Overview
Basic Life Support Provider equips healthcare professionals and trained first responders with the essential skills required to respond effectively to life-threatening emergencies. Designed for those who need Basic Life Support (BLS) certification as a prerequisite or for recertification, the course focuses on recognizing cardiac arrest, initiating care quickly, and delivering effective interventions in both clinical and prehospital settings.
This five-hour, in-person certification course is delivered in one day by instructors certified by the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada. The course content aligns with Canada’s recognized standard for BLS education and reflects current science and national clinical guidelines, supporting consistent evidence-informed patient care.
During the course, you'll learn how to recognize cardiac arrest and other critical conditions, activate the emergency response system early, and perform high-quality CPR for adults, children, and infants. Instruction emphasizes hands-on skill development supported by instructor feedback, video-based scenarios, and structured practice. Topics include single-rescuer and multi-rescuer CPR, use of an automated external defibrillator (AED), effective ventilations using barrier and bag-mask devices, management of choking emergencies, opioid-associated life-threatening events, and updated content on maternal cardiac arrest, anaphylaxis, drowning, heart attack, stroke, and the role of the CPR coach.
By the end of the course, you'll earn a current Heart & Stroke BLS Provider certification and be prepared to respond confidently in real-world emergencies. This course also meets prerequisite requirements for SAIT’s Emergency Medical Responder certificate program and other Heart & Stroke training such as Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS).
This course is ideal if you:
- need BLS certification for admission into SAIT’s EMR certificate program
- require BLS for advanced cardiac or pediatric life support training
- work in healthcare or emergency services and need to renew certification
- want practical BLS training aligned with current Canadian guidelines.
Upon successful completion of this course, you'll be able to:
- describe the importance of high-quality CPR and its impact on survival
- demonstrate all of the steps of the Chain of Survival
- perform high-quality CPR for an adult, child, and infant
- describe and demonstrate the important early use of an AED
- demonstrate effective ventilations using a barrier device
- perform as an effective team member during multi-rescuer CPR
- describe and demonstrate the technique for relief of foreign-body airway obstruction (choking) for an adult, child, and infant.
The grading for this course is Pass/Fail.
To request a course outline, contact ConEdAdvising@sait.ca.
Successful completion of this Basic Life Support (BLS) course results in a digital BLS Provider eCard from the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada, valid for one year.
The course eligible:
- to claim Mainpro+ continuing professional development (CPD) credits with the College of Family Physicians of Canada
- as an unaccredited resuscitation course under Section 1 of the Royal College Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
Upcoming dates
Select an available section and add it to your cart. When you're ready, proceed to check out to sign into your student account and complete your registration.
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Registration closes seven days before the start date for on-campus, online scheduled, and blended courses, and one day before the start date for online self-paced courses.
After you've completed this course
Upon successful completion of this course, you'll be able to self-print a proof of completion document from your Continuing Education student account.
Costs
Textbook and reading list
Included in the purchase of this course is a copy of the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada’s Basic Life Support: Provider Manual (2020), distributed in class.
Financial support
Financial opportunities are available to help pay for your course fees. Learn more about how to reduce your education or training costs with available awards, bursaries, loans and grants, including the Canada Alberta Productivity Grant.
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Train your team
Interested in group training opportunities for this course? Tell us about your organization's needs, and one of our training consultants will contact you within one business day.
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Oki, Âba wathtech, Danit'ada, Tawnshi, Hello.
SAIT is located on the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of Treaty 7 which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Îyârhe Nakoda of Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney.
We are situated in an area the Blackfoot tribes traditionally called Moh’kinsstis, where the Bow River meets the Elbow River. We now call it the city of Calgary, which is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta.