Ontario could soon allow consumers to buy wine directly from other provinces
Ontarians may soon have the opportunity to buy beverage alcohol from producers in other provinces directly.
Following the steps taken by other provinces as to improve interprovincial trade in Canada.
It has been two years since the federal, provincial and territorial governments in Canada agreed to work towards putting in place a national model that would allow Canadian to buy beverage alcohol directly from producers outside of their home province. While barriers are still in place, the Toronto Star is reporting that wine producers in the province of Ontario are eager for those barriers to come down.
Much of the push to do so is coming from the moves that United States President Donald Trump has made in hitting Canada with tariffs and musings about making Canada a 51st state. This has spurred federal, provincial and territorial governments to work toward removing long-standing barriers around trade in Canada, one being around the sale of beverage alcohol.
Several provinces have moved to start looking at or begin removing such barriers, one of them being the province of Ontario.
In April, the Ontario government released its Protect Ontario through Free Trade within Canada Act to unlock free trade and labour mobility within Canada. This legislation aims to spur job creation and investment in the province and supporting economic integration across Canada by cutting what the Conservative government under Premier Doug Ford says is burdensome red tape.
“For too long, we’ve let red tape and endless regulations hold back our economy, making us vulnerable to external threats, including from President Trump’s tariffs,” said Premier Ford. “Not anymore. The legislation we’re introducing today will make Ontario a national leader when it comes to trade between provinces and territories, so we can strengthen and unify Canada and create new markets and opportunities for Ontario workers and goods.”
According to the government, trade barriers within Canada cost the economy up to $200 billion each year and lower gross domestic product by nearly 8%. These barriers also increase the cost of goods and services Ontario families rely on by up to 14.5%.
As part of the move to improve trade internally in Canada, Ontario’s plan calls for the introduction of “an interprovincial Direct-to-Consumer model for beverage alcohol sales” that would allow Ontario producers to more easily sell directly to consumers in other provinces, and Ontario consumers to purchase alcohol directly from producers in other provinces.
The Toronto Star reports that Ontario has signed several non-binding agreements, called Memorandums of Understanding, to explore direct-to-consumer alcohol sales with other provinces, including Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Manitoba. In its report, Scott Blodgett, a senior media relations adviser in the Communications Services Branch with the government is quoted as saying the framework for Direct-to-Consumer sales is in the design stages now.
“Ontario is committed to establishing a DTC sales model, for personal consumption, that ensures fairness and competitiveness for Ontario producers,” said Blodgett told The Toronto Star.
