Canadian food service operators navigate a complex web of grease trap regulations that vary significantly by province, territory, and municipality. As in the United States, grease trap rules in Canada are mostly local, so requirements can change from one province, territory or city to the next. This guide gives examples from official city and provincial sources and shows what to check for your own location.
Who Sets Grease Trap Rules in Canada
In Canada, grease trap rules are mostly set by provincial or territorial plumbing codes and by municipal sewer bylaws, so check the provincial or territorial and municipal rules that apply.
A restaurant chain with kitchens in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal has to follow three different sets of local rules, and the cleaning rules alone differ between them. In the cities checked for this guide, building and plumbing codes cover installation, while city sewer bylaws add operating rules such as cleaning and record keeping.
Check both the plumbing code and your local sewer bylaw before installing or upgrading a grease interceptor. Check what the permit covers and whether separate plumbing, building or equipment approvals are also required.
Understanding this dual-layer system is the first step toward comprehensive FOG compliance. Local sewer authorities, which may be the city or a utility such as Halifax Water or EPCOR in Edmonton, inspect kitchens and enforce these rules.
Ontario: Toronto and Ottawa
In Ontario, the Building Code covers installation, and cities such as Toronto and Ottawa have their own sewer-use bylaws with grease interceptor rules.
Toronto's Sewers By-law (Municipal Code Chapter 681) requires a grease interceptor wherever food is cooked, heated, processed or prepared and the premises connect to a city sewer. The City lists restaurants, coffee shops, banquet halls, bakeries, delis, grocery stores with a food counter, butcher shops, food trucks, and institutions with kitchens or cafeterias. Under the City's Code of Practice, hydromechanical interceptors must be serviced every four weeks, or sooner if grease and solids reach 25 per cent of the liquid volume, and gravity interceptors must be pumped before they pass 25 per cent. Servicing records must be kept for at least seven years.
Under Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 681 (Sewers), §681-14.1, a person convicted can be fined up to $50,000 for a first offence and up to $75,000 for a later offence (up to $100,000 for a later offence under the by-law's discharge sections), and a corporation up to $100,000 per offence.
Ottawa's Sewer Use By-law (2025-94) requires an interceptor at all commercial and institutional premises where food is prepared. Interceptors must be serviced monthly or before grease and solids reach 25% of the liquid volume, and maintenance records must be kept for at least 24 months and provided on request. You can compare grease trap service companies in Ontario's major municipalities and ask each one how it handles local record requirements.
Other Ontario cities have their own sewer-use bylaws, so check the one that applies to your location.
British Columbia and Alberta: Regional and City Rules
In the Metro Vancouver region, a regional bylaw sets grease interceptor rules for food businesses. Metro Vancouver's Food Sector Grease Interceptor Bylaw No. 365 requires a service provider to pump out the interceptor every 90 days or when fats, oils, grease and solids are more than 25% of the total liquid depth, whichever comes first, and requires two years of records on hand for inspection. Certain violations, such as not having a grease interceptor, carry a minimum fine of $2,000.
Calgary's Wastewater Bylaw 14M2012 requires a grease interceptor wherever food is cooked, processed or prepared. Since the 2025 amendments, it must meet the National Plumbing Code; it must also be sized and designed to CAN/CSA B481. Interceptors must be cleaned monthly unless Water Services sets another interval, and maintenance logs must be kept on site for at least two years. Adding bacteria, enzymes or hot water to push grease through is not allowed.
In Edmonton, EPCOR's Wastewater Services Bylaw 20865 Code of Practice requires an interceptor at premises with commercial or institutional food preparation, sized for the combined maximum flow rate of all connected fixtures. Interceptors must be cleaned at least monthly, and more often if grease and solids pass 25% of the liquid volume, with records kept for two years.
Quebec: Provincial Code and Municipal Bylaws
Quebec's construction code (Chapter III, Plumbing) requires a grease separator in commercial kitchens, restaurants, and care or detention facilities, and municipalities add their own sewer rules. In Montreal and Laval, the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal's wastewater bylaw (Règlement 2008-47) requires restaurants and food-preparation businesses to send kitchen wastewater that may contain grease through a grease trap, and to install, use and maintain it correctly.
Gatineau's wastewater bylaw (821-2018) also requires restaurants to use a grease separator, maintained as the manufacturer recommends and installed to the Quebec construction code and CSA B481, and to keep two years of maintenance and disposal records.
Atlantic Canada and the Territories
In Halifax, Halifax Water requires a grease interceptor for any business with a valid Food Establishment Permit, cleaned out monthly or when grease and solids reach 25% of the interceptor volume. Businesses must send their service records to Halifax Water within seven days of servicing and keep two years of maintenance records.
We have not checked the rules in other Atlantic cities or in the territories. If you operate there, check the provincial or territorial and municipal rules that apply, and ask your local sewer authority.
Installation Standards and Equipment Requirements
Several of the bylaws checked for this guide, including Calgary, Edmonton (EPCOR), Gatineau and Halifax Water, refer to the CSA B481 grease interceptor standards. Some bylaws add their own installation rules. Calgary, for example, requires at least 300 mm of clearance above the interceptor cover, and EPCOR in Edmonton generally requires a dishwasher to have its own interceptor.
Some bylaws require the interceptor to be easy to reach for inspection and cleaning, and Gatineau can require an alarm on a poorly maintained unit.
Sizing requirements vary significantly. Edmonton's EPCOR code, for example, sizes interceptors for the combined maximum flow rate of all connected fixtures; ask a plumber how your local code sizes them.
Engage licensed plumbers and engineers familiar with both provincial codes and local bylaws during the design phase. Moving or replacing an interceptor later can be costly, so check the requirements before you build.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all Canadian provinces require grease traps for restaurants?
Grease trap rules in Canada are mostly provincial or territorial and municipal. Plumbing codes and city bylaws in the places checked for this guide, including Ontario, Quebec, Calgary, Edmonton, Metro Vancouver and Halifax, require grease interceptors for food businesses. Who must install one is defined in each code or bylaw, for example any premises where food is cooked or prepared, or, in Halifax, any business with a food establishment permit. Check the provincial or territorial and municipal rules that apply to your location.
How often must grease traps be pumped in Canada?
It depends on the local bylaw. Examples: Toronto, hydromechanical units every four weeks, or sooner if grease and solids reach 25%; Ottawa, monthly or before grease and solids reach 25% of the liquid volume; Calgary, monthly unless Water Services sets another interval; Edmonton (EPCOR), at least monthly and more often if grease and solids exceed 25% of the liquid volume; Halifax Water, monthly or when grease and solids reach 25% of the interceptor volume; Metro Vancouver, every 90 days or when grease and solids exceed 25% of the total liquid depth, whichever comes first. Always check the bylaw that applies to your location.
What are typical fines for grease trap violations in Canada?
Fines are set in each bylaw. For example, under Toronto's Sewers By-law a corporation can be fined up to $100,000 per offence, and in Metro Vancouver some violations, such as not having a grease interceptor, carry a minimum fine of $2,000. Some bylaws also allow daily fines while an offence continues; Toronto's allows up to $10,000 per day. A city can also order changes; Toronto, for example, can require a new interceptor if an existing one is harming the sewer system.
Can I use the same grease trap system across multiple Canadian locations?
Standardizing equipment models simplifies procurement and training, but you cannot assume identical specifications will satisfy all jurisdictions. A unit that meets one city's rules may not meet another's sizing, installation or cleaning rules. Work with engineers to develop adaptable designs that can be modified to meet local requirements while maintaining consistency in core components and maintenance procedures.
Are grease trap regulations enforced differently for chains versus independent restaurants?
The bylaws checked for this guide do not set different rules for chains and independent restaurants; each location must meet the rules where it operates.
Navigating Canada's local grease trap rules requires understanding both broad regulatory principles and hyperlocal requirements. Whether you run one kitchen or many, ask your service company which local rules it works to and keep your own copy of every service record. Compare grease trap service companies in your area, and check the provincial or territorial and municipal rules that apply.
Author: Grease Trap Locator Editorial Team
The Grease Trap Locator editorial team covers FOG compliance, grease trap maintenance, and commercial kitchen regulations across the US and Canada. Our guides are written for restaurant owners, facility managers, and food service operators who need practical, accurate information without the fluff.
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