BPA in Canada, from the CEPA toxic listing to BPA-free labels
Canada listed BPA as toxic under CEPA in 2010. Polycarbonate baby bottles and cosmetics are prohibited. Food cans and thermal receipts are not.
BPA in Canada and how it is regulated in 2026
BPA in Canada (CAS 80-05-7) is listed as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), after an October 2008 assessment and a 2010 Schedule 1 order. Canada prohibits polycarbonate baby bottles that contain BPA under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act and lists BPA as prohibited on the Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist. There is no blanket ban on food can linings or thermal paper receipts.
Why Canada declared BPA toxic
BPA was assessed in Batch 2 of the Chemicals Management Plan Challenge. The draft screening assessment appeared in Canada Gazette Part I on 19 April 2008, and the final assessment and proposed risk management approach followed on 18 October 2008 (Health Canada, Batch 2; Health Canada, BPA in food packaging). The final screening assessment reached two conclusions under section 64:
- Human health, s.64(c): BPA should "be considered as a substance that may be entering the environment in a quantity or concentration or under conditions that constitute or may constitute a danger in Canada to human life or health."
- Environment, s.64(a): BPA "is entering the environment in a quantity or concentration or under conditions that have or may have an immediate or long-term harmful effect on the environment or its biological diversity."
That assessment applied "a precautionary approach when characterizing risk", given uncertain rodent neurodevelopmental and behavioural findings and possible sensitivity of "the maternal-fetal unit and infant". Infants from birth to 18 months were the most highly exposed group.
The listing itself came two years later. The proposed order was published in Canada Gazette Part I on 16 May 2009. SOR/2010-194 was registered on 23 September 2010, came into force that day, and was published in Canada Gazette Part II on 13 October 2010 (Canada Gazette). It added item 96, "Phenol, 4,4′-(1-methylethylidene)bis-". Schedule 1 has since been renumbered. BPA is now Part 2, item 86, with the same wording (Justice Laws, CEPA).
A Schedule 1 listing does not ban anything on its own. It lets the government make risk management instruments. BPA is not in the new Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2025 (SOR/2025-270), which came into force on 30 June 2026.
The baby bottle ban
The baby bottle ban was not made under CEPA. SOR/2010-53 amended Schedule I to the Hazardous Products Act and came into force on 11 March 2010. It added "Polycarbonate baby bottles that contain 4,4'-isopropylidenediphenol (bisphenol A)" (Canada Gazette).
When the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) came into force on 20 June 2011, it replaced Part I and Schedule I of the Hazardous Products Act and the prohibitions moved across without a gap (Health Canada). Today the ban is CCPSA Schedule 2, item 15. Section 5 of the Act prohibits manufacturing, importing, advertising or selling any product listed there. The item covers polycarbonate baby bottles that contain BPA and does not cover other consumer products.
BPA in food cans and infant formula packaging
BPA is used in the epoxy resins that line metal food and drink cans (Health Canada). Health Canada's food conclusion is different from the CEPA one. Its August 2008 Food Directorate assessment concluded that "the current dietary exposure to BPA through food packaging uses is not expected to pose a health risk to the general population, including newborns and young children." It recommended applying ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) to infant and newborn exposure. That assessment cites a provisional tolerable daily intake of 25 µg/kg body weight per day, set in 1996.
A September 2012 update found lower exposure than in 2008: a mean of 0.055 µg/kg bw/day for the general population and 0.083 to 0.164 µg/kg bw/day for infant age groups. The conclusion stayed the same.
Risk management focused on infant formula. Health Canada committed to work with industry on a code of practice for formula can linings. About 25 BPA-free replacement packaging materials were assessed as acceptable. The phase-out of BPA-containing liquid formula packaging was expected to show on Canadian shelves by December 2014 (Health Canada). A 2018 performance evaluation reported a "96% decrease in exposures of infants who were bottle-fed formula".
The CFIA canned foods survey found no Canadian numerical maximum for BPA in food, and said BPA use in food packaging had not been prohibited. It repeats Health Canada's ALARA advice to packaging makers and food processors. Canada has no numeric limit for BPA in food and no ban on its use in packaging.
BPA on receipts
Health Canada lists thermal coatings on receipts, prescription labels and airline tickets as BPA uses, and says "skin contact from handling thermal printing paper is considered an important secondary route of exposure" (Health Canada biomonitoring). ECCC's 2020 technical consultation said thermal paper use "has emerged as a prevalent source of exposure" since 2008, and noted BPS and Pergafast 201 as developers. BPS is also used as an ink developer in thermal receipt paper.
Canada has no federal ban, concentration limit, code of practice or proposed rule on BPA or BPS in thermal paper. The 2023-2024 CEPA annual report describes research on chemicals in thermal receipts, including BPS toxicology. That is research, not a control. Health Canada's consumer BPA page lists receipts as a possible source and gives no handling advice.
Cosmetics
BPA is on the prohibited list of the Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist as "4,4'-Isopropylidenediphenol", with no conditions. The Hotlist is the administrative tool Health Canada uses to communicate prohibitions under the Food and Drugs Act and Cosmetic Regulations (Health Canada).
Environmental measures
These measures cover effluent, environmental guidelines and release reporting. None of them is a product ban.
| Measure | Key detail |
|---|---|
| Pollution prevention planning notice, final 14 April 2012 | Facilities using more than 100 kg of BPA; target under 1.75 µg/L; use fell 99% at the four facilities (report as of January 2017) |
| Paper recycling mill agreement, March 2013 to 2017 | Effluent target 1,750 ng/L, the same 1.75 µg/L limit |
| Federal Environmental Quality Guidelines, June 2018 | Water 3.5 µg/L; sediment 25 µg/kg dry weight; mammalian diet 660 µg/kg food; avian diet 110 µg/kg food; voluntary unless written into a permit |
| NPRI reporting, 2025-2027 | Reportable at 100 kg and 1% thresholds, subject to the notice's conditions |
ECCC still lists the planning notice as in effect (ECCC). Its June 2020 ecological evaluation concluded: "No further risk management for BPA in surface water is necessary at this time."
Current assessment work on the bisphenols group
On 18 December 2020, Health Canada and ECCC proposed a subgroup of 343 BPA structural analogues and functional alternatives, plus BPA, for consultation (Health Canada). A mandatory section 71 notice followed on 13 November 2021, covering 188 substances, with responses due 16 March 2022 (ECCC guidance). A non-confidential summary of the results was published in March 2023 (CEPA annual report).
The Plan of Priorities published 19 July 2025 lists these analogues and alternatives for assessment. The priorities page states the reason: the shift toward "BPA-free" products "has led to a rise in the use of BPA alternatives (such as Bisphenol S) that have not been assessed." As of 3 October 2026, no notice of intent, state of the science report, or draft or final assessment for the group has been published. The latest bisphenol item on the CMP news page is biomonitoring data released on 10 June 2026.
What "BPA-free" means in Canada
Canada has no official definition or numeric threshold for a "BPA-free" claim. In practice, the product maker says BPA was not used. It doesn't mean "bisphenol-free".
Canada's assessment priorities name the shift toward "BPA-free" products as a reason to assess replacements such as BPS. Health Canada notes that "bisphenol analogues may have similar health effects as BPA", with less data behind them, and that BPE, BPF and BPS may replace it (Health Canada). Canadian biomonitoring from 2014 to 2019 found BPE down 28% and BPF down 37%. BPS stayed relatively unchanged.
For a "BPA-free" food container or feeding bottle, check the replacement material as well as the BPA claim. ECCC raised "the potential for regrettable substitution" in its 2020 consultation. You can ask RegAffairs AI, which has a cited answer on BPA's status in Canada.