Daily Read / Canada & Community
Canada & Community · Follow a change over time: order events in a timeline, find causes and examples, and tell what changed from what stayed the same
Why Does Canada Use Celsius and Kilometres? The Metric Switch
Learn when Canadian weather reports, road signs and gas pumps changed to metric units, why it happened in stages, and what is still measured the old way.
Device/browser voice. Pronunciation and availability vary.
Two ways to measure
Ask a Canadian how warm it is outside, and the answer will be in degrees Celsius. Road signs show speed in kilometres per hour, and gas is sold by the litre. These are metric units. Before the 1970s, the older imperial system was still the main one. It used miles, gallons and degrees Fahrenheit.
In the 1960s, new technology and growing world trade made a shared system of measurement more important. Supporters of the change said it would help Canada sell goods to other countries. They also said that metric units, which are based on tens, are simple to use.[1]
The change begins
In January 1970, the federal government published a white paper that proposed a national plan. In 1971, the Metric Commission was formed to guide the change. In fall 1974, the provinces agreed to teach metric to primary students.
The most noticeable change came on April 1, 1975. That day, Environment Canada began giving weather forecasts in degrees Celsius. A newspaper advertisement on March 31 announced the switch. The agency had ordered 10,000 thermometers two years earlier, but only 2,000 arrived in time.[2]
Step by step
The change did not happen all at once. In September 1975, rainfall was reported in millimetres and snowfall in centimetres. In September 1977, road signs began to show distances in kilometres and speed limits in kilometres per hour.
In January 1979, service stations started to price and sell gasoline and diesel by the litre. Other changes, such as grocery scales, took until the early 1980s. Changing one kind of measurement at a time spread the work over several years.[1]
Not everything changed
Canada did not become fully metric. Many Canadians still give height in feet and inches. Fahrenheit is still often used for cooking. Federal policy allows both systems, and the goal of full conversion set in 1975 was never reached.
So Canadians often use both. A forecast says 5 degrees Celsius, a recipe may say 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and a friend may say they are five feet tall. Knowing both kinds of units helps you read signs, labels and recipes.[2]
Fast lesson
Use these checks before you answer the practice questions.
Pick a few objects at home, such as a cup, a thermometer, a ruler. Ask your child to find which units are on them and whether any show two systems.
Draw a line with 1970, 1975, 1977 and 1979. Place each change on the line before answering questions. Notice that dates in this reading come from sources that sometimes differ by month.
The article states dates and what changed. Reasons such as why stages helped are partly given by the sources, partly inference. Ask your child to say which is which.
This reading explains what changed and when. It does not judge whether the change was good or bad or support any political view.
Common mistakes
Why this fails: That day was for weather forecasts in Celsius. Road signs and gas pumps changed in later years.
Why this fails: Many Canadians still use feet, inches and Fahrenheit, and federal policy allows both systems.
Why this fails: The two scales give different numbers for the same temperature, so check which one is named.
Word Lab
Use the meaning, hear the word, then try it in your own sentence.
metric
adjectiveusing units based on tens, such as metres, litres and grams
A kilometre is a metric unit.
imperial
adjectiveusing older units such as miles, gallons and feet
A mile is an imperial unit.
Celsius
nouna temperature scale used in Canadian weather reports
The forecast is in degrees Celsius.
Fahrenheit
nounan older temperature scale still used for some cooking
The recipe uses Fahrenheit.
kilometre
nouna metric unit of distance equal to 1000 metres
The sign shows kilometres.
litre
nouna metric unit used to measure liquid
Gas is sold by the litre.
millimetre
nouna very small metric unit of length, used to report rainfall
Rainfall is reported in millimetres.
unit
nouna standard amount used for measuring
A litre is a unit of volume.
forecast
nouna report that says what the weather will probably be
The forecast came in Celsius.
convert
verbto change from one form or system to another
Canada began to convert to metric.
stage
nounone step in a longer process
The change happened in stages.
policy
nouna plan or rule that a group or government follows
Federal policy allows both systems.
Check your understanding
Choose an answer, explain your choice, and then check. Hints and retries are welcome.
Try the questions here. Public practice does not save a learning record.
Support · Find it in the text
Support · Find it in the text practice
Each answer is in the article. Point to the sentence.
1. Name three imperial units from the article.
2. What did the federal government publish in January 1970?
3. What was formed in 1971 to guide the change?
4. How were rainfall and snowfall reported from September 1975?
5. When did gas stations start selling by the litre?
6. What is still often used for cooking?
Apply · Order and explain
Apply · Order and explain practice
Use the dates and the reasons from the article.
7. Put these in order: gas by the litre, Celsius forecasts, road signs in kilometres.
8. Why did supporters want a shared system of measurement?
9. Why might changing in stages help people?
10. A sign says 50 km/h. Which system is this?
- Metric
- Imperial
11. Which measurements changed in 1975, and which in 1979?
12. How do we know Canada did not become fully metric?
Reason · Use the ideas
Reason · Use the ideas practice
Apply what you learned to new situations.
13. A recipe from a relative says 350 degrees. Is it Celsius or Fahrenheit? What would you check?
14. Why was it a challenge that only 2,000 of 10,000 thermometers arrived in time?
15. What would a student need to know about the 1970s to understand why people had questions about the change?
16. Write one sentence that uses 'convert' and one measurement.
17. Find three places in your home or neighbourhood where you see Celsius, kilometres or litres.
Practice answer key
- 1. Miles, gallons and degrees Fahrenheit (feet and inches also appear).
See 'Two ways to measure' and 'Not everything changed'. - 2. A white paper that proposed a national plan.
See 'The change begins'. - 3. The Metric Commission.
See 'The change begins'. - 4. Rainfall in millimetres and snowfall in centimetres.
See 'Step by step'. - 5. January 1979.
See 'Step by step'. - 6. Fahrenheit.
See 'Not everything changed'. - 7. Celsius forecasts (1975), road signs in kilometres (1977), gas by the litre (1979).
Use the years in the article. - 8. New technology and world trade made it more important; they also said metric units are simple to use.
From 'Two ways to measure'. - 9. Spreading the work over years probably gave people and businesses more time to learn and to replace equipment. This is an inference.
From 'Step by step'. - 10. Metric.
Kilometres per hour is a metric unit. - 11. 1975: temperature in Celsius, rainfall in millimetres and snowfall in centimetres. 1979: gas in litres.
From the timeline. - 12. People still use feet and inches for height and Fahrenheit for cooking, and the goal of full conversion was never reached.
From 'Not everything changed'. - 13. Probably Fahrenheit, since Fahrenheit is often used for cooking. This is an inference; check the recipe or ask.
Say when you are inferring. - 14. Many places might not have had a Celsius thermometer ready when forecasts changed. This is an inference.
Think about what the change needed. - 15. They had always used miles and Fahrenheit, so new units were unfamiliar. This is an inference.
Think about learning something new. - 16. Answers vary, for example: The country began to convert its road signs to kilometres.
Use the word correctly. - 17. Answers vary: a thermometer, a speed sign, a milk carton.
Look for real examples.
Related skills
Put it in your own words
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Check your own explanation
This is self-review, not automatic marking.
Compare with a model response
Canada moved from imperial units to metric units, mostly in the 1970s. Supporters said new technology and world trade made a shared system more important. On April 1, 1975, weather forecasts began to use degrees Celsius. In 1977, road signs began to show kilometres and kilometres per hour, and in January 1979, gas stations began to sell fuel by the litre. The change happened in stages, so people had time to learn. Canada did not become fully metric, because many people still use feet and inches for height and Fahrenheit for cooking.
Sources and revision notes
Source check: 2026-11-12. Grade guidance is an editorial suggestion, not a standardised reading score.
What changed in this edition?
Opened on 2026-11-12. From The Canadian Encyclopedia: the 1960s reasons (technology, world trade, a shared system, decimal simplicity), the 1971 Metric Commission, 1 April 1975 Celsius forecasts, September 1975 rainfall and snowfall units, September 1977 road signs, January 1979 gas in litres, and the later easing of metric-only requirements. From Canada's History: January 1970 white paper, fall 1974 provincial agreement to teach metric, the 31 March 1975 newspaper advertisement, 10,000 thermometers ordered with only 2,000 arriving in time, and the continued use of Fahrenheit for cooking and feet and inches for height, with federal policy allowing both systems. The two sources differ on some details, for example the month of the road-sign change (September or December 1977), so the lesson uses September 1977 from the Encyclopedia and does not claim an exact day. Other details in the sources, such as petitions, named political figures and the Gimli Glider incident, were left out to keep the reading neutral and focused on measurement. The statement that supporters called metric units simple comes from the Encyclopedia; the reasons given for changing in stages and for knowing both systems are this lesson's teaching framing, marked as inference in the questions. The reading explains what happened and does not support any political position.