Carriages and Strollers Safety Regulations

Summary#

These are the final Carriages and Strollers Regulations made under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act. They replace the old rules with updated mechanical, chemical and labelling requirements for carriages and strollers and came into force on June 7, 2023.

What it does#

• Aligns Canadian mechanical safety rules with international standards by allowing compliance with either ASTM F833 or ISO 31110 (some sections of those standards are excluded because the Regulations cover them separately).
• Adds and clarifies many specific safety tests and limits, including tests for wheel and latch integrity, entrapment, stability, restraint and impact performance.
• Sets chemical and coating limits for accessible parts:
  • Surface coatings and removable films must not have more than 90 mg/kg total lead, more than 10 mg/kg total mercury, or certain migrating heavy metal compounds above 1000 mg/kg.
  • A list of prohibited substances (for example, carbon tetrachloride, benzene and boric acid) cannot be accessible to a child or released if used as a filling.
• Limits phthalates in vinyl parts:
  • For all vinyl: di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) must be ≤ 1000 mg/kg.
  • For vinyl parts that a child under four could reasonably put in their mouth: diisononyl phthalate (DINP), diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and di‑n‑octyl phthalate (DNOP) must be ≤ 1000 mg/kg.
• Sets toxicology limits and testing expectations using LD50/LC50 values and good scientific practices; Schedule 1 lists permissible toxicity limits.
• Requires safety information and warnings in both English and French, legible and in a sans‑serif font with minimum type height 2.5 mm. The signal words “WARNING” and “MISE EN GARDE” must be in upper case.
• Specifies what must be permanently printed on the product and on packaging (manufacturer/importer name and address, model, month and year of manufacture, assembly/folding instructions, maximum child weight, braking operation, cleaning instructions, required warnings, etc.).
• Sets transition periods:
  • A one‑time transitional allowance: products meeting the previous rules may be manufactured, imported, advertised or sold for 180 days after the new Regulations come into force.
  • When an incorporated standard is updated, products may meet the previous or new version for 180 days for manufacture/import and 365 days for advertising/sale after publication of the new standard.

Who's affected#

• Companies that make, import, test, sell or advertise carriages and strollers in Canada (manufacturers, importers, retailers and testing laboratories).
• Small manufacturers and brand owners who may need to check phthalate content or update labels.
• Caregivers and parents: they are the intended beneficiaries because of the safety and chemical limits.
• It is not always possible to say how many existing products are affected; the Regulations themselves define which wheeled child conveyances are covered.

Why it matters#

• The rules aim to reduce real hazards seen in modern strollers and carriages — for example, wheel or car‑seat accessory detachments, strangulation and entrapment — by requiring updated mechanical tests.
• Chemical limits (phthalates, lead, mercury and others) reduce the chance of harmful exposures for young children who chew or mouth parts.
• Aligning with international standards should cut duplicate testing and design work for companies that sell into multiple markets. The government’s cost‑benefit analysis estimated annualized net benefits of about $1.2 million and noted industry testing savings. Government one‑time equipment costs were estimated at $150,000 and ongoing industry phthalate testing costs were estimated roughly $1,000 per year (extrapolated).
• Bilingual, clearer labelling and required warnings make it easier for caregivers to use products safely.
• These are final regulations (not a proposal), so the new requirements are already in effect as of June 7, 2023.