August 06, 2025
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is responsible for protecting animal health in Canada under the Health of Animals Act, which includes safeguarding the health of Canada's honey bee population.
As part of this responsibility, the CFIA recently completed a comprehensive risk analysis to assess whether the current import restrictions on honey bee packages from the United States should be revised. This analysis was conducted in accordance with international standards set by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and the World Trade Organization's Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.
The assessment identified four hazards that exceed Canada's acceptable level of risk: Africanized honey bees, American foulbrood, small hive beetle, and Varroa mites. A public consultation followed to explore whether effective and science-based mitigation options could be implemented to reduce these risks.
After careful evaluation of all input received, the CFIA concluded that no feasible, scientifically-supported mitigation measures are currently available to bring all identified risks within acceptable levels.
As a result, Canada will maintain its current import restrictions and will not permit the importation of honey bee packages from the United States at this time.
These import restrictions are in place to help protect the long-term health and sustainability of Canada's honey bee population.
The following documents provide insight into the agency's decision to maintain the current import restrictions.