The short version
In June and July 2026, Transport Canada published two major amendments to the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations (TDGR) in the Canada Gazette, Part II:
- SOR/2026-112 — Part 12 and International Harmonization Update (published June 17, 2026, in force on publication)
- SOR/2026-127 — Canadian Update (published July 1, 2026, in force on publication)
Both are already in force. Each comes with a 12-month transitional provision: you may keep complying with the TDGR as it read before the amendment, but only until the window closes — around mid-to-late June 2027 for SOR/2026-112 and the end of June 2027 for SOR/2026-127.
Practically, the two windows dovetail: SOR/2026-127's transition lets you comply with the TDGR as it read on May 1, 2026 — that is, before either amendment. So a shipper can effectively keep operating under the pre-June-2026 rules until the end of June 2027, and must then be fully compliant with both amendments at once. One important nuance: a transitional provision lets you follow the old rules as a whole — it is not a licence to mix and match the old and new text provision by provision.
What SOR/2026-112 changes (international harmonization + air)
- Newer international references. The TDGR now aligns with the 22nd edition of the UN Model Regulations, the 2022 edition of the IMDG Code, and the most recent edition of the ICAO Technical Instructions.
- 19 new UN numbers and shipping names, including UN 3549 (medical waste, Category A, solid), programmable electronic detonators, and new lithium-battery entries.
- Lithium cells are now covered. For the first time, the TDGR sets requirements for primary lithium metal cells and rechargeable lithium-ion cells — not just batteries — along with updated Class 9 lithium label specifications. If you ship cells, components, or equipment containing them, review your classification.
- Terminology: "dangerous goods safety marks" becomes "dangerous goods marks" throughout the English text (the corresponding French terminology in the RTMD is adjusted as well). Every SOP, checklist and training deck that uses the old wording is now out of date.
- U.S. reciprocity. Under certain conditions, shipments may use 49 CFR classification, marking, labelling, placarding and documentation, and U.S. special permits may be used for road/rail movement of means of containment holding residue from Canada to the U.S.
- Means of containment standards. The amendment incorporates CAN/CGSB-43.150 (replacing TP 14850), an updated CAN/CGSB-43.125, and a new CAN/CGSB-43.145 for large packagings — Canadian manufacturers can now certify large packagings domestically. A periodic retest requirement for container designs under CAN/CGSB-43.150 comes into force on July 1, 2029.
- Part 12 (air) fully rewritten, with provisions improving access for remote communities (heating oil, propane, paint) and new or updated exemptions for medical, scientific and industrial goods, aerial fire suppression, enforcement officers, and bear spray.
What SOR/2026-127 changes (the "Canadian Update")
- Rail buffer cars. At least one buffer car is now required between an occupied railway vehicle and a dangerous goods car on unit trains too, aligning Canada with U.S. practice.
- Tank car and ton container standards. TP 14877 is repealed and replaced by CAN/CGSB-43.147 (tank cars — updated requirements for toxic-by-inhalation goods such as anhydrous ammonia and chlorine, and for flammable cryogenics such as liquefied hydrogen and LNG) and CAN/CGSB-43.149 (ton containers).
- More terminology with real effects. "Class"/"Division" becomes "Primary Class" in several provisions, and "accidental release" becomes "release" — a change that broadens release-related obligations beyond purely accidental events. Update your incident-reporting procedures.
- Part 17 clarified. The special cases in Part 1 (except section 1.16) now clearly provide an exemption from the site registration requirements — welcome relief for many small shippers (see our site registration explainer).
- Quantity thresholds. The alcoholic beverages PG III exemption rises from 250 L to 450 L per means of containment; the black powder / gunpowder exemption drops from 150 kg to 75 kg (matching the Explosives Regulations, 2013); several other exemptions (light bulbs, refrigerating machines, residue drums moved for reconditioning, medical oxygen cylinders) are expanded or clarified.
- Radioactive materials. New alignment with the Packaging and Transport of Nuclear Substances Regulations, 2015, including exemptions for material implanted or administered for medical treatment and a pathway for one-time return transport of radioactive material of unknown classification.
- What did NOT happen: the proposed tightening of the agricultural anhydrous ammonia ERAP exemption was withdrawn after consultation — the exemption stays essentially as it was.
Your action checklist before June 2027
- Pick your switch date. You cannot stay on the old text past the end of June 2027 — schedule the change like a project, not a surprise.
- Find-and-replace the terminology. "Dangerous goods safety marks" → "dangerous goods marks"; check "Primary Class" and "release" wherever your documents quote the regulations.
- Review lithium shipments. Cells are now regulated in their own right — reclassify and recheck marks and documentation.
- Check your means of containment. Confirm your packagings, tank cars and ton containers reference the new CGSB standards, and diarize the July 2029 retest requirement.
- Retrain your team. Anyone with TDG training based on the pre-2026 text needs an update before your switch date.
How Certigo can help
Certigo's TDG training and compliance tools are maintained against the current TDGR text. View our TDG courses or try the Placard Calculator and Shipping Document Generator to see the current requirements applied automatically.
Sources
- SOR/2026-112 — Canada Gazette, Part II, June 17, 2026
- SOR/2026-127 — Canada Gazette, Part II, July 1, 2026
- Transport Canada — TDG regulatory changes
This article is general information, not legal advice. Always verify requirements against the official texts before making compliance decisions.