To great fanfare, the provincial Premiers recently announced a ‘landmark’ agreement that national DTC (direct to consumer) alcohol sales for Canadian producers is coming soon. The initial agreement was short on detail, making it difficult to see how much progress had been made.
However, the details have now been quietly released. I have summarized them below. While the result is not ideal (as there are no national standards or national personal exemption), there has been progress. Particularly, the good news is that 9 out of 10 Canadian provinces now have some type of functional DTC system available for Canadian producers albeit with varying degrees of bureaucracy or fees charged. 5 out of 10 provinces currently charge no liquor board markup/fee (including Ontario for Canadian wine). 4 out of 10 currently do not require permits or authorizations (i.e. no bureaucracy).
Canadian wineries will now be able to sell and ship their wine legally to most of the country (Quebec is currently excluded) so they can reach almost 80% of our population. Nevertheless, wineries should review applicable registration and reporting requirements carefully to understand what they are agreeing to (more on that below).
Provincial Overview
BC
Current law requires no authorization or payment of markups for Canadian wineries shipping Canadian wine to BC. However, the agreement indicates that this may change and that BC may require registration/authorization for its updated system which is set to launch in February 2027. It is unclear whether there may be changes to markups which are currently zero.
See: Liquor Possession Regulation
AB
Authorization required. Volume based markups charged. $4.69 per litre “administrative fee” is charged ($3.52 per 750 ml bottle).
See: Alberta DTC Program
SK
No authorization required. No markups.
See: s.58. Alcohol Control Regulations, 2016
MB
No authorization required. No markups. Has been this way since 2012!
See: Manitoba DTC Program
ON
Authorization required. Winery Reporting Template indicates that for 100% Canadian wine the LCBO markup is zero.
See: Ontario DTC Program, Out of Province Supplier Info, and DTC Obligations (including Template)
PQ
Quebec is not participating in the DTC agreement at this time.
NB
No authorization required. No markups.
See: NB DTC
PEI
Authorization required. Unclear on markups/fees.
See: PEI DTC
NS
Authorization required. 5% fee payable on total retail sales.
See: NS DTC Permit Info
NF
Authorization required. 25% markup payable on wine.
See: NF DTC Program, and DTC Authorization Info
Registration/Reporting
As noted above, certain provinces now require registration/authorization for compliance which will then also require periodic reporting (quarterly or monthly) and, in most cases, the payment of markup/fees. I note that such registration/authorization will likely constitute a ‘one-way’ street and it may be difficult for a winery to withdraw once registered (especially if the reporting requirements or markup/fees change). For some provinces, a winery may need to balance the administrative requirements with the expected business to determine whether it is worth servicing that market.
Sales Taxes and Recycling Fees
Some provinces require the collection and payment of recycling/deposit fees. Compliant sales tax reporting would also require the collection of sales taxes that are applicable in the destination province as well as the submission of those amounts (which may be simplified if the destination province uses HST).
BC Delays
I note that because BC has not announced its new DTC system (scheduled for February 2027 as noted above), BC wineries are not currently eligible to participate in the required DTC registrations for PEI and NS. Presumably, this will change once BC announces its system. In the interim, it appears that the other provinces are permitting BC winery registrations.
Note that the above information was compiled and checked on the date of publication (August 20, 2026). There may be frequent changes … and you may wish to check the sources for yourself.