Update history for the Canada.ca Content Style Guide: Canada.ca design system

This list contains all changes made to the Canada.ca Content Style Guide since May 25, 2023.

January 29, 2024

As of January 2024, The Canadian Style and Le guide du rédacteur were archived, with their content integrated into Writing Tips Plus and the Clés de la rédaction. We’ve updated references and links in the following sections:
- Purpose section:
- Section 4.2 Underlining, bold and italics
- Resources section updated
Added a subsection, Accessibility considerations, under 7.2 Write descriptive links to clarify how and when to add additional information inside hyperlinks. This new section integrates the content from section 7.4 Linking to non-government content.
Added quick reference links to help users find information related to abbreviations. This includes:
- how to abbreviate, punctuate and format titles, degrees and distinctions with personal names (eg. PhD, Ph.D. Dr.)
- styles of address and honorific titles
Updated 4.4 Abbreviations and acronyms to specify that abbreviations should be accompanied by their long form the first time they’re used on a page.

added a separate page for the update history for the Canada.ca Content Style Guide

improved the Figure 5 functional image example in the Functional images section
updated the example in the Decorative images section and added information about using null alt text
improved the simple table examples in Section 5.3 Use tables to organize data
updated the text under Use of the style guide to highlight that the Directive on the Management of Communications is the official source for who must use this guide
updated the text under the heading Writing for inclusivity to reflect the new inclusive writing guidelines and resources
added an example for when to capitalize public service under 4.1 Capitalization and punctuation

added "Writing for inclusivity" to the Writing principles for web content section