On October 13, 2026, Health Canada published Natural Health Product Licensing Bulletin No. 13, introducing an interim compliance approach for labelling changes resulting from updates to its Compendium of Monographs.

NHP licence holders may defer monograph-related labelling updates until the end of a regulatory transition period, which has yet to be established.

The announcement follows Health Canada's commitment to revisit the NHP labelling requirements introduced in 2022 to provide greater flexibility and reduce regulatory burden.

Key points

  • Labelling changes resulting from monograph updates may be deferred until the new transition period ends.
  • The flexibility does not apply to safety-related labelling changes required by Health Canada. Deadlines specified by Health Canada for those changes continue to apply.
  • Proposed amendments to the NHP labelling framework are expected to be published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, in spring 2027. Health Canada has indicated that the proposed transition period will extend beyond June 2028.
  • Licence holders may still implement applicable monograph updates earlier where practicable.

What does this mean for the industry?

The announcement provides welcome flexibility, particularly for NHP licence holders managing large product portfolios that would otherwise require extensive label revisions following monograph updates.

Companies should continue to monitor Health Canada communications to identify safety-related changes that remain subject to mandatory implementation timelines and determine which other labelling updates can be deferred.

The forthcoming regulatory amendments should provide further clarity on the revised requirements and implementation timelines. For additional information, see Health Canada's Natural Health Product Licensing Bulletin No. 13 or contact the authors.