compliance platform to ensure consistency across all operating locations.

How to Prepare: Your WHMIS 2025 Compliance Checklist

Use this action plan to stay ahead of the transition deadlines:

1. Conduct a hazardous product inventory - Identify all WHMIS-controlled products on every job site.
2. Review and update SDSs - Contact suppliers for amended SDSs and replace outdated versions in your system.
3. Audit workplace labels - Confirm that all secondary containers and workplace labels reflect current hazard information, pictograms and signal words.
4. Deliver updated worker training - Provide education on the new hazard classes and site-specific training on any changes to products in use.
5. Document your compliance activities - Record training dates, SDS updates and label audits to create a defensible compliance trail.
6. Adopt digital tools - Replace paper-based systems with a platform designed for real-time SDS management, training delivery and audit documentation.

Stay Ahead of WHMIS 2025 - Don't Wait for an Audit

Regulatory transitions are the most common trigger for compliance gaps. The employers who get caught are the ones who assume they have more time. The WHMIS 2025 updates are not cosmetic - they introduce new hazard classes, new labelling requirements and new training obligations that affect every Canadian workplace handling hazardous products.

Make Safety Easy gives you a single platform to manage your SDSs, deliver WHMIS training through toolbox talks, organize compliance documents with digital document management, and prove your due diligence when it matters most.

Book a demo today and see how Canadian employers are using Make Safety Easy to turn regulatory updates into a competitive advantage - not a compliance headache.