The laws governing the quantity of gasoline you can travel with are governed by Transport Canada. These laws are federal and apply everywhere, not just Alberta.
How many jerry cans are you allowed to transport in Canada?
You can legally transport 150kg or 200 Litres of gasoline in jerry cans in Canada.
This is a gross mass, which means a total amount of the gasoline plus the weight of the jerry cans.
The laws and regulations around transporting dangerous goods in Canada are very in depth and complex.
For the purposes of answering this question here, we are only talking about the average person taking a few jerry cans camping, taking some fuel home for the lawn mower, filling up a car in an emergency and so on.
Just basic everyday personal use.
The law is based on total weight of the dangerous goods combined, and includes the weight of the container (Jerry Can in this case).
Example: A typical plastic 20 litre (5 Gallon) Jerry Can that is full of gasoline might weight approximately 20 kilograms.
The 150kg restriction/20kgs per jerry can = 7.5 Jerry cans. You would be more than safe with 7.
*This example is for demonstration purposes only.
Take a full jerry can and place it on a bathroom scale or other scale you might have at home.
Take note of the weight for future reference.
Also, this example is assuming these jerry cans of gasoline are the only dangerous goods you are transporting. The 150kg (or 200L) limit is combined with other dangerous goods in the same class.
Along with quantity limits, you also need to ensure the jerry cans are in safe containment condition, meaning they do not leak or have leaking potential.
You must also secure the jerry cans to the vehicle so they do not move while travelling. You are responsible for securing them as you would be with any other load.
In Summary
- There is a 150kg (or 200L) limit on transporting fuel in jerry cans. This includes the weight of the jerry cans.
- This is also combined with other dangerous goods in the vehicle.
- These laws are Federal through Transport Canada.
- The jerry cans must be securely attached to the vehicle, and in good condition to properly contain the fuel.
- Weigh a full jerry can and take note for future reference.
- Interesting side note: The laws tend to refer to them a “Jerricans” but we are using “Jerry Cans”, as this is what most people do.
