Provincial governments should follow Manitoba’s lead and allow the online sale of alcoholic beverages from other provinces

Montreal, November 28, 2024 – Canada’s provincial and territorial governments should allow consumers to shop online for alcoholic beverages produced elsewhere in the country, indicates an MEI publication released this morning.

“The restrictions imposed by provincial alcohol monopolies are such that it is sometimes easier for a Canadian producer to sell its products on the other side of the world than in the province next door,” explains Shal Marriott, research associate at the MEI and author of the study. “By allowing producers to sell their products online, directly to consumers, our provincial governments would remove obstacles to their growth.”

In 2019, the federal, provincial, and territorial governments had committed to improving interprovincial trade in alcoholic beverages. This commitment stems directly from the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, signed two years before.

Manitoba is the only province to allow its residents to shop online for Canadian alcoholic beverages from other provinces, without restriction.

British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Nova Scotia have partial restrictions, allowing consumers to shop online for certain categories of products from specific parts of the country.

Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador each continue to prohibit consumers from shopping online for alcoholic beverages from outside the province.

“By opening the door to this online commerce, our provincial governments would allow consumers to discover new products that they otherwise cannot purchase at home,” says Ms. Marriott. “This is the kind of simple measure that could also give our microbreweries, our wineries, and our distilleries a helping hand.”

The alcoholic beverage sector contributes over $4.4 billion to the Canadian economy, according to the latest available data.

The MEI publication is available here.

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The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal, Calgary, and Ottawa. Through its publications, media appearances, and advisory services to policymakers, the MEI stimulates public policy debate and reforms based on sound economics and entrepreneurship.

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