Health Canada’s Consumer Product Safety Program (CPSP) plays a key role in safeguarding Canadians by ensuring that consumer products available in the marketplace meet established safety standards. The annual report provides details on the top recalled consumer product categories and targeted inspection activities related to consumer products that took place during the year.
Under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, manufacturers, importers, and sellers are subject to mandatory incident reporting for any reportable incident involving serious injury or serious danger to human health or safety.
Key Enforcement Activities
- 1,130 Imported Product Reviews: The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) referred numerous shipments of imported consumer products to CPSP for admissibility recommendations, preventing unsafe products from entering the Canadian market.
- 284 Product Inspections: CPSP conducted inspections of various consumer products, both online and onsite, to assess compliance with safety regulations and identify potential hazards.
- 511 Non-Compliant Products Identified: CPSP identified several products that did not comply with the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act or its regulation. Administrative monetary penalties may be imposed for acts of non-compliance with the requirements set out in the regulations.
- 251 Recall Notices Issued: CPSP issued recalls for products posing health or safety hazards, removing unsafe products from the market to protect consumers. Health Canada may issue a recall when there are reasonable grounds to believe that the product involved poses a serious danger. These recalls originated from:
- 156 incidents reported to Health Canada by a consumer, industry, media or other regulatory bodies (incident reporting is required within a specific business day time period after a reportable incident occurs)
- 55 cases identified through planned inspections
- 40 cases detected through external monitoring activities
Health Canada inspectors conduct tests and verify compliance with safety standards. Maintaining documents at a person’s place of business is required for a specified time period to ensure traceability throughout the supply chain. Document retention requirements and maintaining documents are essential for compliance and for facilitating inspections, recalls, and incident reporting.
Collaborative Efforts
CPSP actively collaborates with international partners, including the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Mexico’s Federal Consumer Protection Agency (PROFECO), sharing information and coordinating efforts to address safety issues across borders. Out of the 251 recalls, 72 of them were a joint effort from the US and 1 was a joint effort with the US and Mexico.
Health Canada also collaborates with foreign entities, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, provincial government authorities, and aboriginal government partners to address safety issues for such products, including children’s sleepwear, pest control products, natural health products, medical devices, and tobacco products.
Conclusion
Health Canada’s 2024–2025 enforcement activities highlight the importance of staying fully compliant with Canadian consumer product safety regulations: the Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) and the Consumer Chemicals and Containers Regulations (CCCR). Non-compliant products can result in recalls, border detentions, or regulatory penalties, emphasizing the need for proactive oversight. Compliance agreements and voluntary compliance are encouraged to prevent non compliance and remedy non compliance before enforcement actions such as administrative monetary penalties or recalls are necessary.
Dell Tech helps manufacturers, importers, and distributors ensure compliance with the CCCR, audit product safety documentation, and develop strategies to meet Health Canada’s requirements. By working with regulatory experts, companies can minimize risk, maintain market access, and ensure their products are safe for Canadian consumers.
DELL TECH HAS PROVIDED PROFESSIONAL, CONFIDENTIAL CONSULTING SERVICES TO THE SPECIALTY CHEMICAL INDUSTRY IN CANADA, THE USA, EUROPE AND ASIA FOR THE LAST 40 YEARS.
