Advertising oversight mechanism
Reference documents
Advertising Management Information System (AdMIS) (accessible only on the Government of Canada network)
Roles and responsibilities: Non-partisan review process for government advertising
Advertising campaigns with budgets over $250,000 must undergo an external review. Departments may choose to submit campaigns with smaller budgets for review.
On this page
Non-partisan review process
Ads are reviewed against the advertising review criteria by Ad Standards, the not-for-profit organization that administers the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards.
Departments are responsible for ensuring that ads are reviewed internally before submitting them to Ad Standards.
In this section
Review process
Departments must submit a draft version of their ads—whether in English or French—to Ad Standards before investing in further creative development. Drafts may include scripts, storyboards, audio-visual concepts, or initial layouts.
Ad Standards will assess ads against the advertising review criteria. The review process includes:
- Criterion 1: Ad Standards will provide recommendations to clarify language, validate facts, and ensure statistical accuracy. These recommendations are non-binding, reflecting departments’ role as subject-matter experts and existing policy requirements for all communications products and activities to be accurate and objective. Departments may choose to accept or reject recommendations and are required to attest to the factual accuracy of advertising content in the Advertising Management Information System (AdMIS). Responses to recommendations must also be documented in AdMIS.
- Criteria 2 to 5: Ad Standards will ensure ads align with criteria 2 to 5. Departments are required to revise their ad creatives to address all issues identified before going to market. Ad Standards will conduct final review to confirm that the English and French versions of the ads fully comply with criteria 2 to 5.
Details of the review—including flagged issues and departmental actions—are published on the Advertising Review Results web page to ensure transparency and accountability.
Additionally, departments must comply with all requirements outlined in the Policy on Communications and Federal Identity and the Directive on the Management of Communications and Federal Identity. This includes ensuring that no advertising is conducted for initiatives requiring parliamentary approval or trade deals requiring ratification until such approval has been received.
Ads with significant production costs or time
Ads that include filming, hired talent, studio time, focus testing, etc., need to be submitted in English or French for an initial review before incurring:
- additional production costs to correct problems identified in the review
- unforeseen delays in planning, production, publishing or broadcasting
- avoidable costs, such as cancellation penalties from media outlets or paying for unused advertising space or time, etc.
Ads with low production costs and presented in their final form
Departments may request an expedited review by submitting both the English and French ads simultaneously, along with the head of communications’ attestation in AdMIS confirming that the ad creative will remain unchanged. This allows the ads to automatically advance from the initial to the final review stage.
Requesting a review
To initiate a review, departments upload their ad creatives in AdMIS.
Public complaints about partisanship in advertising
Submit a complaint about Government of Canada advertising that you feel is partisan.
Find information on past complaints and the review committee’s findings.
General questions or comments about government advertising that are not related to partisanship can be submitted to Public Services and Procurement Canada.