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OTTAWA — Despite Prime Minister Mark Carney’s plans to remove internal trade barriers, Canada’s wine and spirits industry still face challenges in selling and shipping their products across the nation.

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Addressing this issue is a private member’s bill tabled by Conservative Transport Critic Dan Albas on Thursday in the House of Commons. Bill C-262 directs Canada Post not to refuse service to customers shipping beer, wine and spirits interprovincially.

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“(Prime Minister Carney) promised free trade between the provinces by July of last year,” Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre told reporters Tuesday morning from the Jacques-Cartier Marina in Gatineau, Que., just across the Ottawa River from Parliament Hill.

“Here we are, in 2026, almost a year after the Canada Day promise came and went, and what do we have? More barriers, more blockages on interprovincial trade, including federal barriers.”

Canada Post forbidden from shipping alcohol between most provinces

Pointing to two bottles of booze next to his podium, Poilievre accused Canada Post itself of standing in the way of freeing up one of Canada’s more important and vexatious interprovincial trade barriers.

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“It is currently against the law for Canada Post to deliver Canadian alcohol to Canadian consumers in six of 10 provinces,” Poilievre said. “That is a federal law that Mark Carney refuses so far to change. ”

What’s ironic, Poilievre said, is that it’s perfectly legal for Canada Post to deliver American alcohol.

“But they won’t deliver you Canadian alcohol in six of 10 provinces.”

The bill, which passed first reading in the House of Commons on Monday, will provide that Canada Post not refuse to provide “postal service within Canada for the interprovincial collection, transmission and delivery — direct to consumers — of beer, wine or spirits,” gives Canada Post the “sole and exclusive privilege” within Canada to deliver booze to customers across provincial borders, create exceptions for trusted carriers and permit the Governor-in-Council to regulate these trusted carriers.

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With Canada looking inward to lessen the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war — and deal with the fallout of some Canadian provinces, including Ontario, who pulled American alcohol off store shelves in retaliation — interprovincial booze sales has proven a contentious bottleneck.

“Producers in my riding want the opportunity to be able to sell right across this great country,” said Albas, who represents Okanagan Lake West-South Kelowna — one of Canada’s most famous wine regions.

“Right now, only four out of 10 provinces allow for that — B.C., Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Nova Scotia. There’s a great opportunity for these small producers, they often can’t produce enough to be able to sell to a large liquor monopoly like the LCBO, but what they can’t sell at their farm gate, they could leverage technology.”

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BC Wineries say it’s easier to ship booze to UK than Ontario

In this age of online shopping, Albas said, it’s a given that small producers should be able to sell their product on the internet, but can’t under current regulations.

One Okanagan wine producer, the Tories say, remarked it’s easier to sell their product to customers in the U.K. than right here in Canada.

“Bill C-262 is the answer to this,” he said. “At a time where we say we should be focusing on things we can control, well Parliament — this is something that is under our control.”

bpassifiume@postmedia.com

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