How does Quebec's ban on advertising to children work?
Part of US and Canada targeting
The short answer
Quebec's Consumer Protection Act bans commercial advertising directed at children under 13, subject to exceptions in its regulation. The Office de la protection du consommateur judges each ad by three criteria taken together: who the product is for, whether the message is designed to attract children, and whether children are exposed to it. The ban covers web and mobile ads.
Key takeaways
- Section 248 of Quebec's Consumer Protection Act bans commercial advertising directed at persons under 13, and section 249 says the context of presentation decides.
- The OPC's guide applies three criteria together: the product's appeal to children, the design of the message, and the time and place children are reached.
- The regulation allows three narrow exceptions, a children's magazine, an ad announcing a children's show, and store windows or packaging, each with conditions such as no direct incitement to buy.
- The ban covers the people who request, design, publish or broadcast an ad, and current fines for a contravention start at $2,500 for a natural person and $5,000 in other cases.
Does Quebec ban advertising to children?
Yes. Section 248 of Quebec's Consumer Protection Act (opens in a new tab), enacted in 1978, says that subject to the regulations no person may make use of commercial advertising directed at persons under thirteen years of age. The Office de la protection du consommateur (opens in a new tab) (OPC) oversees compliance; its page on the topic was last updated July 30, 2026.
Definition
- Advertiser, under the Consumer Protection Act
- A person who prepares, publishes or broadcasts an advertisement, or who causes one to be prepared, published or broadcast. Section 252 defines to advertise as to prepare, utilize, distribute, publish or broadcast an advertisement, or cause it to be distributed, published or broadcast.
The OPC's guide, Advertising Directed at Children under 13 Years of Age (opens in a new tab), states that the ban applies to all merchants, both those who request the promotion of goods or services and those involved in the advertising process, including people who design, distribute, publish or broadcast the ad. The guide says its information was current on September 10, 2012; the statute sections it quotes are unchanged, but its fine amounts are not.
How does the OPC decide whether an ad is directed at children?
Section 249 tells the regulator to look at the context of the ad's presentation, in particular the nature and intended purpose of the goods, the manner of presenting the ad, and the time and place it is shown. Section 218 adds that the general impression a representation gives must be taken into account. The OPC guide turns these into three criteria and says that each one, considered separately, is not decisive.
| Criterion | Question the OPC asks | What the guide lists |
|---|---|---|
| A: the product | For whom are the goods or services intended, and do they appeal to children? | Essentially for children (toys, candy); greatly appealing without being only for children (amusement parks, game consoles); not particularly appealing (cleaning products, financial services) |
| B: the message | Is the message designed to attract children's attention? | Children's language; fantasy, magic, adventure or virtual worlds; child characters, childlike voices, heroes, animals or imaginary creatures; insistent parent and child situations; jingles; cartoons, 3D animation and special effects |
| C: the audience | Are children targeted by the ad or exposed to it, at that time and place? | The proportion of children in the audience; all media count, and the guide names a website section as a medium |
Does the Quebec rule apply to online ads?
Yes. The OPC guide says all formats and media are targeted when used to distribute or broadcast commercial advertising, and lists radio, television, the web, mobile phones, print, signage and promotional items. It adds that because interpretation keeps evolving, new formats that emerge from changes in advertising practice and technology are covered too. The guide's first worked example is an online game in which children play a cereal mascot, which it says would be prohibited.
For exposure, the guide's appendix shows how the OPC assesses a television audience: an ad for a product with strong appeal to children, in a program where over 15 percent of viewers are under 13, is prohibited if the message is designed to arouse children's interest. The guide adds that the threshold can be lower than 15 percent when an ad can reach a large number of children. It names no equivalent figure for websites, apps or video platforms.
| Form | What the guide says |
|---|---|
| Logos and mascots | Using a logo or mascot to represent goods, services or a company is an advertisement and is assessed with the three criteria |
| Sponsorships | A sponsor whose products appeal to children may, during a children's or family event, discreetly mention a name that does not draw children's attention, but not use a logo or mascot |
| Educational or lifestyle ads | Permitted under conditions: no identifiable product or brand, no commercial message, and no logo of a commercial sponsor whose products appeal to children |
Which exceptions does the regulation allow?
The Regulation respecting the application of the Consumer Protection Act (opens in a new tab) defines a child as a person under 13 in section 87 and sets out three exemptions in sections 88 to 90. Each exempted ad must also meet the conditions in section 91.
The three exemptions, in the regulation's order
- Children's magazines. Section 88 exempts an ad in a magazine or insert directed at children, if it is for sale or inserted in a publication for sale and published at intervals of not more than three months.
- Announcing a children's show. Section 89 exempts an ad whose purpose is to announce a program or show directed at children.
- Store windows, displays, containers, wrappings and labels. Section 90 exempts an ad that is, or appears on, one of these, with a shorter list of section 91 conditions.
Selected section 91 conditions: an exempted ad directed at children may not
- Exaggerate the nature, characteristics, performance or duration of goods or services.
- Use a superlative to describe the goods or a diminutive to indicate their cost.
- Directly incite a child to buy, or to urge another person to buy, or to seek information about them.
- Use an animated cartoon process, except to advertise a cartoon show directed at children.
- Suggest that owning the product gives a child a physical, social or psychological advantage over other children of the same age.
How is the Quebec rule different from COPPA?
The two rules protect the same age group and regulate different things. The FTC's COPPA Rule page (opens in a new tab) says COPPA imposes requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13, and on operators with actual knowledge that they collect personal information online from a child under 13. Quebec's section 248 regulates the advertisement itself, whatever data is or is not used. The COPPA programmatic advertising page covers the US rule in buying terms.
| Point | Quebec Consumer Protection Act | US COPPA Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Age | Under 13 | Under 13 |
| What is regulated | Commercial advertising directed at children | Collection, use and disclosure of children's personal information by covered operators |
| Test | Context of presentation: product, message, time and place | Whether a service is directed to children, or actual knowledge of collecting from a child |
| Who is covered | Anyone who requests, prepares, publishes or broadcasts the ad | Operators of covered websites and online services |
| Regulator | Office de la protection du consommateur | Federal Trade Commission |
Under the current text of section 278, contravening section 248 makes a person liable to a minimum fine of $2,500 for a natural person and $5,000 in any other case, and to a maximum of $62,500 and $125,000, or 5 percent of worldwide turnover for the preceding fiscal year, whichever is greater. The 2012 OPC guide lists lower amounts that predate later amendments.
What should a plan avoid for campaigns seen in Quebec?
For family products all three criteria can be in play, so the plan record says how each criterion was handled. The fictional example below shows that record; it is a description of planning choices, not a ruling on any ad.
Fictional example. Unnamed brand, no results implied.
An Atlanta chess learning app plans a Quebec flight aimed at parents
An unnamed chess learning app based in Atlanta, Georgia, offers lessons that families buy for children aged 7 to 12. It wants display and video ads in Quebec. The product appeals to children, so the planner treats criterion A as present and builds the plan around criteria B and C.
The creative speaks to parents in French, with adult presenters and plain product screens, and drops the app's animated knight mascot for Quebec. Placements come from parenting, education and family finance publishers written for adults. Children's game sites, homework help sections aimed at pupils and kids' video channels are left off the list, and each exclusion is recorded with the criterion it addresses.
- Record the product's appeal to children under criterion A.
- Review creative for the guide's criterion B elements, including mascots and animation.
- List each publisher's intended audience, including site sections aimed at children.
- Keep French creative ready for Quebec under the Charter of the French Language.
Language rules apply to the same ads; the Bill 96 advertising page covers what the Charter of the French Language requires of commercial advertising in Quebec.
How can a planner see which sites are written for adults?
Criterion C depends on where an ad appears. PlacementGraph builds a site list from what each site's pages are about, and shows each result's best-matching pages.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Quebec ban stop ads for children's products aimed at parents?
The OPC guide's chart allows an ad for a product with strong appeal to children if the message is not designed to arouse children's interest and it is not shown where or when children in particular are normally reached. For products essentially intended for children, the time and place still matter.
Can a brand sponsor a children's event in Quebec?
The OPC guide says a sponsor whose products appeal to children may, during the event, discreetly mention a name that does not draw children's attention, such as a line saying the event is sponsored by the company. Showing the sponsor's logo or mascot, or a video praising its product, would be prohibited.
Does the Quebec rule apply to teenagers?
Section 248 and section 87 of the regulation set the line at under 13. Advertising to teenagers 13 and over in Quebec is governed by the Act's other rules on advertising, such as its prohibited practices, not by the children's ban.
What can the OPC do when it finds a breach?
The 2012 OPC guide lists three responses: a notice reminding the advertiser of the rules, a negotiated voluntary undertaking to change practices, and penal proceedings. Section 283 makes anyone who aids, advises or incites an offence guilty of it, and section 282 lists factors such as the offender's size for setting the fine.
Sources
- Consumer Protection Act, chapter P-40.1 (opens in a new tab)LegisQuébec, Government of Québec
- Regulation respecting the application of the Consumer Protection Act, chapter P-40.1, r. 3 (opens in a new tab)LegisQuébec, Government of Québec
- Advertising Directed at Children (opens in a new tab)Office de la protection du consommateur
- Advertising Directed at Children under 13 Years of Age: Guide to the Application of Sections 248 and 249 (opens in a new tab)Office de la protection du consommateur, 2012
- Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) (opens in a new tab)Federal Trade Commission
Researched and written by PlacementGraph Research. Read how we research, source and update these pages. Corrections: diana@placementgraph.com.