Health Canada is consulting on changes to the industrial hemp regulations Canada relies on to license cultivation, processing, and cross-border movement of hemp. The consultation opened with a Notice of Intent published in the Canada Gazette, Part I on May 15, 2026, and its 45-day comment period closed on June 30, 2026. No regulatory changes have taken effect, and any formal amendments are still at least a year away.
The review affects industrial hemp cultivators, processors, and importers and exporters currently operating under SOR/2018-145, which requires a licence for nearly every hemp-related activity plus a separate permit for each cross-border shipment. Health Canada’s stated goal is to reduce or eliminate requirements that no longer match hemp’s low-risk profile, while keeping the safeguards that prevent diversion to the illegal cannabis market.
What Health Canada Is Reviewing
Health Canada’s stated objective is to reform the industrial hemp regulations Canada currently applies so they better reflect the crop’s actual risk profile, while keeping the controls that matter most in place. The areas under review include:
| Area | Current rule (SOR/2018-145) | Under review |
| Licensing | A licence is required for each hemp activity | Reducing or eliminating licence requirements for certain activities |
| Import / export | A separate permit is required per shipment | Removing the separate permit layer |
| THC testing | Mandatory for hemp grown for seed | Reducing or eliminating the requirement |
| Approved cultivars | Health Canada maintains a List of Approved Cultivars | Reforming how the list is managed |
| THC definition | 0.3% w/w in flowering heads and leaves | Possibly amending the threshold |
| Reporting | Ongoing reporting obligations apply | Reducing reporting requirements |
Two elements are expected to stay in place regardless of what else changes. Health Canada has said that controls preventing illicit cannabis from being disguised as hemp, and Canada’s international reporting obligations, remain essential to the framework. Cannabinoid extraction, including CBD, sits outside the scope of this consultation and continues to fall under existing cannabis processing licence requirements.
Industry Context
The consultation follows sustained pressure from the hemp sector. Health Canada’s own licensing data show 737 industrial hemp licences in Canada as of October 2024, including 643 cultivation licences, with 93 approved cultivars for the 2026 growing season and roughly 15,588 hectares approved for cultivation. Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec account for the largest shares of licensed cultivation.
In its submission to the consultation, the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance asked Health Canada to raise the THC threshold from 0.3% to as much as 1.0%, arguing the current limit no longer reflects scientific understanding or commercial reality. The Alliance’s submission also called for a regulatory pathway allowing non-prescription health products containing hemp-derived cannabinoid extracts, though Health Canada has not indicated whether that falls within the scope of the current consultation.
Where the Timeline Stands
Health Canada’s 2026 to 2028 Forward Regulatory Plan places the next public comment period, covering any formal proposal published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, around spring 2027. Licence holders will have another opportunity to comment once draft text is available.
Health Canada has also circulated a voluntary cost-benefit analysis questionnaire to industrial hemp licence holders. Feedback gathered through that questionnaire is expected to feed into a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement, which would accompany any formal proposal published in the Canada Gazette. Current licensing, permit, and testing obligations under the existing industrial hemp regulations remain fully in effect in the meantime.
What This Means for Your Business
Existing cultivation, processing, and import and export licences, along with THC testing and reporting obligations, continue to apply while the consultation moves through the regulatory process. If you’re planning cultivation, processing, or import and export activities involving hemp, it’s worth planning around the current requirements rather than the proposed ones, since the scope of any amendments could still shift before a formal proposal is published.
Recordkeeping is worth prioritizing regardless of how the rules evolve, since anti-diversion controls and international reporting obligations are expected to remain in place under any revised framework. Licence holders who want a voice in the formal proposal should also watch for the spring 2027 Canada Gazette, Part I comment period, since that will be the next opportunity to weigh in before any amendments are finalized.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have the industrial hemp regulations changed?
No. Health Canada closed a public comment period on potential amendments on June 30, 2026, but no regulatory changes have been made. A formal proposal is expected in the Canada Gazette, Part I, with a further comment period, around spring 2027.
What is Health Canada proposing for industrial hemp?
The consultation examined reducing or eliminating licensing requirements for certain hemp activities, removing the separate import and export permit layer, reducing reporting obligations, reforming the List of Approved Cultivars, reducing or eliminating THC testing, and possibly amending the 0.3% THC definition. Anti-diversion controls and international reporting obligations are expected to stay in place.
Does this consultation affect CBD or extraction rules?
No. Cannabinoid extraction, including CBD, is out of scope. Extraction activities continue to be governed under the existing cannabis processing licence framework, separate from industrial hemp cultivation licensing.
Key Takeaways
- This is a consultation, not a regulatory change. SOR/2018-145 remains in effect as written.
- The direction under review is deregulation: fewer licensing and permit requirements, less reporting, and reduced or eliminated THC testing, along with a possible change to the 0.3% THC definition.
- Anti-diversion controls and Canada’s international reporting obligations are expected to stay in place under any revised framework.
- A formal Canada Gazette, Part I proposal, with another comment period, is expected around spring 2027.
Looking Ahead
Until a formal proposal changes the industrial hemp regulations Canada currently enforces, hemp cultivators, processors, and importers are operating under the same licensing, permit, and testing requirements as before, with the next real decision point still roughly a year out.
QSS’s Cannabis Licensing team works with hemp operators to prepare licence applications, manage amendments and renewals, and track developments like this one as they move through the regulatory process. If you’d like to talk through how a shift in the industrial hemp regulations could affect your operation, get in touch with our team.
