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In Canada, any workplace where hazardous products are present must have a WHMIS program.
If your employees work with controlled products, chemicals, cleaning agents, fuels, or industrial materials, they must understand how to identify hazards and follow proper handling procedures.
SET Safety offers online WHMIS certification and GHS training for both individuals and organizations across Canada. Our courses are self-paced and issue instant certificates upon successful completion, making compliance simple for workers and employers.
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What Is WHMIS Training and Who Requires It?
WHMIS stands for the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System. It is Canada’s national hazard communication standard that ensures workers understand the risks associated with workplace hazardous materials.
- Handle hazardous products
- Store or transport hazardous materials
- Work near controlled substances
- Supervise workers exposed to hazardous products
Failure to comply with Canadian WHMIS requirements can result in fines, stop-work orders, or increased liability following an incident.
WHMIS training Canada requirements apply nationwide.
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WHMIS 2015 and GHS Alignment
Canada updated its system to WHMIS 2015 training, aligning with the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for classification and labeling of chemicals.
WHMIS 2015 introduced standardized hazard classification training categories, updated WHMIS symbols and pictograms, a consistent 16-section Safety Data Sheets (SDS) format, as well as new labeling requirements.
WHMIS vs GHS Training
While WHMIS remains the Canadian framework, GHS refers to the globally harmonized structure behind it. Thus, WHMIS 2015 incorporates GHS standards into federal and provincial legislation.
For employers, this means ensuring workers understand both WHMIS terminology and GHS labeling systems. This applies across industries, including construction, manufacturing, healthcare, warehousing, oil and gas, education, and retail.
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SET Safety’s WHMIS Training Options
We provide flexible WHMIS courses online depending on workplace needs:
WHMIS Awareness
For general workers who require foundational knowledge of:
- WHMIS symbols and pictograms
- Hazard classes
- Safety Data Sheets (SDS)
- Basic safe handling procedures
Full WHMIS Certification
More comprehensive WMIS training covering:
- Detailed hazard classification
- Labeling systems
- Worker rights and responsibilities
- Emergency response and spill procedures
- Canadian compliance expectations
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Certificate Validity and Expiry
WHMIS legislation does not set a strict national expiry period. However, industry best practice recommends refresher WHMIS training for employees every one to three years. Or, when new hazardous products are introduced, job roles change, or regulations are updated.
Training for Your Whole Team
WHMIS is one of the most common onboarding requirements across Canadian industries. As such, SET Safety’s Learning Management System (LMS) supports multi-seat enrollment for corporate accounts.
For companies hiring at scale, this is an ideal way to track your workers’ training progress and ensure compliance. Contact us today to get started.
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SET Safety is proudly Trusted by
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The SET Safety LMS is comprehensive and versatile. Their level of customer service and support has been impressive. They are very responsive to all our questions and requests, including requests to customize features (for example, they helped us create a custom online new hire form that helped streamline our onboarding). There are also many features that have helped us improve our processes... we now build courses in-house and host them in this system; we assign and track course completions through the training matrix; we can assign access to training reports for management to better support their teams; and the list goes on. Thanks, SET Safety!
Ainsley F.
HR Coordinator
Wonderful company & top notch software! SET Safety's software has enabled my company to transition our on-boarding and orientation processes to being entirely online. It was low-stress, cost effective, and most of all user friendly. With any new software there is a slight learning curve but this was a non-issue thanks to their fantastic technical support. My overall experience with SET Safety has been overwhelmingly positive.
Marc G.
The SET Safety LMS is comprehensive and versatile. Their level of customer service and support has been impressive. They are very responsive to all our questions and requests, including requests to customize features (for example, they helped us create a custom online new hire form that helped streamline our onboarding). There are also many features that have helped us improve our processes... we now build courses in-house and host them in this system; we assign and track course completions through the training matrix; we can assign access to training reports for management to better support their teams; and the list goes on. Thanks, SET Safety!
Shauna S.
Learning and Development Manager
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FAQs
Yes. Online WHMIS training is widely accepted across Canada when it meets regulatory education requirements. As Canada’s largest online safety training provider, SET Safety supports national compliance needs across industries while aligning with current regulatory requirements.
WHMIS is Canada’s national system. GHS is the global framework that aligns with WHMIS 2015.
There is no fixed federal expiry, but refresher intervals are recommended every one to three years.
Safety Data Sheets provide detailed information about hazardous products, including handling, storage, and emergency measures. SET Safety’s WHMIS training covers SDS and symbol reading, among others.