Wood preservatives in Canada are governed by the Pest Control Products Acts and must be registered with the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) of Health Canada.

The PMRA’s role is to determine if proposed preservatives can be used safely when label directions are followed and if they will be effective for their intended use. If there is reasonable certainty from scientific evaluation that no harm to human health, future generations or the environment will result from exposure to or use of a preservative, its registration for use in Canada will be approved.

Once on the market, PMRA monitors their use through a series of education, compliance and enforcement programs. Preservatives are also reviewed every fifteen years or sooner as new information is discovered and as science evolves.  PMRA also requires companies to report any incident they receive about their products, just as they encourage consumers to report any incidents to these companies through their Incident Reporting Program.

The preservatives are identified on treated wood products by a stamp or plastic end tag with the name or number of the manufacturer, handling and use information and telephone or online resources for more detailed information. When using preservatives, users are responsible for reading and following these directions.

There are six wood preservatives currently registered with PMRA for treated wood in residential uses:

• Alkaline Copper Quaternary (ACQ)
• Copper Azole (CA)
• Wolman AG
• Micronized Copper Azole (MCA)
• Didecyl Dimethyl Ammonium
  Carbonate (DDAC)
• Disodium Octaborate Tetrahydrate
  (DOT or SBX) – Borates