Every October, Canadian office managers, HR leads, school administrators and small-clinic operators call us with the same question: how much PPE do we actually need for winter? The answer depends on team size and setting, but the framework is straightforward. Here's how to size your stock for the 2026–2027 flu season without over-ordering — or worse, running out in January when suppliers Canada-wide are backed up.
Why demand spikes November through February in Canada
Three things happen at once each fall:
- Influenza cases climb from mid-October, peak between late December and February, and stay elevated into March.
- COVID and RSV run alongside flu now — a triple respiratory wave that public health agencies across Canada track separately.
- Cold weather drives everyone indoors, so transmission accelerates in offices, schools, transit and clinical waiting rooms.
The result is that Canadian PPE demand — particularly for masks, rapid tests and sanitizer — doubles or triples between October and January. Suppliers who serve healthcare, education and workplaces all see the same spike, and shipping windows lengthen. Ordering in October runs smoothly; ordering in early December often doesn't.
The stock formula — per employee, per four-month season
Based on a typical Canadian office or light-clinical setting, planned across a four-month flu season (November through February):
- Disposable gloves: ~2 boxes (200 gloves) per employee for a general office; 8–12 boxes per employee for a clinical setting.
- Surgical / procedure masks: ~1 box (50 masks) per employee for general office use; 4–6 boxes per employee for public-facing or clinical work.
- N95 / KN95 respirators: stock a smaller reserve — roughly 20 per employee — for high-risk exposure or wildfire-smoke days.
- Hand sanitizer: ~500 mL per employee per month at every public entry and desk area.
- Disinfectant wipes: ~1 canister per 2 employees per month for shared surfaces.
- Rapid antigen tests: ~4–6 tests per employee for the season, more for schools and clinics.
For a 50-person office that means roughly 100 boxes of gloves, 50 boxes of masks, ~100 L of sanitizer, ~100 canisters of wipes, and 250–300 rapid tests. That crosses the case threshold on almost every line — which is where the pricing gets meaningfully better.
When to switch from boxes to cases
The rule of thumb: if you'll go through more than 5 boxes of any single SKU during the season, order that SKU by the case (10 boxes). You get a 15–20% cost break, one delivery instead of five, and one PO instead of five. If you'll go through more than 25 cases across the winter, ask about Glove Club tier pricing, which locks in an additional discount and free shipping. For the full formula, see our reorder guide.
The recommended winter basket
Gloves — the workhorse: Blue Nitrile Powder Free 4 mil for general use, Black TouchFlex 5 mil for heavy-duty cleaning, Vinyl Disposable for light-duty or budget-sensitive lines.
Masks: ASTM Level 2 surgical masks for office and public-facing work, plus a smaller reserve of CA-N95 or KN95 for high-risk days. Made-in-Canada masks are worth stocking for organizations that prefer domestic supply.
Disinfectant wipes: ACCEL Intervention 160-count for high-frequency touchpoints. For a full comparison see our disinfectant wipes comparison.
Rapid tests: combination flu / COVID kits are now the standard — see our rapid test guide.
Sanitizer: 70%+ alcohol formulations at every entry, meeting-room table and shared workstation.
Lead-time reality — order in October, not November
PPE Online Canada ships from a stocked warehouse in Windsor, Ontario, with real-time inventory (what you see on the site is what we can ship today). Even so, FedEx and UPS transit windows lengthen through November and December as retail volume spikes and weather hits. Orders placed by mid-October arrive in a normal 2–5 business-day window. Orders placed in the last week of November often stretch to 5–10 business days, and by mid-December there's real risk of running out mid-season if you underestimate.
If your organization is a school, clinic, or multi-location employer, the practical move is to lock in October: place the case order, receive it before Halloween, and enter flu season without procurement stress.
What about smaller organizations?
Small teams (under 20 employees) can usually get by ordering by the box rather than the case, but should still stock the four-month season in a single shipment to hit the $149.99 free-shipping threshold and avoid multiple small orders. For a 10-person office, one autumn shipment typically covers November through February.
Get a workplace quote
Send your employee count, setting (office, clinic, school, retail) and any existing SKUs to info@ppeonline.ca and we'll return a right-sized quote with case-level pricing within one business day. Or run through the Glove Finder to nail down the right glove SKU first.
PPE Online Canada is a Health Canada licensed (MDEL #17341) supplier based in Windsor, Ontario. Free shipping Canada-wide on orders over $149.99.
