ca.bev-cuvee.org · AS OF 2026-11-10

Canada

The business-to-business (B2B) hub for beverage alcohol: the trade rulebook for beverage alcohol, country by country, each section with its official sources.

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As of 2026-11-10

Market status

State monopoly / Licensed — provincial control sits alongside federal customs, excise and food law. Commercial intoxicating-liquor imports generally go through the provincially authorised liquor authority, subject to statutory exceptions. Retail arrangements differ substantially. Ontario’s Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is the wholesaler of record. Quebec has the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) import channel. British Columbia imports through its Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB). Alberta has private retail, warehousing and distribution, but Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) remains the legal importer of record. Business-to-business (B2B) trading must use the relevant provincial route; private retail does not imply unrestricted foreign direct supply.

Sources

Who can trade

Federal layer: The Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act governs commercial import entitlement. Canada Border Services Agency guidance identifies provincial authority imports and narrow direct-import exceptions for specified distilling, brewing and non-beverage uses. Bulk or non-duty-paid spirits/wine may require a Canada Revenue Agency excise licence or registration. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency states that an alcoholic beverage regulated by that Act does not require its food licence for the specified import or interprovincial/export preparation activities. Other food obligations remain.

Ontario: All wholesale customer purchases go through LCBO or an authorised entity facilitating sales on its behalf. Eligible grocery and convenience-store purchases use the board’s wholesale ordering arrangements; authorised distributors can fulfil within that framework. Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario licensing remains separate.

Quebec: The SAQ provides the import/private-order route. Grocery permit holders may sell authorised beer, cider, wine and qualifying artisanal fermented drinks, not an unrestricted spirit range. Their supply routes include authorised SAQ distributors and specified artisanal producers. Detailed commercial supplier onboarding: Not yet sourced.

British Columbia: Out-of-province supplier representatives need an agent licence and LDB import-agent arrangements. They may solicit wholesale orders from authorised licensees, but cannot import and deliver directly to them outside the LDB framework.

Alberta: Register as a liquor agency to import and market a supplier’s products. Product registration and the provincial distribution arrangements apply. Suppliers sell to licensed businesses through AGLC, despite private retail.

B2B online sale: Ontario has authorised electronic wholesale ordering. Specific independent marketplace, broker, payment and interprovincial fulfilment permissions elsewhere: Not yet sourced. Other provinces/territories, municipal rules and individual licence conditions: Not yet sourced.

Sources

Customs and duty

Classification: Heading 2203 covers malt beer, 2204 grape wine, 2206 cider and other fermented beverages, and 2208 spirits. Canada’s Customs Tariff determines ordinary and preferential import duty by full code and origin. Imported alcohol also attracts the applicable excise-equivalent customs charges under sections 21.1–21.3 of that tariff. Domestic beer falls under the Excise Act; domestic spirits and wine under the Excise Act, 2001. Bulk and non-duty-paid movements require separate excise controls. Exact current beverage rates, origin concessions and any additional surtaxes: Not yet sourced.

Provincial layer: Board markups, deposits and applicable taxes must be included separately from federal customs duty. Ontario’s 2026 wholesale framework uses landed cost, category-dependent markup, applicable service charges, deposits and tax. Quebec’s import route also adds provincial charges. Complete business-import calculations for Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta: Not yet sourced.

Territorial treatment: Federal border entry does not replace the receiving province’s import/supply authorisation. Other provinces and territories, interprovincial exemptions and special customs or bonded arrangements: Not yet sourced.

Sources

Labelling

Federal labelling: Required consumer information is generally bilingual English and French. Use the applicable prescribed common name, net quantity and responsible business details. Alcohol content must be declared at 1.1% alcohol by volume or more. Standardised alcoholic beverages can be exempt from an ingredient list, but allergen, gluten-source and added-sulphite declarations still apply as prescribed; standardised beer is not exempt from those disclosures. Unstandardised drinks require the applicable ingredients. Wine must identify its country of origin and comply with wine-specific presentation and container rules. Icewine has a separate prescribed identity.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency accepts the foreign United States government warning on imported alcohol; this is not evidence of a universal Canadian obligation to print that warning. Complete mandatory provincial warning requirements: Not yet sourced.

Quebec: French-language obligations are additional. Since 1 June 2025, generic or descriptive elements within a non-French trademark must also appear in French on the product or a permanently attached medium. Conditional transition provisions run to 1 June 2027.

Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta: Complete board-specific label, package, laboratory and listing standards beyond federal requirements: Not yet sourced.

Sources

Age and sale limits

Minimum purchase age: Ontario and British Columbia, 19; Quebec and Alberta, 18.

Ontario: Grocery and convenience-store in-person sales/pickup are 07:00–23:00; consumer delivery is 09:00–23:00 under regulator guidance.

Quebec: Grocery permit sales and deliveries are 07:00–23:00. The permit holder must make the delivery itself rather than use a third party. This retail route does not replace the authorised wholesale/import chain.

British Columbia: Licensee retail stores may sell 07:00–23:00, subject to further restrictions.

Alberta: Retail liquor-store licence guidance provides a maximum 09:00–02:00 sales window.

Wholesale warehouse/delivery hours, all municipal and individual-licence restrictions, other retail categories and other provinces/territories: Not yet sourced.

Sources

Protected names

Canada protects wine and spirit geographical indications under the Trademarks Act and related product rules. The Canadian Intellectual Property Office list includes Niagara Peninsula, Okanagan Valley, Ontario Icewine, Vin du Québec and Canadian Whisky. Protected foreign examples include Bordeaux. Protected names cannot be applied to products lacking the required geographical origin and production conditions. Provincial wine-origin certification and the complete foreign spirits list or exceptions: Not yet sourced. Examples are not exhaustive.

Sources

GTIN authority

GS1 Canada is the national GS1 member organisation for obtaining Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) and the associated GS1 identification capacity.

Sources

https://www.gs1ca.org/barcodes/

Not yet sourced

Not yet sourced: Province/territory details beyond Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta; all municipal and individual-licence conditions; Quebec commercial supplier onboarding; independent B2B marketplace/broker/payment and interprovincial fulfilment permissions; shipment-specific tariffs, excise, surtaxes and provincial charge calculations; bonded/special customs arrangements; provincial warning and board label/testing standards; wholesale hours and other retail categories; provincial wine certification and complete foreign-name exceptions.

Library catalogue: bev-cuvee.org · this page as data: mcp.bev-cuvee.org/mcp (get_rulebook, code ca)

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