This is a popular question among first time participants for a first aid course. It varies on a number of factors and I’ll try to break them down for you.
Depends on the Course you Take
There are three major types of first aid courses in Canada. These are provincially approved and include standard, emergency and advanced first aid. The name of these courses can vary but the content won’t. Standard first aid is a two day course that typically runs on back to back days. It varies slightly by province but varies between 14 to 16 hours in length. Blended learning is also available and that allows for participants to take 8 hours online and then the practical component in class which takes approximately 8 hours. Emergency first aid is a one day course that takes approximately 8 hours to complete. Advanced first aid, the longest of the group, is a 80 hours course and is typically offered two weeks Monday to Friday. Both advanced and emergency first aid have blended options available.
Non Provincially Approved Courses
There are other non-provincially approved courses that vary in length. Standard and emergency childcare first aid programs are also 14 and 8 hours long and some providers offer these courses in blended learning as well. Wilderness first aid and occupational first aid level 2 are one week courses that are approximately 40 hours in length.
Stand-Alone CPR Courses and Basic Life Support Courses
These courses take anywhere between 4 and 8 hours to complete. They are not provincially regulated so the course length is dependent on the provider.