The Weights and Measures Act (R.S. 1985; ) (long title: An Act respecting weights and measures) is a Canadian law governing the units of measurements used in Canada.
Originally passed in 1970 as part of the Government of Canada's plan for metrication of Canada from Imperial measures, it was stopped in 1985 and changes were made to the act. The Metric Commission was created by the act and abolished in 1985.
The act sets forth the regulation of measurements and the commerce conducted using measuring devices. The act provides that the International System of measurement be used with what the act calls "Customary units used with the international system" such as hour, minutes, litres, hectares, tonne or metric ton.
In addition, the act allows usage of what it labels as "Canadian units" (the imperial system), such as miles, inches, imperial gallons, and acres. In SCHEDULE III - section 5, the act also provides for the usage of certain French units in what it labels as UNITS OF MEASUREMENT TO DESCRIBE CERTAIN LAND IN QUEBEC. The five permitted old French units are the foot (the French foot of 12.789 inches), arpent (for both length and area), and perch (for both length and area).
United States customary units are not legal for trade within Canada.
Units (Schedule II) Length unit nameofficial definitionmetric equivalentEnglishFrench mile mille 1,760 yd 1.609344 km furlong furlong 220 yd 201.168 m rod,pole or perch perche yd 5.0292 m yard yard or verge m 914.4 mm foot pied yd 304.8 mm inch pouce yd 25.4 mm chain chaîne 22 yd 20.1168 m link chaînon chain 201.168 mm
Area unit nameofficial definitionmetric equivalentEnglishFrench square mile mille carré 640 acres 2.589988110336 km2 acre acre 4,840 sq yd 4,046.856422 m2 square rod perche carrée sq yd 25.29285264 m2 square yard yard carré orverge carréea superficial area equalto that of a squareeach side of whichmeasures one yard 8361.2736 cm2 square foot pied carré sq yd 929.0304 cm2 square inch pouce carré sq ft 6.4516 cm2
Volume unit nameofficial definitionmetric equivalentUS EquivalentUS equivalents are rounded off to four significant figures.EnglishFrenchfluiddry bushel boisseau 8 gal peckquart de boisseau 2 gal gallon gallon m3 quartpinte gal pint chopine gal gill roquille gal fluid ounce once fluide gal fluid dram drachme fluide fl oz cubic yard yard cube or verge cube a volume equal tothat of a cube eachside of which measuresone yard cubic foot pied cube cu yd cubic inch pouce cube cu ft
Mass unit nameofficial definitionmetric equivalentEnglishFrenchton tonne 2,000 lb 907.18474 kg cental orhundredweight quintal 100 lb 45.359237 kg pound livre 0.45359237 kg 453.59237 g ounce once lb or grains 28.349523 g dram drachme oz 1.771845195 g grain grain lb 64.79891 mgprecious metals troy ounce once troy 480 grains 31.1034768 gprecious stones and gem stones carat carat 200 mg 200 mg
Quebec land measure (Schedule III) unit name official definitionmetric equivalentfoot (French measure or Paris foot) 12.789 inches ≈ 32.48 cmarpent, as a measure of length 180 feet (French measure) ≈ 58.47 marpent, as a measure of area 32 400 square feet (French measure) ≈ 3,418.89 mperch, as a measure of length 18 feet (French measure) ≈ 5.85 m perch, as a measure of area 324 square feet (French measure) ≈ 34.19 m
See also Measurement Canada Measurement Information Division of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Metric system Metrication Ordinance (Hong Kong) Units of measurement in France before the French Revolution Weights and Measures Act (United Kingdom)
References
Weights and Measures Act