Canadian Electrical Standard
Bonifacia Cramm
For over 90 years, CSA Group has worked with regulators, consumers, manufacturers, and the electrical industry to develop standards that improve safety and reliability of the electrical system as well as electrical products for consumers and businesses. We also continue to support improved energy performance and sustainability, including renewable energy through new and updated codes and standards.
Today our portfolio of more than 700 standards, many referenced in regulation, includes standards for Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy and the Canadian Electrical Code Parts I, II and III. These are critical resources that guide electrical safety and performance for the systems and products we use daily across the country.
CSA Group also supports the timely adoption of these standards by routinely working with federal, provincial and territorial Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs). We also work with industry associations such as the Canadian Electricity Association, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers Canada, and Electro Federation Canada to ensure our codes and standards continue to address the needs of industry.
Purchase individual standards or subscribe to a customized collection of standards. Access your content 24/7 through our CSA OnDemandTM platform.
CSA OnDemandTM provides flexible, cost-effective, and immediate access to the standards you need to meet your organizational goals, academic needs, or compliance requirements.
The first edition of the Canadian Electrical Code was published in 1927.[1] The current (25th) edition was published in April of 2021. Code revisions are now scheduled on a three-year cycle. The Code is produced by a large body of volunteers from industry and various levels of government. The Code uses a prescriptive model, outlining in detail the wiring methods that are acceptable. In the current edition, the Code recognizes that other methods can be used to assure safe installations, but these methods must be acceptable to the authority enforcing the Code in a particular jurisdiction.
The Canadian Electrical Code serves as the basis for wiring regulations across Canada. Generally, legislation adopts the Code by reference, usually with a schedule of changes that amend the Code for local conditions. These amendments may be administrative in nature or may consist of technical content particular to the region. Since the Code is a copyrighted document produced by a private body, it may not be distributed without copyright permission from the Canadian Standards Association.
The Code is divided into sections, each section is labeled with an even number and a title. Sections 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 26 include rules that apply to installations in general; the remaining sections are supplementary and deal with installation methods in specific locations or situations. Some examples of general sections include: grounding and bonding, protection and control, conductors, and definitions. Some examples of supplementary sections include: wet locations, hazardous locations, patient care areas, emergency systems, and temporary installations. When interpreting the requirements for a particular installation, rules found in supplementary sections of the Code amend or supersede the rules in general sections of the Code.
The Canadian Electrical Code does not apply to vehicles, systems operated by an electrical or communications utility, railway systems, aircraft or ships; since these installations are already regulated by separate documents.
The Canadian Electrical Code is published in several parts: Part I is the safety standard for electrical installations. Part II is a collection of individual standards for the evaluation of electrical equipment or installations. (Part I requires that electrical products be approved to a Part II standard) Part III is the safety standard for power distribution and transmission circuits. Part IV is set of objective-based standards that may be used in certain industrial or institutional installations. Part VI establishes standards for the inspection of electrical installation in residential buildings.
Technical requirements of the Canadian Electrical Code are very similar to those of the U.S. National Electrical Code. Specific differences still exist and installations acceptable under one Code may not entirely comply with the other. Correlation of technical requirements between the two Codes is ongoing.
Several CE Code Part II electrical equipment standards have been harmonized with standards in the USA and Mexico through CANENA, The Council for the Harmonization of Electromechanical Standards of the Nations of the Americas (CANENA) is working to harmonize electrical codes in the western hemisphere.
In response to industry demand, CSA has developed Part IV of the Canadian Electrical Code, consisting of two standards CSA C22.4 No. 1 "Objective-based industrial electrical code" and CSA C22.4 No. 2 "Objective-based industrial electrical code - Safety management system requirements". These standards are intended for use only by authorized industrial users and would not apply, for example, to residential construction. These standards do not prescribe specific solutions for every case but instead give guidance to the user on achievement of the safety objectives of IEC 60364. Since it is less prescriptive, the OBIEC allows industrial users to use new technology not yet represented in the CE Code Part II. Use of this OBIEC is restricted to industrial and institutional users who have a safety management program in place and the engineering resources to implement the regulations. It is intended that users of the OBIEC will maintain safety while using methods that will reduce the installation cost of large industrial plants, for example, in the petrochemical business.[2][3]
Electricity powers the world, but the equipment and systems that utilize it can present shock and fire hazards. This is, of course, nothing astonishing, as electrical installations have not only been carefully managed for the past century, but they have been safely guided by codes and standards that provide users with the utmost contemporary knowledge.
Electrical codes lay out guidelines that help facilitate the safe installation of electrical wiring and equipment. In the United States, the NFPA 70 National Electrical Code fulfills this need. In Canada, it is the Canadian Electrical Code. Among the numerous similarities shared between these documents in their purpose, they both follow a similar three-year revision cycle.
In Canada, adhering to the CE Code goes beyond just following safe practices. The Canadian Electrical Code is generally adopted by legislation, with some changes needed to amend the code for circumstances particular to the local body. In these instances, the governmental requirements supersede the stipulations of the code, so it is crucial to know your local rules.
As the 25th edition of the Canadian Electrical Code, CSA C22.1-2021 has undergone numerous alterations from the 2018 revision of the standard. New requirements in support of climate change adaptation were added throughout several Sections of the Code. Furthermore, redundant or out-of-date requirements, such as the rules for open wiring, were removed. Some specific changes to the 2021 Canadian Electrical Code include:
The previous edition of the Canadian Electrical Code, CSA C22.1-2018, was also a substantial revision, including over 260 updates in total. Its changes included significant alterations to sections on residential/housing, renewable energy, grounding and bonding, and tamper resistant receptacles, as well as the addition of power over ethernet guidelines and these specific updates:
CSA standards are safety standards in Canada for electrical appliances, medical devices, machinery, equipment, etc. The Canadian Standards Association was established in 1919 as a non-profit, non-governmental standardization organization. In the CSA Group today, the Canadian Standards Association develops standards and CSA International conducts product testing and certification.
CSA standards regulate safety of applicable electrical products. In all ten provinces and two territories of Canada, laws require that electrical machinery and appliances connected to power sources conform to CSA safety standards regardless of type or quantity. In this respect, meeting CSA standards is mandatory for applicable electrical products.
Although CSA standards are standards developed voluntarily by CSA members, many of them have been formally adopted as Canadian national standards and are referred to in laws and regulations by the national government, provincial governments and local authorities.
CSA standards related to electrical safety are indicated by standard numbers of C22.1 and C22.2, and collectively constitute the Canadian Electrical Code Part I and Part II, respectively. These standards related to each other as follows.
Part II comprises a series of about 300 kinds of individual standards for electrical machinery, appliances and their parts and materials, which are used by connection to power sources wired according to regulations in Part I.
The U.S. and Canada have a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) making possible unified certification. UL is recognized by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) as a certification organization (CO) and a testing organization (TO), while CSA is recognized as an NRTL by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which makes it possible for UL to test, assess and certify compliance with CSA standards, and CSA to test, assess and certify compliance with U.S. standards.
CSA conforming products tested and certified by UL are called C-UL certified products (C-UL mark) and UL conforming products tested and certified by CSA are called CSA certified products (CSA NRTL mark).
SMC had CSA determine conformity to CSA standards and UL standards at the same time and obtained conformity recognition.
To indicate this, the above CSA NRTL/C mark is affixed on the product nameplate.