Published on September 26, 2025
Thinking about expanding sales into Québec? It’s a fantastic market, but it comes with one of the strictest packaging regimes in North America. To succeed, you’ll need to navigate not just federal Canadian food labeling law, but also Québec’s unique French-language requirements, which were tightened under Bill 96.
These new rules, some of which kicked in June 1, 2025, with grace periods lasting until 2027, are reshaping how trademarks, packaging, and signage must look on products sold in Québec. Here’s a practical, expanded guide that blends federal law with Québec’s latest reforms so you can prepare with confidence.
Two Rulebooks Apply: Federal Food Law + Québec’s French Language Law
Selling in Québec isn’t just about following Canadian food law—it’s also about respecting Québec’s cultural and linguistic identity.
- Federal rules (enforced by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada) set the baseline for all packaged food sold in Canada. These are bilingual by default.
- Québec’s Charter of the French Language adds a further layer, making French markedly predominant in packaging, trademarks, and signage.
If you’re coming from the U.S., where FDA labels are primarily English, this can feel like double compliance. But think of it as a two-step test: pass Canada-wide rules first, then adapt for Québec.
Federal Language Requirements Every Label Must Meet
At the Canada-wide level, you’ll need to ensure the following information is presented in both English and French:
1. Common name of the food.
2. Net quantity in metric units (grams, millilitres, litres) on the main display panel. U.S. customary units may appear too, but always after metric.
3. Name and principal place of business – manufacturer, packer, or distributor.
4. Ingredient list and allergens – descending order by weight, plus mandatory gluten/sulphite/allergen declarations.
5. Nutrition Facts Table – the Canadian version (not the U.S. FDA panel) and in bilingual format.
6. Date markings and storage instructions – for products with a shelf life of 90 days or less.
Québec-Specific Rules: French Prominence and Bill 96 Trademark Reforms
Québec’s additions are where many brands stumble. Here’s what Bill 96 changes:
French visibility and predominance
All consumer-facing text on a product label must be in French. Other languages can appear, but French cannot be less visible, less legible, or less permanent. However, on signage visible by the public, French must be “markedly predominant,” meaning at least twice the size/area of other languages and equally legible in the same visual field.
Digital content too
If your label includes QR codes or URLs that lead to consumer information, the online content must also be available in French. Digital doesn’t escape the language rules.
Trademark exception narrowed
Until 2025, companies often relied on the “recognized trademark” exception to avoid translating their brands. Bill 96 keeps the exception, but with major limitations:
- If your trademark includes generic or descriptive terms (e.g., “Sunny Crunch Granola”), those words must also appear in French.
- The name of the enterprise (your company name) and the name of the product as marketed are exceptions and can remain English-only if no French version of the trademark is registered in Canada.
- Unregistered but “recognized” trademarks are still allowed on packaging and signage, but only under these tightened conditions.
For visual examples of packaging and signage requirements, see the website of the Office québécois de la langue française (“OQLF”), the organization responsible for enforcing these laws.
Grace Periods: Not Everything Changes Overnight
To ease the transition, Québec created two grace periods:
- Products manufactured before June 1, 2025 – These can remain in circulation until June 1, 2027 if no French version of the trademark was registered before February 2024.
- Products manufactured between June 1 and December 31, 2025 – Certain products falling under federal labeling regulation updates also get until June 1, 2027, to comply.
Enforcement and Penalties
Québec’s Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) enforces these rules, and it has teeth:
- Injunctions can force you to pull or relabel non-compliant products.
- Fines range from $700–$7,000 for individuals and $3,000–$30,000 for businesses.
- Repeat offenders pay double for a second offence and triple for subsequent offences.
- Each day a violation continues counts as a new offence.
Label Updates Most U.S. Brands Will Need
Here’s where most U.S. exporters must adapt:
- Bilingualize all marketing copy, claims, and instructions.
- Switch to metric-first net quantity (with optional imperial).
- If it’s a US product, replace the FDA Nutrition Facts panel with the Canadian bilingual NFt.
- Update allergen and ingredient lists using Canadian terminology.
- Ensure French is at least as prominent as English across the packaging.
- Audit your trademarks: translate any generic or descriptive elements.
- Add date marking compliance for short shelf-life products.
- Don’t forget digital content linked from packaging.
Compliance Checklist (September 2025)
[ ] Common name (EN/FR)
[ ] Net quantity in metric-first
[ ] Ingredient list (EN/FR)
[ ] Allergen/gluten/sulphites declaration (EN/FR)
[ ] Canadian NFt in bilingual format
[ ] Dealer name & Canadian address (if imported)
[ ] Date mark & storage (if applicable)
[ ] French text as visible as or more than other languages
[ ] Trademark descriptive elements translated into French
[ ] External signage: French at least 2x the area of English
U.S. vs. Québec-Ready Label: A Side-by-Side Snapshot
| U.S. Label | Québec-Ready Label |
| Imperial units only (oz, fl oz) | Metric-first (g, mL, L) |
| FDA Nutrition Facts panel | Canadian bilingual NFt |
| English-only product name & claims | English + French everywhere |
| Brand-only trademarks | Generic/descriptive elements translated into French |
| U.S.-style allergen statement | Bilingual allergen & gluten declarations |
| No French prominence rules | French must be at least as visible—twice as large on exterior signage |
Bottom Line
With Bill 96’s 2025 reforms, Québec is signaling that French must not only be present but dominant in the consumer experience. This means going beyond basic bilingualism:
Translate thoroughly.
Rebuild packaging to put French first.
Audit trademarks carefully.
Plan for compliance to avoid scrambling during the grace period.
The opportunities in Québec are real, but so are the penalties. Treat compliance not as a hurdle, but as a chance to show cultural respect and win consumer trust. Done right, a compliant Québec label isn’t just legal. It’s a competitive advantage.