- Nine provinces have signed an agreement to allow direct-to-consumer alcohol sales, excluding Quebec.
- British Columbians are questioning whether they can now have beer and spirits shipped from across Canada, as they will have to wait until February 2027 for the new system to be operational.
- Bruce Keating, CEO of the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation, described the agreement as a new way for consumers to access alcohol products.
- Alberta is pushing for further retail trade liberalization following the direct-to-consumer agreement, with Minister Dale Nally criticizing the protectionist mindset of other provinces.
- Currently, B.C. allows residents to order wine directly from vineyards in other provinces, but this does not apply to beer and spirits.
- Premier David Eby stated that B.C. needs to build a system to regulate and collect taxes on interprovincial alcohol sales.
- Trevor Tombe, an economist, noted that alcohol represents a small part of interprovincial trade, amounting to only $3 billion of the $500 billion annual trade between provinces.
Nine provinces, excluding Quebec, have signed an agreement to facilitate direct-to-consumer alcohol sales, allowing British Columbians to receive beer, spirits, and liquors at home by February 2027.12
Premier David Eby emphasized the need for a regulatory framework, stating, “The challenge we face in British Columbia is we have a provincial liquor system that was built for provincial sales.” The agreement aims to remove barriers for interprovincial sales, although British Columbia will take longer to implement the changes compared to other provinces.6
“We can’t have it where B.C. products have provincial and federal taxes on them, and products from other places don’t,”5
Alberta is pushing for retail trade reforms, with Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally criticizing the “protectionist”
“For many Alberta producers, it’s easier to get into the U.S. and into Japan than it is into other provinces, and that’s wrong,”
The agreement is seen as a potential opportunity for smaller producers to access new markets, with Bruce Keating, President and CEO of the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation, noting, “It is an opportunity for consumers to get a product that they otherwise may not have had access to.”3
“British Columbia Premier David Eby said the province must build a national tax collection system for seamless access, with implementation not expected until 2027. Economist Trevor Tombe noted interprovincial alcohol trade is only about $3 billion of the $500 billion annual trade, limiting the economic impact.”
