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Shareholders' Equity (Narrative) (Detail) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands			1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		16 Months Ended
	Jul. 26, 2017 $ / shares	Jul. 24, 2017 shares	Oct. 31, 2016 $ / shares	Sep. 30, 2016 $ / shares shares	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Sep. 30, 2016 $ / shares shares	Jul. 31, 2017 shares	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($) shares	Dec. 31, 2016 shares
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock split description								On April 26, 2017, the Company announced that its Board of Directors approved a split of its common shares on a three-for-two basis, which was approved by its shareholders at the Company's Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders of Waste Connections on May 23, 2017. Shareholders of record on June 7, 2017 received from the Company's transfer agent on June 16, 2017, one additional common share for every two common shares held. All share and per share amounts for all periods presented have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the share split.
Stockholders equity stock conversion ratio					1.5
Shares issued					263,640,287			263,640,287		263,640,287	263,140,777
Other long-term liabilities \| $					$ 1,080			$ 1,080		$ 1,080
Maximum number of shares authorized for repurchase		13,181,806
Share repurchase plan expiration date		Aug. 07, 2018
Daily repurchase of shares, maximum							80,287
Average daily trading volume during period							321,151
Repurchase of common stock (shares)								0	0
Cash dividend per share \| $ / shares			$ 0.12	$ 0.097	$ 0.120	$ 0.097		$ 0.360	$ 0.290
Cash dividend per common share, increase \| $ / shares			$ 0.023
Cash dividends on common stock \| $								$ 95,201	$ 61,001
Dividends per share amount \| $ / shares	$ 0.12
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Weighted average grant-date fair value of award \| $ / shares								$ 57.02
Shares outstanding					1,040,176			1,040,176		1,040,176	1,252,291
Units granted in period								413,179
Units forfeited in period								45,409
Vested deferred RSUs outstanding				366,337	352,214	366,337		352,214	366,337	352,214
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) [Member] \| Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Units granted in period										0
Performance Shares [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Weighted average grant-date fair value of award \| $ / shares								$ 57.47
Vesting period of award								3 years
Performance period end date								Dec. 31, 2019
Shares outstanding					514,461			514,461		514,461	427,144
Units granted in period								210,103
Performance Shares [Member] \| Officer [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Vesting period of award								4 years
Performance Shares [Member] \| Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Units granted in period										0
Performance Shares [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Vesting period of award								1 year
Employee Stock Option [Member] \| Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Options granted in period										0