How long does a warranty last in Canada?

As long as the written warranty says — and, under provincial law, often longer. A manufacturer's one-year warranty is a promise the manufacturer chose to make. The law in each province sets its own floor underneath it, and that floor isn't measured in a fixed number of years.

Consumer protection in Canada is provincial, so the details differ. Ontario and Quebec show the two main approaches.

Quebec: the legal warranty#

Quebec is the most explicit. Its Consumer Protection Act gives every consumer a legal warranty on goods bought from a merchant. The Office de la protection du consommateur (OPC) describes it as a promise that the goods:

• will serve the purpose for which they were bought
• will have a reasonable lifetime, given the price paid, the contract and the conditions of use
• will not show hidden defects, meaning important defects present before the sale

These warranties "automatically apply without charge". You can pursue a claim with the merchant, the manufacturer or both, and a merchant may not insist that you deal with the manufacturer. The merchant or manufacturer may repair the item at no charge, exchange it, or refund you.

Ontario: implied conditions you can't sign away#

In Ontario, section 9 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2002 applies the conditions and warranties implied by the Sale of Goods Act to goods supplied under a consumer agreement — including that goods are fit for the purpose they were bought for and of merchantable quality. Any term that tries to negate or vary them is void, so a short written warranty can't remove them.

Ontario's own summary also points out what the Act doesn't do: it "does not provide a general right to return or exchange goods" you've simply changed your mind about. See can you return items without a receipt in Canada.

The other common-law provinces have their own sale of goods and consumer protection statutes. If a product fails early, your provincial or territorial consumer affairs office can tell you how they apply.

Written warranties and extended warranties#

A written warranty is "a promise by the business to repair or replace a defective item for a period of time after the purchase", in Ontario's words. Read who gives it — the store or the manufacturer — and what it covers.

Extended warranties cost extra and add to the manufacturer's cover. The Office of Consumer Affairs suggests asking what a typical repair costs before buying one, since repairing or replacing the item may be cheaper. Weigh it against what provincial law already gives you.

What to keep#

To make any warranty claim you'll need to show when and where you bought the item. The Office of Consumer Affairs advises keeping sales receipts and product information for exactly this. Note the date the written warranty expires, and keep the receipt past it: the legal protection can outlast it.

What else counts as proof, if the receipt is gone, is in what counts as proof of purchase in Canada.