Image: Kent Simmonds / CFJC Today

By Dylana Kneeshaw

MOU SIGNING

Step toward scrapping inter-provincial barriers for direct-buy alcohol sales met with relief

Jul 11, 2025 | 5:41 PM

KAMLOOPS — Visiting from out of province, and want to ship a case of B.C. wine back home? The cross-province tax mark up will cost you. But that barrier is supposed to be removed next spring.

“It is removing red tape, but it’s red tape that should’ve never been there in the first place,” notes Adam Woodward of Woodward’s Cider, and Privato Vineyard and Winery.

Provinces have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to lift the inter-provincial tax hikes on direct-to-consumer alcohol sales by late spring of 2026.

“The big thing for us is just being able to sell more subscriptions to our popular wine club and that will allow people who live outside the province to be able to receive product directly from us,” adds Woodward. According to Wine Growers BC, the current tax layers between provinces can tack on a sizable cost to a case of wine.

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“So it ends up suddenly being an extra, you know a $20 bottle becomes $35 in another province for no reason,” explains Wine Growers BC Ceo Jeff Guignard, “And it prices the products out of the market for most consumers.”

Given the popularity of the ‘Buy-Canadian’ movement, producers feel the policy shift will be a good sales incentive.

“I think aside from the wine club it will also help open up channels for really niche products. If you’re doing non-alcohol or just a really cool product that people relate to,” Woodward adds.

And from a producer perspective, the sooner the tax hikes are removed, the better.

“So this is the first step, signing these agreements, but now we want to move forward with implementation to just uncork Canadian wine across Canada and let everyone enjoy it,” says Guignard.