Smoking and Vaping at Hospitals, Care Homes and Campuses

As of 27 October 2026, no single national rule covers hospitals, care homes or campuses. Each province writes its own, and the strictest ones treat the whole hospital property as smoke-free and vape-free. Health authorities then go a step further on the sites they run.

What do provinces require at hospitals and care homes?

The table shows what each government’s own page or statute says. Where a jurisdiction is missing, we did not find an official statement we could read.

Jurisdiction	Rule at hospitals and health facilities
Ontario	No smoking or vaping within 9 metres of any entrance or exit of a public or private hospital, psychiatric facility, long-term care home or independent health facility, and none on outdoor hospital or psychiatric facility grounds.
Alberta	No smoking or vaping on hospital property, including the building, grounds and parking areas used in relation to it (Act, s. 3).
Manitoba	Health care facilities, which include hospitals, clinics and medical offices, are enclosed public places where smoking and e-cigarette use are prohibited. Winnipeg’s by-law adds a ban on the premises and within 8 metres of an outdoor entrance.
British Columbia	Health authority sites may have designated smoking or vaping areas but are not required to; indoors, only a designated room that meets WorkSafeBC standards.
Nunavut	Hospitals, health centres and their grounds are smoke-free places, with a 9-metre buffer from any entrance or exit.

Ontario’s long-term care homes are enclosed workplaces, so the indoor ban applies. A home can build and run a controlled area for residents, but it must be approved by and registered with the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Long-Term Care.

Can patients and residents smoke indoors?

Sometimes, in a sealed room built for it. Alberta lets an in-patient or resident of a group living facility, such as a continuing care home, smoke or vape in a designated room with floor-to-ceiling walls, a ceiling, doors and a separate ventilation system. Manitoba’s statute treats a hospital’s addictions or palliative care unit as a group living facility, so the same designated-room rules can apply there. British Columbia allows a designated room in a hospital or residential care facility that meets WorkSafeBC standards, and says only residents and patients may use it, not visitors or staff.

Health Canada’s view explains why these rooms are narrow exceptions. It says ventilation and segregated smoking areas do not eliminate exposure to second-hand smoke. Our page on the health effects of secondhand smoke sets out the evidence.

What do health authorities add?

Fraser Health’s policy, in its December 2022 version, prohibits all forms of tobacco, e-cigarettes and vapour products and combustible cannabis on all premises, grounds and corporate vehicles it owns, operates or leases. It names parking lots, and it covers staff, physicians, volunteers, patients, residents, visitors and contractors. The same policy bars the sale and promotion of tobacco on its premises and says Fraser Health will not accept funding or gifts from tobacco, vape or cannabis companies.

Nova Scotia Health’s statement is shorter: all of its properties are smoke-free and vapour-free. It pairs the ban with help. Admitted patients who want to manage withdrawal or quit can get free nicotine replacement gum and patches by telling their nurse at admission.

Both approaches leave room for Indigenous ceremony. Ontario lets Indigenous residents request an indoor area for traditional cultural or spiritual use, separate from any controlled area. Fraser Health supports ceremonial use of sacred medicines, including smudging, under the guidance of its Indigenous Health team and with fire and smoke precautions.

What about colleges and universities?

The provincial pages we read say little about whole campuses. What they do say:

• Ontario bans smoking and vaping in the common indoor areas of college and university residences, such as hallways, stairwells, laundry rooms and lobbies.
• Alberta’s list of smoke-free properties names hospitals, schools and child care facilities, not campuses, but the Act prohibits selling tobacco and vaping products at the campus of a public post-secondary institution, at pharmacies and at health facilities where regulated professionals provide services.
• British Columbia’s page covers K-12 school property at all times and does not address post-secondary campuses. Nunavut’s lists schools and does not mention colleges.

Beyond that, campus rules come from each institution’s own policy, which we do not summarize here. If your campus has a stricter rule than the province, the stricter one applies to you on that property. A group writing one can start from our smoke-free building policy template, which is written for buildings but adapts to grounds.

Where else to check

Distances from doors vary by province, and cities can add their own, as the page on smoking distance from doors shows. For the wider picture see laws by province and territory and outdoor smoking bans. If you want to quit during a stay, free quit-smoking help by province lists what we have confirmed.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Check the facility’s signs and your province’s current law.