Starting in 2012, P. ramorum no longer operates as a stand-alone program. The P. ramorum program is now integrated as a module of the Clean Plants Program (Appendix 10).


The Canadian P. ramorum Certification program, developed by the BCLNA and CNLA in conjunction with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada and the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, is designed to minimize the risk of Canadian or USA nurseries receiving or spreading P. ramorum.

The P. ramorum Certification program is presently voluntary for all Canadian growers. The program is a process based certification program that includes:

  • Sampling and testing of stock (only when knew to the program or if fails the audit)
  • Mandatory workshop training (on DVD)
  • Implementation of Best Management Practices 
  • An annual audit. (external audit every three years, internal audit yearly)


The Canadian Nursery Certification Institute (CNCI) is the independent Canadian body that administers the P. ramorum program on behalf of the horticulture industry. CNCI will provide the documentation and audits for qualified nurseries. 

The P. ramorum situation across North America is changing rapidly, with both the CFIA and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) harmonizing regulations and certification programs. Canada is currently unregulated for P. ramorum with regard to shipping within Canada or to the USA. The reason for this is that the disease has been found in Canada only in a few isolated incidents in British Columbia following three years of extensive CFIA testing. The BC incidents are at a level considerably below some of the unregulated US states. Consequently, only BC growers are participating in the Certification program; it is voluntary since neither CFIA nor USDA regulations require certification for plant movement from any province of Canada.

P. ramorum Certification Standards  Updated June 2010
The following document outlines the standards required for Phytophthora ramorum (Sudden Oak Death) Certification in Canada. This document will hereafter be referred to as the Standard. This is a program to control the spread of P. ramorum in the Canadian nursery industry and in the Canadian environment.

Revised June 2010: Changes to Section 5.8.2 regarding High Risk Host Plants grown in containers versus field; Section 6.1 regarding frequency of Internal Self Audits, and Section 8.0 regarding Non-Conformance issues.

To download the complete P. ramorum Certification Standard and Appendices, click here. Please note these documents should be used as reference only, as the update P. ramorum documents are now included as Appendix 10 of the Clean Plants Standard 2.0

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P. ramorum