Healthcare advertising rules in Canada: testimonials, claims and before and after photos

Health care advertising in Canada is regulated in layers. Each regulated health profession has a college with its own advertising rules. Health Canada controls how drugs and health products are advertised. The Competition Act prohibits misleading marketing for every business, and privacy laws govern patient information and photos. On top of that, Google and Meta have their own healthcare ad policies. This guide pulls the layers together for clinic owners and marketers, with Ontario as the main example. Check your own college’s current standard.

The layers that apply to clinic marketing

What most college rules have in common

Ontario’s health professions are regulated by different colleges, and some colleges oversee more than one profession. Advertising requirements must be checked for the practitioner and service involved. They differ in detail but share these themes:

• Truthful, accurate and verifiable: every claim must be supportable.
• No guarantees: you cannot promise outcomes.
• Superiority claims: check the exact college rule before using “best”, “number one” or “leading”. Some colleges prohibit superiority comparisons even where a practice believes it has supporting evidence.
• Protected titles: “specialist” and similar titles are restricted to those authorized.
• No disparaging comparisons with other providers.
• Careful offers: free services, discounts and bundles are often restricted or must be clearly disclosed.

For example, the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario’s Advertising and Marketing Standard, in force since May 1, 2025, requires advertising to be truthful, accurate and verifiable, limits superiority claims and specialist titles, requires bundled services to be disclosed and limits free offers.

Testimonials and reviews

This is where rules differ most. Some colleges prohibit testimonials outright. The College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario, for example, prohibits testimonials in advertising and says registrants must not solicit or influence client reviews. Other colleges allow limited use with conditions. Before you ask any patient for a review or put a quote on your site:

1. Read your college’s current advertising standard.
2. Never write, buy or reward reviews. The Competition Bureau treats fake reviews as deceptive marketing.
3. Reply to public reviews without confirming that the reviewer is a patient or revealing anything about their care.

Before and after photos

Before and after photos are common in dental, cosmetic and med spa marketing, and they carry several risks:

• Many colleges restrict them or require them to be typical and unaltered.
• For prescription drugs such as Botox, before and after pictures that promote therapeutic use or benefits are prohibited in consumer advertising. Dermal fillers are regulated as medical devices, with separate product-specific advertising requirements.
• Obtain appropriate patient consent and meet the profession’s image-use requirements before publication. Ontario dentists must obtain advance consent and reconfirm it in writing after the patient sees and approves the images, even when the images do not identify the patient. Consent does not override advertising restrictions.

See med spa advertising rules in Canada for the cosmetic side.

Prescription drugs and health products

Health Canada allows prescription drugs to be advertised to the public only by name, price and quantity, with no claims about what they treat. Natural health products and medical devices have their own labelling and advertising rules. If your clinic sells or administers products, check claims at the product level, not just the service level.

Prices, fees and offers

• Publish prices accurately and include anything the patient must pay.
• If you advertise packages, state what is included and whether services are available individually.
• Check your college’s position before offering free consultations, discounts or referral rewards.

Privacy in marketing

• Do not use patient names, photos, stories or case details without explicit written consent, and consider whether consent can be truly voluntary in a care relationship.
• Use secure forms and booking for health information.
• Do not build advertising audiences from patient health information. For promotion within Google’s sensitive health categories, advertiser-curated audiences such as Customer Match and website remarketing are restricted; assess permitted search and other targeting options separately.
• Send marketing emails and texts only with CASL compliant consent, separate from appointment reminders.

Google and Meta policies

Google restricts ads for prescription drugs, some health services and unproven treatments, and limits targeting based on sensitive health information. Meta restricts detailed targeting based on health topics. Ads that comply with your college can still be disapproved by the platform, so write ad copy that advertises services and booking, not outcomes. For dental practices, our page on dental advertising in Toronto shows how search campaigns are built within these limits.

A compliance checklist for clinic marketing

1. Is every claim accurate and supportable?
2. Have you avoided guarantees and superiority claims?
3. Are titles used exactly as your college allows?
4. Have you checked your college’s rules on testimonials and reviews?
5. Do photos have written consent and meet college and Health Canada rules?
6. Are prices and offers complete and allowed?
7. Are forms, booking and messages privacy compliant?

We build healthcare marketing around these rules. See our healthcare marketing, dental marketing and med spa marketing services, or read the clinic marketing guide.

Frequently asked questions

Which rules govern healthcare advertising in Canada?

Several layers apply at once. Each regulated health profession's college sets advertising rules under provincial law, Health Canada controls how drugs and health products are promoted, and the Competition Act bans misleading claims, fake reviews and hidden fees. Provincial health privacy laws like PHIPA in Ontario, CASL for emails and texts, and Google and Meta ad policies sit on top, so check your own college's current standard.

How do medical device and natural health product rules affect clinic advertising?

Natural health products and medical devices each have their own labelling and advertising rules from Health Canada. Dermal fillers, for example, are regulated as medical devices with product-specific requirements. If your clinic sells or administers products, check every claim at the product level as well as the service level.

Can a clinic advertise the prescription drugs it administers?

Only within tight limits. Public ads for a prescription drug may give only its name, price and quantity under Health Canada rules, with nothing about what it treats. Promote the service, the practitioner and how to book, and leave treatment benefits for the appointment itself.

Can a clinic use patient testimonials in its healthcare advertising?

It depends on the college, and this is where the rules differ most. Ontario's psychotherapy college, for example, prohibits testimonials in advertising and says registrants must not solicit or influence client reviews, while other colleges allow limited use with conditions. Never write, buy or reward reviews, and reply to public ones without confirming the person is a patient.

Are before and after photos allowed in healthcare advertising?

Many colleges restrict them or require them to be typical and unaltered, and before and after pictures that promote prescription drug benefits, such as Botox results, are prohibited in consumer ads. Ontario dentists must get advance consent and reconfirm it in writing after the patient sees and approves the images. Consent never overrides an advertising restriction.

What does healthcare advertising have to prove before it is published?

Every claim must be truthful, accurate and verifiable, which is the common thread across Ontario's health colleges. Outcomes cannot be promised, titles such as specialist are reserved for those authorized, and superiority words need a check against the exact college rule. Disparaging comparisons with other providers are also off limits.

What do Google and Meta allow in healthcare online advertising?

Google restricts ads for prescription drugs, some health services and unproven treatments, and limits targeting based on sensitive health information. Meta restricts detailed targeting based on health topics. An ad that meets your college's rules can still be disapproved, so write copy about services and booking rather than outcomes.

How should a clinic protect patient privacy in digital health advertising?

Use patient names, photos, stories or case details only with explicit written consent, and ask whether that consent is truly voluntary in a care relationship. Never build ad audiences from patient health information; Customer Match and website remarketing are restricted for Google's sensitive health categories. Promotional emails and texts need their own CASL consent, kept apart from appointment reminders.

Can a clinic advertise free consultations or discounted packages?

Check your college's position first, because free services, discounts, bundles and referral rewards are often restricted. The College of Physiotherapists of Ontario's standard, for example, limits free offers and requires bundled services to be disclosed. Publish prices accurately, include anything the patient must pay and say whether packaged services are available on their own.