The Empire Strikes Back era in Canada (1980-1982) was when the majority of items were released. Canadian items sported the familiar Star Wars / The Empire Strikes Back logo on the English side of its ESB packaging, and the La Guerre des Etoiles: L'Empire Contre-Attaque on the French side. Canada had several Star Wars era items packaged in ESB packaging. The vehicles' boxes had English printing on one side, and French printing on the other; a tell-tale sign that the item is Canadian.

The original, white X-Wing Fighter was rereleased during the early 1980's in Canada with an updated image on the box to reflect the scene in the Empire Strikes Back where Luke Skywalker lands on Dagobah. The logo is in English on all sides. There are also subtle molding differences between the original, Star Wars release and the ESB release. The ESB release is actually a white version of (and precursor to) the grey, Battle-Damaged version of the X-Wing released in 1982 in the USA (1983 in Canada). There is a noticeable lack of detailing on the ESB version's wings as can be seen in the comparison below. The decals have rounded corners on the ESB release (only found with this version of the X-Wing). R2-D2's head is also a flat, grey on the Star Wars release of the X-Wing, whereas the R2-D2 head is more metallic on the ESB release version. The edge of the ESB X-Wing wing is also raised similar to that of the Battle-Damaged X-Wing.

     

The original, white TIE Fighter shown here was rereleased for the Empire Strikes Back era under the ESB logo. Unlike the American version of the TIE Fighter, the Canadian version's logo has a "black out" that extends horizontally across the box. Also, note the existence of the Long-Playing Toy logo on the box. This logo was abandoned before the 1979 release of Star Wars toys, so it is interesting to see its existence on an ESB era item. The French version of the ESB logo appears on the back of the box. Also take note that the nameplate still indicates the vehicle as "TIE Fighter", whereas its American cousin had renamed it "Imperial TIE Fighter" and had abandoned the nameplate altogether in 1980.

Shown here is the ESB version of the Millennium Falcon. The Millennium Falcon came in a box that sported "all-over" graphics. The box's ends were made with flaps that folded together inside the box in order to maintain a strong seal on either end. This box style continued until the ROTJ issue of the vehicle, where plain "fold-over" flaps were used and were glued together. The same graphic was also used throughout the release of the Millennium Falcon, whereas other countries would use updated images to re-enact scenes from the movie that was in theatres at the time. This was a cost-saving move on Kenner Canada's part. With the lower production levels in Canada, Kenner Canada could not realize the same economies of scale that other countries could, so cost saving measures were taken whenever feasible. There was also a special offer version of the ESB version of the Millennium Falcon.

The Imperial Troop Transporter saw a late release in Canada. In 1980, the vehicle was released in an ESB box. The vehicle itself was identical to the American version.

Another late release in Canada was the Radio-Controlled Sandcrawler. The box as well as the remote sported the ESB logo in both English and French. Canada was the only country to have received the Sandcrawler in an ESB box. There was also a special offer version of the ESB Radio-Controlled Sandcrawler.

The Rebel Armored Snowspeeder in an ESB box. Canada only released the Snowspeeder in its original, pink box. There were also two different special offer versions of the Rebel Armored Snowspeeder in Canada.

The Twin Pod Cloud Car in an ESB box. There were also two different special offer versions of the Twin Pod Cloud Car.

Boba Fett's Slave I in an ESB box. There was also a special offer version of the Slave I in Canada.

     

The AT-AT Walker in an ESB box. The AT-AT came in two different boxes in Canada. The images on both boxes were identical in 1981 & 1982 (and beyond), except for a round black text circle on the 1982 release that indicated the inclusion of the guns, backpacks, gasmasks and utility belt with hook from the Star Wars Survival Kit promotion. In addition, there were two special offers of the AT-AT in Canada. One special offer was available through Sears Canada and the second special offer was available through Consumers Distributing. The special offers came with the 1982 box version of the AT-AT with the Survival Kit accessories included.

The Scout Walker in an ESB box. There was also a special offer version of the Scout Walker in Canada

The Rebel Transport in an ESB box. This vehicle was only released in Canada with the blue background box. It came with 5 Hoth backpacks and 4 gasmasks leftover from the Star Wars Survival Kit promotion.