Dangerous goods incidents in Canada are down 26% since the late 1990s

Since 1991, Transport Canada has recorded the dangerous goods (DG) incidents reported to it. The Government of Canada publishes the counts on its Transportation Data and Information Hub (TDIH). Read across 35 years, the line bends the right way.

How many dangerous goods incidents happen in Canada each year?

About 339 a year, based on the 2021 to 2025 average. The record peaked at 517 in 1996, and from 1996 to 2000 the country averaged 456 a year. That is roughly 117 fewer events every year.

Short-term swings are normal. In 2024 the total fell to 293, the lowest since 1994, and 2025 climbed back to 332.

Which transport mode improved most: air, rail or road?

Air, by a wide margin. All major modes now sit below their late-1990s levels, though the pace varies a lot.

Air made the biggest gain, from 19 cases a year to 6. Rail roughly halved, from 76 to 39. Road moved least, from 357 to 290, so its share of all incidents grew from 78% to 85%.

Road has the most dangerous goods incidents

Road carried 86% of the incidents recorded in 2025.

Separate Transport Canada tables on submode and cause show where this happens:

• In transit. 48% of road incidents since 1991 happened in transit rather than at a terminal, plant or other site. Since 2016, that share is 63%.
• Loss of control. The cause recorded most often, listed in 1,845 of 10,741 road incidents since 1991 (17%) and in 32% since 2021.
• Loading and handling. Improper loading, unloading or handling is a close second, at 1,821 (17%).

One incident can list more than one cause. Since 1991, road accounts for about 81% of every record in the series.

Which causes of dangerous goods incidents changed most?

The causes a shipper controls fell the most. Overfill, blocking and bracing, and loading problems all shrank as a share of incidents, while loss of control and road debris grew.

What counts as a reportable dangerous goods incident?

Under Part 8 of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) Regulations, the person in charge of the means of containment must report a release, an anticipated release, a loss or a theft. That duty applies when the quantity tops the limit set in the Regulations and the event endangers, or could endanger, public safety. Reports go to CANUTEC, Transport Canada's emergency response centre for dangerous goods.

What the dangerous goods incident data does not show

• Counts, not severity. A minor weeping paint can and a catastrophic tanker rollover each count once.
• Small samples. Air and marine record only a few cases a year, so a swing of a few cases can tilt a trend.

How shippers can prevent dangerous goods incidents

By checking five things before freight leaves the dock. Many incidents trace back to how a shipment was prepared, and those controls sit with the shipper.

For hands-on help, our dangerous goods packing services cover classification, packing, labels and documents.

Frequently asked questions

How we analyzed the data

We downloaded the TDIH table "Number of dangerous goods incidents recorded by mode". We confirmed that each year's modes add up to its total and rounded averages to whole numbers. All figures on this page come from that table.