7/13/2026

AGLC and CICC: A model in collaboration

The illicit tobacco trade is a billion-dollar, nationwide crisis that fuels organized crime and exploits weak legal enforcement. As local convenience stores bear the devastating financial brunt, the CICC is working with the AGLC to protect these frontline businesses.

Sara MacIntyre

As the advocacy organization for the c-store industry, CICC has (and continues to be) the leading voice calling for the government to tackle the massive contraband tobacco problem. We have commissioned several independent reports by Ernst & Young on the size and prevalence of the illicit market from coast to coast.

We know from countless police investigations in every province that it is never just illegal cigarettes either. Nearly every bust includes guns, cash and more nefarious drugs like fentanyl. We also know that it is a billion-dollar industry that underwrites dangerous organized criminal activity. To make matters even more frustrating, offenders that are charged rarely pay the fines levied on them, never spend time in jail and have negligible impact on the supply chain.

It is a complicated problem and is therefore often left out of government priorities. It isn’t an East Coast or West Coast problem nor is it urban or rural. Contraband tobacco is a national issue that has been left untouched for decades. The convenience industry suffers the frontline damage to this growing and menacing problem. The decline of legal sales and foot traffic has meant the difference between staying open and closing the doors for good for too many c-store owners.

At every opportunity, CICC makes the case to the government that tackling contraband tobacco is a small business issue, a public safety concern as well as a taxation revenue issue. Often during our meetings with officials there is agreement that it is a problem: But that is generally where the action ends.

However, in late 2024, CICC made a series of recommendations to the Alberta government. Several of those included were developed, not only with our industry partners but also in concert with stakeholders, specifically the Tobacco Enforcement Unit (TEU). Recommendations included specific resources for enforcement officials that investigate and arrest offenders (the profiteers) of the illicit tobacco trade.

In February, the Alberta government released its 2025 budget with nearly every single CICC recommendation on contraband tobacco included. The TEU wasted no time getting results with their new resources, which included tools to tackle and intercede some of the largest busts in Alberta and doubling the amount TEU officers.

It isn’t a coincidence, that nearly every month the Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) with the TEU leadership, report larger and larger busts and investigations.

The CICC has actively worked and listened to those that are on the frontlines to understand what they need to successfully get this illicit supply off the streets. And it is having a massive impact.

In June, three offenders were actually sentenced to jail time. In terms of deterrence, nothing works better than incarceration. Between January 1, 2026 and June 30, 2026 45 million cigarettes have been taken out of the supply chain, with a retail value of $41 million and tax avoidance of $13 million.

CICC continues to actively engage with the TEU, AGLC and a Minister Dale Nally who has been a real champion for our industry. It may not lead headlines, but this is crucial work that would not be achieved without the ongoing collaboration between CICC and AGLC.