In 1998, Canadian guidelines were released to encourage sedentary adults to become more active. Representative surveys of over 4,400 Canadian adults found that unprompted recall of these guidelines was low (7.4% in 1999 and 5.2% in 2002), but was higher among educated, affluent, middle-aged, and the physically active. Achieving a high level of activity was associated with demographic variables and other information sources, but not with guideline recall. Guideline promotion has not reached those most in need.