Safety Regulations and Standards that Apply to Child Car Seats and Booster Cushions

Under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, Transport Canada develops and enforces the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS), including the Motor Vehicle Restraint Systems and Booster Seats Safety Regulations. These rules set the safety requirements that must be met or exceeded to help protect occupants during most real-world types of vehicle collisions. These regulations apply to child and infant restraint systems, booster cushions, restraint systems for disabled persons and restraint systems for infants with special needs.

The Act requires any of these products manufactured for sale in Canada or imported into Canada to be certified and clearly labelled to indicate that it complies with all applicable Canadian standards in effect at the time of manufacture. A brief description of the tests that are undertaken is provided in the compliance section.

We work closely with international regulatory agencies and monitor international child car seat safety research that can help improve safety. When we get data that supports improved safety requirements, we make changes to the standards.