Last Fall, the Federal Court declared invalid and unlawful the federal government Order that classified plastic articles as toxic under the Environmental Protection Act. The government quickly appealed the decision and the Federal Court of Appeal granted a stay motion which prevents the Federal court ruling from taking effect while the appeal is ongoing. Therefore, the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations remain in force.

Despite an acknowledgement that Canada must fight against plastic pollution, Canadian exports of plastic waste amounted to almost 175 thousand tonnes in 2022, hardly a stellar performance. In light of developments in recent years and the Canadian government’s commitment to the management and use of plastics, the authors draw on available data to give an accounting of Canada’s trade in plastic waste over the last 20 years and point that some questions remain unanswered due to lack of data.