Metrication in Canada - Before Conversion

Before Conversion

Until the 1970s, Canada traditionally used the imperial system of measurement units, labelled as "Canadian units of measurements" under Schedule II, Section 4 of the Weights and Measures Act (R.S., 1985, c. W-6). These units have the same name and, with the exception of capacity measures such as the gallon, the same values as U.S. customary units. For example, before metrication in Canada, gasoline was sold by the imperial gallon (4.55 litres) whereas, south of the border in the U.S., it was sold by the U.S. gallon (3.78 litres). In cross-border transactions, it was often confusing whether values quoted in pints, gallons, tons, etc. were referring to the U.S. values or the imperial values of these units.