The Weights and Measures Act (R.S. 1985; French: Loi sur les poids et mesures) (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).

Units (Schedule II)

Length

unit name official definition metric equivalent
English French
mile mille 1,760 yd 1.609344 km
furlong furlong 220 yd 201.168 m
rod,
pole or perch		 perche 5+1⁄2 yd 5.0292 m
yard yard or verge 9,144⁄10,000 m 914.4 mm
foot pied 1⁄3 yd 304.8 mm
inch pouce 1⁄36 yd 25.4 mm
chain chaîne 22 yd 20.1168 m
link chaînon 1⁄100 chain 201.168 mm

Area

unit name official definition metric equivalent
English French
square mile mille carré 640 acres 2.589988110336 km2
acre acre 4,840 sq yd 4,046.856422 m2
square rod perche carrée 30+1⁄4 sq yd 25.29285264 m2
square yard yard carré or
verge carrée		 a superficial area equal
to that of a square
each side of which
measures one yard		 8361.2736 cm2
square foot pied carré 1⁄9 sq yd 929.0304 cm2
square inch pouce carré 1⁄144 sq ft 6.4516 cm2

Volume

unit name official definition metric equivalent US Equivalent[1]
English French fluid dry
bushel boisseau 8 gal 36.36872 L 9.608 US fl gal 8.256 US dry gal
peck quart de boisseau 2 gal 9.09218 L 2.402 US fl gal 2.064 US dry gal
gallon gallon 454,609⁄100,000,000 m3 4.54609 L 1.201 US fl gal 1.032 US dry gal
quart pinte 1⁄4 gal 1.1365225 L 1.201 US qt
pint chopine 1⁄8 gal 568.26125 mL 1.201 US pt
gill roquille 1⁄32 gal 142.0653125 mL 4.804 US fl oz
fluid ounce once fluide 1⁄160 gal 28.4130625 mL 0.9608 US fl oz
fluid dram drachme fluide 1⁄8 fl oz 3.5516328125 mL 0.1201 US fl oz
cubic yard yard cube or verge cube a volume equal to
that of a cube each
side of which measures
one yard		 764.554857984 dm3
cubic foot pied cube 1⁄27 cu yd 28.316846592 dm3
cubic inch pouce cube 1⁄1,728 cu ft 16.387064 cm3

Mass

unit name official definition metric equivalent
English French
ton tonne 2,000 lb 907.18474 kg
cental or
hundredweight		 quintal 100 lb 45.359237 kg
pound livre 0.45359237 kg 453.59237 g
ounce once 1⁄16 lb or 437+1⁄2 grains 28.349523 g
dram drachme 1⁄16 oz 1.771845195 g
grain grain 1⁄7,000 lb 64.79891 mg
precious metals
troy ounce once troy 480 grains 31.1034768 g
precious stones and gem stones
carat carat 200 mg 200 mg

Quebec land measure (Schedule III)

unit name official definition metric equivalent
foot (French measure or Paris foot)12.789 inches≈ 32.48 cm
arpent, as a measure of length180 feet (French measure)≈ 58.47 m
arpent, as a measure of area32 400 square feet (French measure)≈ 3,418.89 m2
perch, as a measure of length18 feet (French measure)≈ 5.85 m
perch, as a measure of area324 square feet (French measure)≈ 34.19 m2

See also

References

  1. ↑ US equivalents are rounded off to four significant figures.
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