Glyphosate Use in Canada

Health Canada's PMRA decided to keep glyphosate registered in Canada, with label changes. The final re-evaluation decision (RVD2017-01) was published on April 28, 2017. It found that glyphosate products "are not a concern to human health and the environment" when used according to the label. The decision was challenged and upheld in January 2019.

How the review unfolded

• 2010: PMRA published a re-evaluation work plan for glyphosate (REV2010-02) ^[8].
• 2015: The proposed re-evaluation decision (PRVD2015-01) went to public consultation. That consultation is now closed ^[9].
• 2017: The final decision, RVD2017-01, was issued ^[10]. Health Canada's statement of April 28, 2017 gives the date and the outcome.

What the review covered and found (from Health Canada's glyphosate page and re-evaluation FAQ)

• Scope: risks from drinking water, food, workplace exposure and exposure of bystanders, plus environmental risk to non-target organisms.
• Food: glyphosate levels found in food "would not be a health risk to Canadians." Residue monitoring from 2015 to 2017 found 99.4% of samples within Canada's maximum residue limits. For the 0.6% that exceeded them, Health Canada assessed the health risk and found none.
• Cancer: IARC classified glyphosate as "possibly carcinogenic to humans." Health Canada separates that hazard label from actual risk. Based on real exposure levels, it judged glyphosate "unlikely to be a cancer risk."

Label changes required (within 24 months, so by April 2019)

• A 12-hour restricted-entry interval after spraying in agricultural areas
• A ban on hand-wicking and hand-daubing application
• Apply only when drift to areas of human activity (houses, schools, recreational areas) is minimal
• Spray buffer zones to protect non-target plants and aquatic habitats
• Precautions to reduce runoff into water

Surfactant (POEA) products: Glyphosate products that contain POEA surfactants (polyethoxylated tallow amines) need larger spray buffer zones. Health Canada found no risks of concern for products with no more than 20% POEA by weight, and says all products registered in Canada meet that limit (FAQ).

Objections and the 2019 outcome: Health Canada received eight formal notices of objection. Twenty scientists who had not worked on the 2017 evaluation reviewed them, including the material known as the "Monsanto Papers." Health Canada concluded the concerns "could not be scientifically supported," so the 2017 decision stands. Its January 2019 statement also says "no pesticide regulatory authority in the world currently considers glyphosate to be a cancer risk to humans at the levels at which humans are currently exposed." Health Canada's glyphosate page was last updated on June 8, 2026 and does not mention any change to the decision since 2017.

Approach: I searched PMRA's Decisions and Updates index and its public consultation index, which list the glyphosate documents but not their content. The findings and label requirements come from the official Health Canada pages linked above. I did not open the full RVD2017-01 document itself; it is available on request from Health Canada.

In Canada, I could confirm only two glyphosate MRLs from official pages: 5 ppm for wheat flour and 15 ppm for wheat bran. I couldn't retrieve the full commodity-by-commodity table, which Health Canada keeps in its online MRL Database. Health Canada's glyphosate page (updated 2026-06-08) names that database as the source for all current and historical glyphosate MRLs. The page also reports that CFIA monitoring from 2015 to 2017 found 99.4% of samples complied with Canadian MRLs. The other key point is that the 2021 proposal to raise glyphosate MRLs is still on hold, so the older limits remain in force.

How Canada's glyphosate MRLs have been set

• Six MRL proposals since 2010. PMRA's consultation index lists PMRL2010-75 ^[11], PMRL2010-81 ^[12], PMRL2011-47 ^[13], PMRL2012-15 ^[14], PMRL2014-78 (with a published response to comments) ^[15][16], and PMRL2021-10 ^[17]. All six are closed.
• The 2021 increases were paused. On August 4, 2021, the government paused "all of the proposed increases to MRLs currently under consideration," including glyphosate's. It also said the pause did not change how much or how often glyphosate can be used (Health Canada statement).
• The pause still applied in 2025. A federal Question Period note dated May 8, 2025 says "although some MRLs have been increased, the pause has not yet been lifted for glyphosate." It adds that PMRA "is currently evaluating how it will proceed to raise Maximum Residue Limits for glyphosate" (AAFC-2025-QP-00066). I found nothing official since then showing the pause has been lifted.

For comparison: the Codex international MRLs (CXLs) Codex sets an ADI of 0-1 mg/kg bw. The residue definition for compliance in plant commodities is glyphosate alone, except for soya bean, maize and rape (canola), where it is glyphosate plus N-acetylglyphosate expressed as glyphosate. In animal commodities it is that same sum. The table lists all 30 Codex glyphosate entries.

Commodity	Codex MRL (mg/kg)
Cotton seed	40 [18]
Cereal grains (group)	30 [19]
Rape seed	30 [20]
Wheat bran, unprocessed	20 [21]
Soya bean (dry)	20 [22]
Dry beans (subgroup)	15 [23]
Sugar beet	15 [24]
Dry peas (subgroup)	10 [25]
Sugar cane molasses	10 [26]
Sunflower seed	7 [27]
Maize	5 [28]
Edible offal (mammalian) (group)	5 [29]
Sweet corn (corn-on-the-cob)	3 [30]
Sugar cane	2 [31]
Pig, edible offal	0.5 [32]
Avian edible offal (group)	0.5 [33]
Banana	0.05 [34]
Mammalian muscle (group)	0.05 [35]
Avian muscle (group)	0.05 [36]
Eggs (group)	0.05 [37]
Milks (group)	0.05 [38]
Feed: Alfalfa hay/straw	500 [39]
Feed: Grass hay/straw (subgroup)	500 [40]
Feed: Pea hay/straw	500 [41]
Feed: Barley hay/straw	400 [42]
Feed: Wheat hay/straw	300 [43]
Feed: Bean hay/straw	200 [44]
Feed: Maize fodder (dry)	150 [45]
Feed: Oat straw/fodder, dry	100 [46]
Feed: Sorghum straw/fodder, dry	50 [47]

Codex limits are not Canadian law; I show them only for comparison.

Approach: I searched PMRA's consultation and decisions indexes and the Codex pesticide residue database, then Health Canada's and the federal government's own web pages. Canada's MRL table is not in the datasets I can search, and the PMRL documents and the online MRL Database did not load, so I couldn't confirm Canadian values beyond the two above. I can try the EU or US limits for glyphosate next if that helps your comparison.