Travel to Canada with U.K. car seat

[Mamaonabicycle]

Can anyone definitively clear this up for me? We are due to travel to Canada for a month visiting various friends and family. I have been told different things about using a U.K. car seat and can’t find any clear answer on line. Our airline will allow us to check a car seat for free as hold baggage. Our 7 month old is travelling as a lap infant. We will need a car seat on arrival to travel from the airport and will also be doing a domestic flight part way through our trip and using a taxi the other end. We want t take our U.K. car seat with us. Some things I have read on line say you can only use a Canadian certified seat in Canada, others say you can use a U.K. seat if a tourist and not a resident? What have others done in a similar situation? Thank you!

I think if you are visiting for 1 month, take your car seat, it's not like they will even check it on the other end. It saves you the hassle of finding one there.

Technically it's not legal but the chances you'd be stopped and anyone would notice or check are incredibly slim. As long as they are in a car seat and it's of a similar type to those allowed in Canada (so, not a forward facing seat at that age) it doesn't matter.

The Canadian ones are really different in how they fit. Since car seats only work properly if you fit them correctly, it makes a lot more sense to use the one that you are used to and know how it works than grappling with a brand new strange seat at the airport after a long flight with a baby.

OTOH if you think you'll be visiting Canada again in the next few years, it might be worth buying a convertible (rear/forward facing) seat to bring home so you always have one and don't have the same issue? American/Canadian seats are more often flight approved than UK ones especially once you get past the baby stage, which can be useful once your child is over 2 and in their own seat on the plane.

If it's a one time trip I'd just take yours.