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Background colour

The background colour class sets the background-color property. It controls the colour of an element’s background.

View GCDS colour guidance to choose the right background colour for your context.

Overview

CSS Shortcut class Applied style 
bg-primary
 
background-color: var(--gcds-bg-primary);
 
bg-active
 
background-color: var(--gcds-active-background);
 
bg-black
 
background-color: var(--gcds-color-grayscale-1000);
 
bg-current
 
background-color: currentColor;
 
bg-danger
 
background-color: var(--gcds-danger-background);
 
bg-dark
 
background-color: var(--gcds-bg-dark);
 
bg-disabled
 
background-color: var(--gcds-disabled-background);
 
bg-inherit
 
background-color: inherit;
 
bg-light
 
background-color: var(--gcds-bg-light);
 
bg-transparent
 
background-color: transparent;
 
bg-white
 
background-color: var(--gcds-bg-white);

Examples

Primary
bg-primary

This element uses the primary Government of Canada accent colour for its background.

<p class="bg-primary text-light">
  This element uses the primary Government of Canada accent colour for its background.
</p>

Active
bg-active

This element uses the active background colour.

<p class="bg-active text-light">
  This element uses the active background colour.
</p>

Black
bg-black

This element uses the black background colour.

<p class="bg-black text-light">
  This element uses the black background colour.
</p>

Current
bg-current

This element uses the background colour based on the current colour property.

<div class="bg-current" style="color: var(--gcds-color-blue-750)">
  <p class="text-light">
    This element uses the background colour based on the current colour property.
  </p>
</div>

Danger
bg-danger

This element uses the danger background colour.

<p class="bg-danger text-light">
  This element uses the danger background colour.
</p>

Dark
bg-dark

This element uses the dark background colour.

<p class="bg-dark text-light">
  This element uses the dark background colour.
</p>

Disabled
bg-disabled

This element uses the disabled background colour.

<p class="bg-disabled">
  This element uses the disabled background colour.
</p>

Inherit
bg-inherit

This element inherits its parent's background colour.

<div class="bg-danger">
  <p class="bg-inherit text-light">
    This element inherits its parent's background colour.
  </p>
</div>

Light
bg-light

This element uses the light background colour.

<p class="bg-light">
  This element uses the light background colour.
</p>

Transparent
bg-transparent

This element has a transparent background colour.

<p class="bg-transparent">
  This element has a transparent background colour.
</p>

White
bg-white

This element has a white background colour.

<div class="bg-dark">
  <p class="bg-white">
    This element has a white background colour.
  </p>
</div>

Conditional styling Apply this style to specific screen sizes Use a responsive layout prefix to apply this class only to a specified screen size. The available breakpoints are:

  • xs: > 480px
  • sm: > 640px
  • md: > 768px
  • lg: > 1024px
  • xl: > 1280px
  
<div class="xs:bg-light ...">
  ...
</div>

Learn more about the responsive layout prefix.

Apply this style to specific states Use a state prefix to apply this class only to a specified interaction state. The available states are:

  • hover
  • focus
  
<div class="hover:bg-light ...">
  ...
</div>

Learn more about the state prefix.

2026-02-12