Testimonials, reviews and influencer posts in Canada: a founder's checklist
The direct answer
In Canada, testimonials must reflect the genuine, reasonably current opinion of the person giving them, based on real experience of the product, under clause 7 of the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards. Any material connection between a brand and the person promoting it, such as payment, free products or employment, must be disclosed. Ad Standards' Influencer Marketing Disclosure Guidelines, updated in Fall 2025, call #ad used on its own the gold standard, accept tags such as #sponsored, #gifted and #BrandPartner, treat #spon, #collab and #PR as unclear, and ask for the disclosure at the start of a post and, for video, inside the video itself. The Competition Bureau describes employees posting reviews, incentivised reviews and paid fake reviews as astroturfing, and expects material connections disclosed in each post.
Five conclusions
The argument, compressed.
- Testimonials must be genuine, reasonably current and based on real experience.
- Disclose every material connection: payment, free product, employment, family.
- #ad on its own is the gold standard; #spon, #collab and #PR are unclear.
- Put the disclosure at the start of the post, and inside videos, beyond the caption alone.
- Staff reviews, incentivised reviews and bought reviews count as astroturfing.
Working framework · 4 decisions
The endorsement checklist
Four checks before a brand asks a customer, employee or creator to talk about it publicly.
Decision 01 / 04
Genuine
Every testimonial comes from someone who used the product and still holds the view. Retire old quotes.
Testimonials under the Code
Clause 7 of the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards says testimonials, endorsements and representations of opinion must reflect the genuine, reasonably current opinion of the person giving them, based on adequate information about or experience with the product. A glowing quote from a customer who stopped buying three years ago fails the reasonably current test, and a quote from someone who never used the product fails the experience test.
The Code also covers comparisons in clause 6: advertisers must avoid unfairly discrediting competitors or exaggerating the importance of competitive differences. A testimonial that attacks a named rival brings that clause into play as well.
Influencer disclosure, Fall 2025 version
Ad Standards updated its Influencer Marketing Disclosure Guidelines in Fall 2025. They describe #ad, used on its own and uncombined with other words, as the gold standard. Accepted alternatives include #sponsored, #gifted, #InvitedGuest and brand specific tags such as #XYZPartner or #XYZAmbassador. Tags on their own such as #ambassador, #partner, #spon, #PR, #promo and #collab are treated as unclear.
Placement matters as much as wording. The disclosure belongs before any list of hashtags, ideally at the start of the post. For video, a disclosure that appears only in the accompanying caption falls short; it needs to be in the video, at the start.
The Competition Bureau's checklist adds that material connections should be disclosed in each post and kept inseparable from the content, and it names SP and spon among abbreviations to avoid.
The simplest rule
#ad, alone, at the start. In video, say it or show it on screen.
Reviews and astroturfing
The Competition Bureau uses astroturfing to describe reviews that look independent but are produced or encouraged by the business. Its examples include employees posting positive reviews, offering incentives in exchange for reviews, and paying firms to post fake ones.
For a brand, the safe programme is simple. Ask customers for honest reviews without rewards, keep staff and family off review platforms for the business, and never buy reviews or review services. Regulated professions often have stricter rules still, covered in the province specific guides on this site.
Before you use it
Questions that can change the recommendation.
What hashtag should influencers use in Canada?
Ad Standards' Fall 2025 guidelines call #ad, used on its own, the gold standard. #sponsored, #gifted and brand specific partner tags are also accepted; #spon, #collab and #PR on their own are treated as unclear.
Is a disclosure in the caption enough for a video?
Ad Standards says a disclosure only in the caption accompanying a video falls short. Put it in the video itself, at the start.
Can my employees leave reviews for my business?
The Competition Bureau names employees posting positive reviews as an example of astroturfing. Keep staff off review platforms for the business, or have any connection clearly disclosed.
How old can a testimonial be?
Clause 7 of the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards requires the genuine, reasonably current opinion of the person. Refresh or retire quotes that no longer reflect a customer's current view.
Research record
What this guide draws from.
Each source note describes what the reference supports. Platform guidance, research findings and Branding Tatva's practical suggestions have different scopes.
- Deceptive Marketing Practices Digest, Volume 4
Competition Bureau Canada
Influencer disclosure checklist.
