Is TRT legal in Canada?

The rules for controlled drugs change on 1 October 2026, when the new Controlled Substances Regulations replace Part G of the Food and Drug Regulations. Where the answer differs before and after that date, both are given with the date.

How testosterone is classified

• Controlled Drugs and Substances Act: Schedule IV, item 23, "anabolic steroids and their derivatives", with testosterone named at subitem 40.
• Until 30 September 2026: a controlled drug under Part G of the Food and Drug Regulations. A pharmacist may sell it only on a written or verbal prescription.
• From 1 October 2026: a controlled drug in Schedule 2 of the Controlled Substances Regulations, which consolidate the old Part G and Part J rules.
• Testosterone is not a targeted substance, and it is not on Health Canada's Prescription Drug List, because drugs on the controlled substance schedules get their prescription status from those rules instead.

Who can prescribe it

• Physicians.
• Nurse practitioners, where their province allows. Federal rules exclude anabolic steroids for nurse practitioners except testosterone. From 1 October 2026 a nurse practitioner also needs authorization from their provincial regulator.
• Not midwives or podiatrists, who are excluded from anabolic steroids under both the current and the new regulations.
• Not pharmacists. A pharmacist cannot start testosterone. From 1 October 2026 the new regulations allow pharmacists to extend or transfer an existing prescription where their province permits it.

An online service prescribes through the same physicians and nurse practitioners, licensed in the province where the patient is. How to check that a service names its clinicians and its pharmacy is on the how to check a TRT service page.

What is and is not an offence

• Possession for your own use: not an offence under the Act for Schedule IV substances. The possession offence in section 4(1) covers Schedules I to III.
• Getting prescriptions from more than one prescriber without telling them: an offence that includes Schedule IV, with a maximum of 18 months on indictment.
• Selling, or possessing to sell: an offence, with a maximum of three years on indictment or one year on summary conviction.
• Importing, exporting or producing without authorization under the regulations: an offence with the same maximums.

Buying testosterone online

It is legal to fill a testosterone prescription through a licensed Canadian pharmacy that ships to you. It is not legal to order it by mail or courier from outside Canada: individuals cannot import controlled drugs that way without a permit or exemption, according to both Health Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency.

Health Canada has seized testosterone sold without authorization. On 24 December 2025 it reported testosterone propionate, cypionate and enanthate injectables seized from two stores in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, and a testosterone cypionate product sold online and seized at a Vancouver gym. Its advice in the second notice is to buy prescription drugs only from licensed pharmacies.

US and other foreign online clinics

Some online testosterone clinics that Canadians find in search results are based in the United States. Canadian rules limit what they can do for a patient in Canada:

• A Canadian pharmacy cannot fill their prescriptions. BC PharmaCare's policy manual, updated 7 May 2026, states that prescriptions issued in another country, including the USA, "cannot be dispensed by a B.C. pharmacist" unless rewritten or co-signed by a practitioner licensed in Canada. The Ontario College of Pharmacists gives the same answer for Ontario pharmacies. The federal definition of a practitioner for controlled drugs is a person entitled "under the laws of a province" to practise.
• The medication cannot be shipped in. The Canada Border Services Agency states that Canadian residents "may not import prescription drugs by mail or courier", and that controlled drugs, which include the anabolic steroids, cannot be imported that way without a permit. Importing a Schedule IV substance without authorization is an offence under section 6 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, with a maximum of three years on indictment.
• Health Canada's own checklist for online pharmacies lists "located outside of Canada" and "does not require a valid prescription" as warning signs, and says a trustworthy pharmacy requires a prescription from a practitioner licensed to practise in Canada.

A service that prescribes through clinicians licensed in your province and fills through a licensed Canadian pharmacy is the legal route. The how to check a TRT service page shows how to confirm both.

Travelling with testosterone

• Until 30 September 2026: a traveller may carry the lesser of one course of treatment or a 30-day supply, under a Health Canada class exemption that ends when the new regulations take effect.
• From 1 October 2026: up to a 90-day supply at the labelled daily dose, for your own use or a person travelling with you, carried in person or in baggage, declared to customs, and kept in the labelled container from the prescriber or pharmacy.
• Either way: it cannot be mailed or couriered into Canada.

Health Canada's traveller page, last modified 13 July 2026, still gives the 30-day limit and does not yet mention the 1 October change. The regulation is the authority.

Testosterone boosters

Products sold as testosterone boosters are natural health products. The Natural Health Products Regulations exclude every substance on the controlled substance schedules, so a legally sold booster cannot contain testosterone. Health Canada has found anabolic steroids hidden in unauthorized sexual enhancement products, including one that contained metandienone. What the research shows for booster ingredients is on the testosterone boosters page.

Why testosterone is not advertised

Controlled drugs cannot be advertised to the general public in Canada: under section G.06.004 of the Food and Drug Regulations until 30 September 2026, and under section 235 of the Controlled Substances Regulations from 1 October 2026. Pages about testosterone, this one included, can describe the rules, the products and the services, but not promote a product.

Common questions

Is TRT legal in Canada?

Yes, with a prescription. Testosterone is a controlled drug under Schedule IV of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. A pharmacy can sell it only on a prescription from a physician or, where the province allows, a nurse practitioner.

Can you buy testosterone over the counter in Canada?

No. As a controlled drug it needs a prescription, and a pharmacist cannot sell it without one. Products sold over the counter as testosterone boosters are natural health products, which by law cannot contain testosterone or any other controlled substance.

Is it illegal to have testosterone without a prescription?

Possessing a Schedule IV substance for your own use is not an offence under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act; the possession offence covers Schedules I to III. Selling it, possessing it to sell, importing or exporting it without authorization, and getting prescriptions from more than one prescriber without telling them are offences.

Is it legal to buy testosterone online in Canada?

Only from a licensed Canadian pharmacy that fills a valid prescription. Individuals cannot import controlled drugs by mail or courier, and Health Canada has seized testosterone sold online and in stores without authorization, most recently in British Columbia in December 2025.

Can I bring testosterone into Canada?

Until 30 September 2026, a traveller may carry the lesser of one course of treatment or a 30-day supply. From 1 October 2026, the Controlled Substances Regulations allow up to a 90-day supply, carried in person or in baggage, declared to customs and kept in the labelled container from the prescriber or pharmacy. It cannot be mailed or couriered.

Can I use a US online TRT clinic from Canada?

Not in practice. A Canadian pharmacy cannot fill a prescription written by a prescriber who is not licensed in Canada, and Canadian residents cannot import prescription drugs, including testosterone, by mail or courier. Canadian online services prescribe through physicians and nurse practitioners licensed in the patient's province and fill through licensed Canadian pharmacies.