The Short Answer
Health Canada's Corded Window Coverings Regulations, in force since May 2022, limit any reachable cord on a window covering sold in Canada to 22 centimetres and any loop to a 44 centimetre perimeter, which in practice means new blinds are cordless, tensioned or motorized. Blinds already hanging in your home are not required to be replaced, but the long looped cords on older blinds are the hazard the rules exist to remove. In every home with children we fit cordless, tensioned or motorized controls as standard.
Key Takeaways
- The regulations apply to window coverings manufactured, imported or sold in Canada. New blinds must comply; old ones in your home do not have to, but should.
- A free hanging cord longer than 22 cm or a loop bigger than 44 cm around is the hazard. Most pre 2022 blinds have both.
- Cordless spring, tensioned chain and motorized controls all comply. They are the only controls we fit in homes with children.
- Compliance costs you nothing extra with us. It is the standard, not an upgrade.
The looped cord hanging beside a bedroom blind is one of the few things in a home that has quietly killed children, and Canada has now regulated it out of new products. If you have a child, are expecting one, or have grandchildren who visit, here is what the rules require, how to check the blinds you already have, and what we install instead.
What the regulations say
Health Canada's Corded Window Coverings Regulations, made under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, came into force on May 1, 2022. In plain terms: any cord a person can reach on a window covering must be no longer than 22 centimetres when pulled, and any loop must have a perimeter of no more than 44 centimetres. The rules apply to every window covering manufactured, imported, advertised or sold in Canada. They are among the strictest in the world.
Do I have to replace my existing blinds?
The regulations govern what can be sold, not what is already hanging in your home. You are not legally required to replace older blinds. Health Canada's advice, and ours, is to treat any long free hanging cord or loop as a hazard and to replace it in any room a child uses. A cord cleat is a stopgap. A cordless shade is the fix.
How to check the blinds you have
- A beaded or corded loop that hangs to a length a child could reach: not compliant, and the hazard the rules target.
- Lift cords on old horizontal blinds and older roman shades that hang free: not compliant.
- A chain running inside a tensioner fixed to the wall: compliant.
- A cordless spring you push and pull from the bottom rail: compliant.
- A motor with a wall switch or remote: compliant, and nothing to reach at all.
What we install instead
Cordless spring
A tensioned spring inside the roller. You lift the bottom rail and it stays where you leave it. Nothing hangs. Ideal for roller, cellular and zebra shades on windows you can reach.
Tensioned chain
A continuous chain held taut in a device screwed to the wall or frame, so there is no free loop. Compliant, and the standard for wider shades.
Motorized
A battery motor in the tube and a switch on the wall. There is no cord because there is no cord. On tall windows and in nurseries it is the answer we give most often. See our guide to motorized blinds.
Cordless roman shades
A roman shade on a cordless lift system gives a child's bedroom softness, blackout lining for naps, and nothing to pull on.
Why it costs nothing extra with us
Because we make every piece to order, the control is chosen at the consultation and built in. There is nothing to retrofit and nothing to upgrade. We have installed cordless and tensioned controls in homes with children for years before the regulations arrived, and we will not fit a free hanging loop in a child's room whatever you ask.
Questions People Ask
Frequently Asked
Are corded blinds illegal in Canada?
Window coverings with reachable cords longer than 22 cm or loops over 44 cm around cannot be manufactured, imported or sold in Canada since May 1, 2022. Blinds already in a home are not required to be replaced.
Do I have to replace my old corded blinds?
Not legally. Health Canada and we recommend replacing any blind with a long free hanging cord or loop in a room a child uses.
What blinds are safest for a nursery?
A cordless or motorized blackout roller, a blackout cellular shade, or a cordless roman with blackout lining. All have nothing to reach and make the room dark for naps.
Do child safe blinds cost more?
Not with us. Cordless, tensioned and motorized controls are chosen at the consultation and built into the piece. There is no retrofit and no surcharge for compliance.
