By Nick Rondinelli, Founder & CEO, Heart2Heart First Aid CPR Services Inc.
Every five years, the Canadian Red Cross reviews and updates its First Aid & CPR program to reflect the latest research, clinical evidence, and educational best practices. The 2025 program update is one of the most significant in recent years — focusing on inclusivity, accessibility, evidence-based care, and consistent national standards.
As the Founder and CEO of Heart2Heart First Aid CPR Services, I’ve completed the update myself, and I can confidently say it strengthens the quality and clarity of first aid training across Canada. Our instructors are now preparing to implement these updates across all Heart2Heart training locations — from Toronto and Ottawa to Edmonton and St. John’s — ensuring every learner receives the most current and accurate CPR and first aid certification available.
Why the Update Matters
The 2025 Red Cross update focuses on four key goals:
- Ensuring all clinical standards reflect the latest evidence-based science
- Meeting or exceeding legislative and workplace safety requirements
- Expanding accessibility and inclusivity across all learner materials
- Providing greater support for instructors through new teaching tools
Every change — from terminology to clinical practice — reflects a deeper shift toward learner-centered education, diversity, and real-world readiness in First Aid and CPR courses.
A Modern, Inclusive Framework
The Canadian Red Cross now encourages instructors to begin courses with a Territorial Acknowledgement recognizing the Indigenous lands where training is delivered. Course materials have also been redesigned with accessibility and inclusion in mind:
- Non-binary language: using “they/them” pronouns throughout
- Accessible design: improved colour contrast, larger fonts, alt text for images, and screen-reader-friendly e-learning modules
- Diverse representation: illustrations now reflect a range of skin tones and body types to promote recognition across all learners
These updates make Red Cross First Aid training more inclusive and representative of the people Heart2Heart serves every day.
Competency Levels: A New Structure for Learning
Each First Aid and CPR course topic now includes a competency level, helping instructors understand exactly what learners must know or demonstrate at each course level:
- A – Awareness: Learners can identify and reference key information or resources.
- K – Knowledge: Learners understand and recall key concepts.
- S – Skill: Learners can demonstrate appropriate care steps with hands-on competence.
- N – Not Required: The topic does not apply to that course level.
This structured approach improves consistency in evaluation and ensures every course — from CPR-A to Standard First Aid & CPR C — meets specific, measurable learning outcomes.
New or Newly Required Practical Skills (2025 Program)
Several topics have been expanded or added as required skill competencies:
- Stroke: Now a required skill in Emergency and Standard First Aid.
- Two-Person CPR: New topic; now required in Standard First Aid.
- Pelvic Injuries: Newly added; required in Emergency and Standard First Aid.
- Cuts and Scrapes (Minor Bleeding): Required in Emergency and Standard First Aid.
- Burns: Now required in both Emergency and Standard First Aid.
- Flash Eye, Ear, Nose, and Amputation Care: Required for Standard First Aid.
- Diabetic Emergencies: Now a required skill in Standard First Aid.
- Trench Foot: New environmental illness topic in Standard First Aid.
- Naloxone Administration: Newly required only for Standard First Aid courses.
Topics such as childbirth and miscarriage have been removed to streamline the program and focus on the most common first aid emergencies. Additionally, content on brown recluse spider bites has been retired to better align with evidence-based priorities and Canadian relevance.
Clinical Content Updates: What’s Changed in Care Steps
Choking (Airway Obstruction)
The choking procedure has been simplified to clarify how to position the person for back blows and landmarking for chest thrusts.
Previous directions such as “bend the person forward until the airway is parallel to the ground” (for back blows) and “chest thrusts just under the armpits” (for landmarking) have been removed to reduce confusion and improve consistency.
Learners now perform continuous cycles of five back blows and five abdominal and/or chest thrusts until the object is expelled or the person becomes unresponsive.
(For infants, perform back blows and chest thrusts only.)
Afterward, call EMS/9-1-1 and get an AED, even if the obstruction clears. A medical follow-up is recommended.
Medication Assistance and Naloxone
The 2025 update clearly differentiates between “assisting” (guiding someone to take their own medication) and “administering” (directly giving it). Only life-saving medications may be administered:
- Asthma inhalers
- Epinephrine auto-injectors
- Naloxone
⚖️ Important: Workplace first aid attendants must always follow their organizational policies and provincial or territorial regulations. For example, in Alberta, first aid attendants may assist but not administer medications unless specifically authorized under workplace regulations.
Naloxone training now appears only in Standard First Aid CPR C courses and includes both intranasal and intramuscular methods. Naloxone may be administered to an unresponsive person if opioid poisoning is suspected.
Circulation and Cardiac Emergencies
- “Sex” has been removed as an uncontrollable cardiovascular risk factor.
- “Vision problems in one or both eyes” added to stroke signs and symptoms.
- Care steps emphasize the FAST method (Face, Arm, Speech, Time) for recognition and response.
- CPR skills simplified with clear hand placement guidelines:
- Children: 1 or 2 hands on the centre of the chest.
- Infants: 2 fingers below the nipple line or 2 thumbs encircling the chest.
- Scripted counting wording removed for smoother compressions.
- AED explanations simplified: detailed heart rhythm descriptions removed; learners now understand that some irregular rhythms can be helped with a shock, while others cannot.
Respiratory Emergencies
New inclusions:
- COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)
- Hyperventilation: “Headache” and “sweating” now included as signs.
- Allergic Reactions: “Difficulty swallowing” added under signs.
Environmental Illnesses and Wound Care Updates
- Minor bleeding and burns are now required practical skills.
- Trench Foot added under environmental illnesses.
- Propolis removed as a tooth storage medium.
- Infection and burn care instructions refined for clarity and escalation of care.
- Heat-Related Illnesses (Heat Stroke): Immersing the person in water from the neck down is removed.
Head, Neck, Spine, and Pelvic Injuries
Head, Neck, Spine, and Pelvis Injuries is now part of the Emergency First Aid practice.
Pelvic injuries newly introduced with clear step-by-step care:
- Keep legs still and straight.
- Pad and tie legs together below joints (pelvis, knees, ankles).
- Check circulation and monitor for shock.
Mental Health and Sudden Medical Emergencies
- “Mental health crisis” replaced with “mental health emergency.”
- Content now uses non-stigmatizing language and adds the 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline.
- New topic: Occupational Stress Injury and Self-Care Management promotes responder well-being.
Instructor Updates
All Red Cross instructors must complete the mandatory online Instructor Update, which includes:
- Updated teaching materials and accessibility improvements
- Revised Instructor and Learner Guides (digital and print)
- Standardized lesson plans, PowerPoints, and skill sheets
The online update fee is $90, covering both the course and shipment of new materials.
Instructors can access it through MyRC → My Profile → My Updates.
How Heart 2 Heart Is Leading the Transition
At Heart to Heart First Aid CPR Services, we’ve already completed our internal transition plan and are preparing instructors nationwide to deliver the new program confidently and consistently.
We are scheduling Professional Development Workshops to review all course content and skills, demonstrate new procedures in detail, and standardize equipment and supply use across all First Aid and CPR courses.
This ensures every learner — in Toronto, Scarborough, Mississauga, Brampton, Markham, Richmond Hill, Newmarket, Whitby, Oshawa, Ottawa, Barrie, Kitchener-Waterloo, Thunder Bay, Edmonton, and St. John’s.— receives the same high-quality, evidence-based Red Cross First Aid training.
What This Means for Learners and Workplaces
Learners can expect a more inclusive, interactive, and science-based experience — whether taking Standard First Aid & CPR C, Emergency First Aid & CPR C, or standalone CPR/AED certification courses.
For workplaces, this update ensures that First Aid and CPR certification training meets the latest occupational health and safety standards, providing confidence that all staff are trained to nationally recognized benchmarks.
Moving Forward Together
The 2025 Red Cross update represents a meaningful step forward — not just in First Aid education, but in how we teach compassion, inclusivity, and preparedness.
At Heart to Heart First Aid CPR Services, we’re proud to continue leading this evolution after more than 25 years as a trusted Canadian Red Cross Training Partner.
Ready to Get Certified?
To learn more or register for the updated Canadian Red Cross First Aid & CPR Program, visit www.heart2heartcpr.com.
We proudly serve learners and workplaces across:
Toronto, Scarborough, Mississauga, Brampton, Markham, Richmond Hill, Newmarket, Whitby, Oshawa, Ottawa, Barrie, Kitchener-Waterloo, Thunder Bay, Edmonton, and St. John’s.
Nick Rondinelli
Founder & CEO
Heart2Heart First Aid CPR Services Inc.
📞 416-960-5319 / 1-866-260-2790
✉️ nick@heart2heartcpr.com
🌐 www.heart2heartcpr.com