Booze agreements with other provinces coming soon, minister says
Holt government says some deals on direct-to-consumer trade should be in place in a month or two
The New Brunswick government says the first agreements with other provinces to legalize direct-to-consumer alcohol sales could be in place before autumn.
The province was one of nine, along with one territory, to sign an agreement this week to open up the trade in alcohol across Canada by May 2026.
But Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Jean-Claude D'Amours says New Brunswick won't be taking that long and could have deals in place with at least a handful of provinces by the end of the summer.
"We expect the first one can be added as soon as a month, or maximum two. We really want to move this very fast," he said.
"We know now which provinces and territories will be part of the first round. … I know some provinces like Quebec mentioned yesterday that for them it may be 2026, but others, I really suspect we will be able to start as soon as a month or two to sell directly to their consumers."
D'Amours said British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba have been the quickest to adopt similar rules to New Brunswick, where the legislature adopted changes to liquor legislation in June.
That meant there is "a good chance" those will be the first provinces to enter into reciprocal agreements, he said.
The agreements will make it legal for an individual consumer to order alcohol products directly from a producer in another province to their home — provided that province also allows its residents to order from New Brunswick producers.
"As an example, if we sign with B.C. as the first one, or Manitoba as the first one, that one will be the first one [where] our local producers will be permitted to sell directly to consumers, in that or those provinces."
At a meeting of ministers responsible for internal trade in Quebec City this week, every province except Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as Yukon's territorial government, signed a memorandum of understanding setting out the May 2026 deadline.
The Holt Liberal government issued a press release on Monday that said the MOU "formalizes" direct-to-consumer sales, without providing a timeline for when sales may start.
The law passed in June allows the government to identify individual provinces that sign on and designate them as subject to the legal provisions allowing the sales.
Quebec's economy minister Christopher Skeete said after Tuesday's meeting that creating what would in effect be a single alcohol market across Canada would be complex.
It would affect multiple areas of provincial jurisdiction, including public safety, public health and sales taxes.
"We are actively working to make sure that we can do this the right way and we hope that Quebeckers and Canadians will be able to benefit from this as soon as possible," Skeete said.
"But you understand that this has never been done before, and so we want to make sure that we get it right."
D'Amours said New Brunswick will not charge a markup on alcohol shipped to other provinces under the new agreements, at least at first.
"We want to keep it as simple as possible. Every time we add a layer of complexity, we are creating another issue."
Monday's press release said that another element of the legislation adopted in June — ending restrictions on individuals bringing alcohol back to New Brunswick from other provinces — would take effect when the cabinet proclaimed those sections into law.
D'Amours said that in fact, those sections are in effect now.
"That portion is finalized and proclaimed," he said.