Passenger guide · Updated October 5, 2026

Lost Baggage Compensation in Canada

When a delayed bag becomes lost after 21 days, how much Canadian law makes the airline pay, how to prove what was in the bag, and what tribunals decided when airlines refused.

When a delayed bag becomes a lost bag: 21 days

A checked bag becomes lost when it has not arrived 21 days after the date it ought to have arrived, or earlier if the airline admits it is lost. Article 17(3) of the Montreal Convention then lets you enforce your rights against the airline for the bag itself.

Section 23(1) of the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) uses the same test. It applies if a carrier admits to the loss of baggage, or if baggage is lost for more than 21 days.

Before that line, the bag is delayed, and you claim reasonable interim expenses. Our delayed baggage guide covers that stage and its 21-day written complaint deadline.

Expenses while the bag is missing are claimable too. In Lai v. Air Canada, 2023 BCCRT 772, the passenger's bag was missing for 24 days. The tribunal awarded the $715 he spent while the bag was missing, under section 23(1).

How much compensation you can expect for lost luggage in Canada

You can claim the proven value of what you lost, up to 1,519 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) per passenger, plus any baggage fees you paid. That was roughly C$2,900 in late 2026. The SDR is a currency basket, so the dollar value moves. The legal limit is 1,519 SDR.

That limit has applied since 28 December 2024. For flights before that date, the limit is 1,288 SDR.

Two laws set the amount:

  • International flights. The Montreal Convention makes the airline liable for loss of checked baggage, up to the limit in Article 22(2). The airline is liable unless the loss resulted from the inherent defect, quality or vice of the baggage.
  • Flights within Canada. Section 23(1) of the APPR requires the airline to pay at least the sum of the fees paid for the baggage and the amount that would be payable under the Montreal Convention if the flight were international.

Section 23(1) adds the fee refund in both cases, including on international flights. The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) states that the airline must refund any fees you paid for baggage services if your baggage is lost or damaged.

The limit is not an automatic payment. If your bag held $900 of belongings, you claim $900, not the full limit. If it held more than the limit, you recover the limit, unless you made a special declaration of higher value at check-in and paid any supplementary charge.

How to prove the value of lost luggage

You prove value with the best evidence you have of what was in the bag and what it was worth. You may not have receipts for everything, so make your list specific and believable.

Build your claim like this:

  1. A written list of the contents. Item, brand where you know it, approximate age and condition, and what it was worth.
  2. Receipts where you have them. Card statements, online order histories and emailed receipts count.
  3. Photos. Packing photos, travel photos that show the items, and a photo of the bag itself.
  4. Current replacement prices. Links or screenshots showing what the same or similar items cost now. These are evidence of value. They are not necessarily the amount you can recover.
  5. The airport report. The Property Irregularity Report (PIR) or baggage report number, and your bag tag.

Age, condition and depreciation can matter. An airline can say a five-year-old coat is not worth the price of a new one. Be ready to explain your figures.

Keep receipts for what you had to replace. In Hui v. Air Canada, 2026 BCCRT 45, the passengers claimed $1,785.95 for the cost of replacing their lost belongings on a Kelowna to Dublin trip.

What the airline will offer first, and why you can refuse it

Airlines often start with a partial payment or a travel credit. You do not have to accept either as full settlement.

Read any offer carefully before you accept. Check whether it asks you to sign a release, or says payment is in "full and final settlement." If you think a payment is too low, get advice before you cash it.

Ask whether the payment is money or a credit. A travel credit is not the same as cash compensation, and the APPR fee refund is a refund of what you paid.

If the offer is low, reply in writing. Set out your list, your evidence and the amount you claim. Our demand letter template gives you a structure and a deadline to pay.

Filing at the CTA, the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal, or small claims court

If the airline refuses or does not answer, you have three main routes.

A CTA complaint. It is free. You must first complain to the airline in writing and wait 30 days. The CTA states that it can take more than 24 months before a complaint is reviewed.

The BC Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT). The CRT has heard lost baggage claims, including Hui under the Montreal Convention and Lai under APPR section 23(1). In Hui, it confirmed it could hear the claim because the flight was international and the claim did not depend on the APPR.

Small claims court in other provinces. Each province sets its own limits and procedures. See taking an airline to small claims court.

Whatever route you choose, watch the two-year limit. Treat it as a hard outside deadline. Article 35 of the Montreal Convention says the right to damages is extinguished if an action is not brought within two years from arrival, or from the date the aircraft ought to have arrived.

Do not assume that a CTA complaint preserves a separate court claim while the CTA process is ongoing. If you may want to go to court, get advice before the two years run out.

What happens if the airline pays after you file

If the airline pays your full claim after you file, the claim may become moot. That can still be a win.

In Hui, Air Canada filed a response denying the claim. It then sent the passengers the full $1,785.95 by e-transfer. The tribunal dismissed the claim as moot, because there was no longer a live dispute to decide.

The tribunal still found the passengers were the successful party. Air Canada paid only after they filed and went through the tribunal process. It ordered Air Canada to repay $125 in tribunal fees and $13.22 for serving the claim, a total of $138.22.

Two points from Hui are worth knowing:

  • Full payment of the amount claimed made the proceeding moot, even without a signed release. This does not mean you can safely accept any payment just because you did not sign anything. If a payment is less than you claimed, get advice before you accept it.
  • Interest did not keep the claim alive. The tribunal said interest attaches to a money judgment, and there was none once the airline paid.

Common questions

How likely is it to get your lost luggage back?

No law or airline publishes a figure you can rely on for your own bag. The law assumes a missing bag can still turn up, which is why it treats a bag as delayed, not lost, for the first 21 days. Your legal position changes once a bag is 21 days overdue or the airline admits it is lost. At that point you can claim for the bag and its contents, not only for interim expenses.

How much do airlines pay for missing baggage?

Airlines pay the proven value of what you lost, up to a limit of 1,519 Special Drawing Rights per passenger for flights since 28 December 2024. That was roughly C$2,900 in late 2026, but 1,519 SDR is the actual legal limit. Under the APPR, the airline must also refund any baggage fees you paid. In Hui v. Air Canada, Air Canada paid the full $1,785.95 claimed after the passengers filed at the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal.

Is lost luggage covered by travel insurance?

Many travel insurance and credit card policies cover lost baggage, usually with their own limits and deductibles. An insurance payment does not necessarily reduce what the airline owes. In Lai v. Air Canada, the tribunal refused to deduct the $100 the passenger's insurer paid. Check whether your insurer requires you to claim against the airline too.

What is the maximum compensation for lost luggage?

For international flights under the Montreal Convention, the maximum is 1,519 Special Drawing Rights per passenger, unless you made a special declaration of higher value at check-in and paid any supplementary charge. For flights within Canada, section 23(1) of the APPR requires compensation at least equal to the Montreal Convention amount, plus any baggage fees paid. The limit is a ceiling. You recover what you prove, up to it.

What to do next

Decisions on this topic

  • Hui v. Air Canada, 2026 BCCRT 45: Air Canada paid the full $1,785.95 lost-bag claim after the passengers filed at the tribunal, so the tribunal dismissed the claim as moot. It still called the passengers the successful party and ordered Air Canada to repay their $138.22 in fees and expenses.
  • Lai v. Air Canada, 2023 BCCRT 772: A delay caused by an earlier delay is only outside the airline's control if the airline proves it took all reasonable steps to limit the knock-on. Air Canada had ten hours in Toronto and filed no evidence, so it paid $400. It also paid $715 for a bag lost for 24 days.
  • IATA v. Canadian Transportation Agency, 2024 SCC 30: The airlines tried to strike down APPR compensation for international flights. They said the Montreal Convention is the only law that applies. The Supreme Court disagreed: APPR compensation is a fixed consumer entitlement, not a damages claim, so both laws stand together.

Related guides

Sources

This guide is general legal information, not legal advice. The rules change. Check the current Air Passenger Protection Regulations and your airline's tariff before you rely on any figure here.