Customs officers calculate duties in the currency of the country you enter. Therefore, if you are a U.S. citizen entering Canada, you will need to convert the amount you paid for your alcohol in the U.S. into Canadian currency at the applicable exchange rate. In Canada, there is no state-defined age for the legal purchase or consumption of alcohol. Each province and territory can set its own minimum drinking age. The legal age to purchase is [13]: Visitors may be tempted to bring large quantities of alcoholic beverages purchased in the United States that can be sold at about half the price of these beverages in Canada. However, if that is done, well-trained Canada Border Services Agency officers will find those goods, and the offender will be cleared for the full amount, not just the excess. Since about 2000 and the publication of the Canadian Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines in 2011, the first national guidelines of its kind, many Canadians have made it their mission to reduce alcohol consumption at all levels. Much research has been done on how even moderate alcohol consumption can be harmful and the serious long-term effects it has on young adults aged 18 to 24 when risky alcohol consumption peaks.
In addition, risky alcohol consumption is increasing in other populations. The minimum age to work at a licensed liquor outlet, grocery or winery, distillery or brewery depends on whether the employee handles alcohol. If the employee handles alcohol (including providing alcohol samples), the minimum age to work in one of these establishments is 18. In Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec, the legal drinking age is 18. But in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Ontario and Yukon, the limit is 19 years. In general, most provinces have banned “tied houses” (bars associated with a single liquor supplier) in favour of free homes that sell products from various suppliers. A partial exception applies to breweries where a bar and a brewery are located on the same premises. Some recommend lowering the national legal drinking age to 21, as it did before the provincial lowering in the 1970s, while others would be satisfied if Alberta, Quebec and Manitoba followed the example of other provinces and made 19 the legal drinking age. Canada defines alcoholic beverages as products with a volume greater than 0.5% alcohol. Some alcoholic and wine products, such as some coolers, do not exceed 0.5% by volume and are therefore not considered alcoholic beverages. According to the Canada Border Services Agency, the quantities of alcoholic beverages you can import must meet the limits set by provincial and territorial alcohol control agencies that apply when entering Canada. If the quantity of alcohol you wish to import exceeds your personal exemption, you will have to pay duties and taxes, as well as any applicable provincial or territorial taxes.
Contact the appropriate provincial or territorial alcohol control agency for more information before travelling to Canada. Valuations typically start at 7%. You must stay more than 24 hours to bring alcohol into the country. Studies have shown that as the legal drinking age increases, car accidents and alcohol consumption among teens decrease. Based on the results of the study, it is estimated that if the drinking age were raised to 19 nationwide, about seven 18-year-old men would be saved from death each year. If the limit were raised to 21 years, it is estimated that 32 lives per year would be saved. Visitors are allowed to bring gifts valued at $60 per recipient duty-free into Canada. However, alcohol and tobacco are not covered by this derogation. This article discusses various topics related to alcoholic beverages in Canada. The Canadian government defines an alcoholic beverage as “a beverage that contains 1.1% or more alcohol.” [1] Research shows that cases of alcohol abuse, alcohol poisoning and other related diseases or problems due to drinking among adolescents would decrease if the legal drinking age were raised.
If you have questions or need more information about importing alcohol into Canada, contact the Canada Border Services Agency. Currently, the legal drinking age is 18 in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec and 19 in the rest of the country. Using national data on deaths in Canada from 1980 to 2009, researchers examined the causes of death of those who died between the ages of 16 and 22. They found that immediately after the legal drinking age, male deaths from injuries rose sharply by 10 to 16 percent, and male deaths from car accidents suddenly increased by 13 to 15 percent. “Many provinces, including British Columbia, are implementing alcohol policy reforms,” says Dr. Callaghan. Our research shows that there is significant social harm associated with alcohol use among adolescents. These harmful consequences must be carefully considered when developing new provincial alcohol policies. I hope these results will help inform the public and policy makers in Canada about the significant costs associated with hazardous alcohol use among youth. The consumption of alcohol in public places is generally prohibited, regardless of the time (in some provinces and territories, this is not yet enforced), unless a permit has been obtained from the appropriate municipal authorities. In Quebec, the consumption of low-alcohol beverages is permitted in public if they are accompanied by food. All provinces and territories prohibit drinking and driving, with Ontario and Quebec also prohibiting the possession of open, non-empty containers in stationary vehicles.
We know that the police in Canada are very discreet in public consumption because of the extent of public unrest. This means that there is a separate agency (or agencies) in each province that is responsible for regulating the consumption and, except in one case, the sale of alcoholic beverages. Alberta is currently the only province to have fully privatized its spirits retail operations (AGLC retains a monopoly on the wholesale distribution of wine, distilled spirits and imported beer – the distribution itself is outsourced to a private operator). Most other jurisdictions have maintained full or near-total control over the sale of hard liquor, while allowing limited privatization of the country`s beer and wine sales.