The Ultimate Guide to TDG Compliance in Canada (2026)

The Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act exists to prevent releases that could endanger public safety. Here is what every consignor, carrier, and worker needs to know.

Getting a new project that involves shipping hazardous chemicals across the country can feel overwhelming when you first open the Transport Canada website. There are dozens of regulations, legal definitions, and strict requirements to work through. Failure to comply with the TDG Act and Regulations can lead to heavy fines and even imprisonment, so it is worth getting right from the start.

This guide walks through the entire TDG system in plain English. It covers the rules, clears up the most common misunderstandings, works through two real case scenarios, and links to a full series of deep dives on every topic, from placards to spill reporting.

Who does what: consignor, carrier, consignee

In the world of shipping dangerous goods, you need to know exactly what role you play. If something goes wrong, the law wants to know who is responsible, and there are three main players.

The consignor (the shipper) is the person or company in Canada named on the shipping document who imports the goods or possesses them immediately before they are transported. It is the consignor's job to classify the dangerous goods, place them in the appropriate container, display the safety marks, and complete the shipping document. If you are packing the boxes at the warehouse, you are the consignor.

The carrier (the driver or transporter) is the person who has possession of the dangerous goods while they are in transit. Their job is to ensure the required safety markings remain visible on the vehicle and containers throughout the trip.

The consignee (the receiver) is the intended receiver of the dangerous goods at the final destination.

The split matters because each role carries its own legal duties, and inspectors check them separately. Our full breakdown of consignor vs carrier responsibilities goes duty by duty.

The 9 classes of dangerous goods

Before you can ship anything, you need to know exactly what you are shipping. The TDG Act divides dangerous hazards into nine specific classes based on the type of danger they pose. Here is the cheat sheet.

Sometimes a product has more than one danger. The class that poses the highest hazard is the primary class, and any lower hazards are the subsidiary classes. For every division, packing group, and real-world example, see the full guide to the 9 classes of dangerous goods.

The shipping document and the golden order

A large number of TDG fines occur because the shipping document is filled out incorrectly. A shipping document identifies the dangerous goods and must travel with the shipment. It must be easy to read, written in permanent ink, and in English or French.

When describing the dangerous goods on the document, write the information in this exact order, known as the golden order:

1. The UN number, a four-digit code identifying the chemical
2. The shipping name
3. The primary class
4. The subsidiary class, if applicable
5. The packing group, a Roman numeral (I, II, or III) showing how dangerous the product is

The document also needs a 24-hour number: a phone number where someone can be reached day or night to give technical advice about the chemical.

The consignor's certification is the biggest misunderstanding in the industry. The shipping document must include a legal statement certifying that the shipment complies with all TDG rules. This certification must be made by a specific human being. A company name cannot be used, and the individual's name must be clearly identified.

Once the trip is over, the consignor, carrier, and Canadian importer must keep a copy of this shipping document for at least two years. Field by field, with the exact wording rules and where the document must sit in the truck, it is all in our guide to the TDG shipping document.

Labels vs placards

In TDG, containers are referred to as means of containment. They must be built and secured so nothing leaks or spills under normal transport conditions. You need to know if you are using a small or large means of containment, because that changes which warning signs you need.

• Small means of containment: capacity of 450 litres or less, such as a drum, box, or cylinder. These require diamond-shaped marks called labels.
• Large means of containment: capacity greater than 450 litres, such as a highway tank truck or rail car. These require the larger diamond-shaped marks called placards.

The 450 litre line drives far more than the sticker size, from UN standardized packaging to securing rules, and our guide to small vs large means of containment covers the whole rule. For the marks themselves, sizes, placement, and the UN number panel, see TDG placards and labels.

A common mistake: after emptying and cleaning a tank truck, it is tempting to leave the DANGER placard on the side "just to be safe." That is wrong. You must cover or remove dangerous goods marks once the danger is no longer present. Displaying a placard when there is no actual danger is illegal, because it misleads first responders. The DANGER placard has its own strict conditions too, covered in our guide to the DANGER placard rules.

TDG training and how long it lasts

Not everyone in the warehouse needs to be a TDG expert, but legally, anyone who handles, offers for transport, or transports dangerous goods must be adequately trained and hold a training certificate.

A new worker who does not yet have a certificate can only handle dangerous goods under the direct physical supervision of a fully trained person. Supervision through a camera monitor does not count. The supervisor must be physically present.

Certificates are good for:

• 36 months (3 years) for transport by road, railway, or ship
• 24 months (2 years) for transport by aircraft

Transport Canada does not issue the training certificate. It is the employer's responsibility to issue and sign the certificate once they believe the employee is adequately trained. The renewal timelines, what the certificate must contain, and the record-keeping rules are covered in how long a TDG certificate is valid, and you can check your knowledge right now with the free TDG practice test.

Big shipments: ERAP, PD 36, and CANUTEC

When large corporations ship massive quantities of highly dangerous goods, such as a train carrying toxic gas or crude oil, the rules become stricter to protect public safety.

ERAP (Emergency Response Assistance Plan): for certain high-risk goods, the law requires an ERAP. It is a detailed safety plan that outlines exactly which specialized personnel and equipment will be deployed in the event of a serious accident. If an ERAP is required, its reference number and phone number must be printed clearly on the shipping document. Who needs one, the rail fuel rule, and tier 1 vs tier 2 activation are covered in ERAP explained.

Protective Direction 36 (PD 36): municipalities previously had no visibility into which dangerous goods were moving through their towns by rail. PD 36 forces every Canadian Class 1 railway carrier to share information with local emergency planners about the nature and volume of dangerous goods passing through their municipality.

CANUTEC: Canada's national transport emergency centre. Bilingual scientists work 24/7 to give technical advice during chemical spills. If a major spill occurs, first responders use the Emergency Response Guidebook (the orange book) to quickly secure the scene, then call CANUTEC for advanced scientific assistance. The centre's numbers, services, and registration rules are in what is CANUTEC, and the responder's side of the scene, from placards to the orange book, is in the TDG first responders guide.

"The shipping document tells you what's in the truck. The training tells you what to do if something goes wrong. Most fines I have seen trace back to one of those two things being incomplete, not to bad luck."

Samira AliCertified Public Health Inspector, 10+ years across Canada and the U.S.

Real TDG case scenarios

Two situations come up again and again. Here is how the rules actually apply.

Case 1: the 500 kg road exemption

You need to ship 400 kg of acetone, a Class 3 flammable liquid, in several small 30 kg boxes. The driver arrives and says he does not have a Class 3 placard for the truck.

The rule: under Section 4.16.1 of the TDG Regulations, there is a placarding exemption for dangerous goods weighing 500 kg or less. Because the total gross mass is under 500 kg, the truck does not need a placard on the outside. Every small box inside the truck must still carry its proper Class 3 safety label. The 500 kg rule and its cousin, the 150 kg gross mass exemption, are broken down with examples in the TDG exemptions guide.

Case 2: the highway spill

A driver transporting a large tank of toxic chemicals hits black ice, rolls into a ditch, and the tank cracks open near a public road.

The rule: the driver must report the release immediately because it endangers public safety. The first emergency report goes to the local authority responsible for responding at that location, which means calling 9-1-1. Because the tank's integrity is compromised, a second report goes to CANUTEC (1-888-CAN-UTEC or *666 on a cell phone) and the consignor, and the ERAP number on the shipping document is called if the cargo required a plan. Once the emergency is handled, a written 30-day follow-up report goes to the Minister. Every threshold, phone number, and deadline in that chain is laid out in TDG spill reporting.

Go deeper: the complete TDG series

This guide is the map. Each stop below is a full deep dive, built on the current regulations as consolidated to June 17, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Regulations evolve. This guide reflects the federal Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations as consolidated to June 17, 2026, including the SOR/2026-112 amendments. Consignors, carriers, and employers remain responsible for verifying their duties against the current regulations before shipping.