Alcoholic beverages in Canada

This article covers various topics involving alcoholic beverages in Canada.

Comparative consumption

[[Statistics Cana="75px" | Beer !! Rank !! width="75px" | Spirits !! Rank !! width="75px" |Total !! Rank↓ |- ! Yukon | 18.3 || 1 || 145.1 || 1 || 13.8 || 1 || 12.7 || 1 |- ! Northwest Territories | 8.1 || 7 || 85.1 || 5 || 10.8 || 2 || 9.2 || 2 |- ! Alberta | 13.9 || 4 || 89.8 || 4 || 7.6 || 9 || 8.6 || 3 |- ! Newfoundland & Labrador | 6.5 || 11 || 93.3 || 3 || 7.3 || 10 || 8.0 || 4 |- ! British Columbia | 14.5 || 3 || 76.6 || 12 || 9.0 || 7 || 7.8 || 5 |- ! Ontario | 11.8 || 5 || 84.3 || 6 || 8.8 || 8 || 7.8 || 6 |- ! Quebec | 17.4 || 2 || 93.9 || 2 || 4.1 || 12 || 7.8 || 7 |- ! Prince Edward Island | 7.4 || 10 || 78.9 || 9 || 9.7 || 3 || 7.5 || 8 |- ! Nova Scotia | 8.0 || 8 || 79.5 || 8 || 9.1 || 5 || 7.5 || 9 |- ! Manitoba | 8.0 || 9 || 76.8 || 10 || 9.4 || 4 || 7.4 || 10 |- ! Saskatchewan | 5.0 || 12 || 76.8 || 11 || 9.1 || 6 || 7.0 || 11 |- ! New Brunswick | 8.4 || 6 || 79.8 || 7 || 6.8 || 11 || 6.7 || 12 |- ! Nunavut | colspan=8 | Data unavailable |- style="border-top:3px solid grey;" ! Canada | 13.1 || || 85.6 || || 7.5 || || 7.8 || |- | colspan=9 align=left | Values for wine, beer and spirits consumption are given in litres per person over 15, per annum. The total is expressed in litres of absolute alcohol. |}

Distribution

Under the Constitution of Canada, responsibility for enacting laws and regulations regarding the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages in Canada is the sole responsibility of the ten provinces. Canada's three territories have also been granted similar autonomy over these matters under the provisions of federal legislation.

This means that there is a separateed beer - the distribution operation itself being contracted out to a private operator). Most of the other jurisdictions have maintained a total or near-total control over the sale of hard liquor while allowing limited privatisation of beer and wine sales.

History

Following enactment of the British North America Act, the federal and provincial governments disputed which level of government had the authority to issue liquor licences. Due to the leadership of Ontario Premier Oliver Mowat, the British Privy Council ruled in favour of the provinces with regards to this and other jurisdictional disputes. As an the early 20th century. When Prohibition failed to curb the liquor trade, each of the provinces chose to replace it with tight government control of the liquor trade that persists to this day in most provinces.

Legal issues

In Canada, there is no federally defined age for legal alcohol purchase or consumption. Each province and territory is free to set its own drinking age. The legal age for purchase is:^[1]

• 19 years of age in BC, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, PEI, Saskatchewan and the Yukon
• 18 years of age in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec

Notes

1. ^ Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse

See also

• Alcoholic beverage
• Legal drinking age