A long fermenting trade dispute between BC’s wine industry and Alberta’s liquor regulator has reared its ugly head again with bureaucrats threatening to bar wine shipments from BC wineries.
The move follows similar action in 2018 according to the Wine Growers BC (WGBC) industry association which said in a statement that it was “disappointed to see that the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC) has once again aimed at BC wineries.”
On January 22, 2024, the AGLC issued a letter to numerous BC wineries informing them that, if they did not immediately stop shipping wines direct-to-consumers (DTC) in Alberta, the AGLC would not accept any inbound shipments through their warehouse.
“While we are still unclear of the political motivation behind the recent AGLC letter, it is disheartening for our local growers and producers, who have already suffered great financial hardships over this past year. We are concerned of being targeted once again for political gain that has nothing to do with our industry,” said Miles Prodan, President and CEO of Wine Growers British Columbia.
Federally, Bill C-311 permits Canadian wine to be delivered from another province free of barriers or tariffs, however, only British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia have permitted their residents to do so. A recent poll conducted by the Canada Vintners’ Association indicates that 85 per cent of Albertans support interprovincial direct-to-customer wine shipping.
The WGBC notes that In Alberta, where it was once permitted to ‘import’ liquor from other Canadian provinces for personal consumption, the regulations were amended to make importation from other provinces subject to the policies of the Liquor Control Board.
Currently, personal consumption is restricted to liquor that is also personally transported which eliminates shipping as an option, the WGBC noted. As such this prohibits Albertans, many of whom frequent BC as tourists, from joining wine clubs or ordering wine directly when visiting a winery outside of the province.
Consumption of wine priced at over $50 per bottle in Alberta makes up only 0.2 per cent of provincial wine consumption. Wine Growers BC photo
Wines being shipped to Albertans directly are high-end wines that range in price from $20 to $75+ per bottle in a market where only 1.9 per cent of wine in Alberta is priced at $25 or higher, less than one third of the national average. Consumption of wine priced at over $50 per bottle in Alberta is only 0.2 per cent of provincial wine consumption.
“Currently AGLC jurisdiction is limited to regulating persons and activities within the province. The Alberta laws governing DTC Shipping are all designed to regulate consumer activities – their authority does not extend to BC manufacturers exporting wine into the province”, Prodan said.
“A working free-trade relationship between Alberta and British Columbia is imperative to the economic well-being of the entire country,” he added. Alberta is the second most important market for BC wine (after BC itself) with the majority of sales coming from direct-to-consumer purchases.
With 340 grape wineries in BC, most of which are small, family-owned and operated businesses, access to the Alberta market is crucial, particularly when most of these smaller wineries struggle to penetrate the government-owned alcohol monopoly – the Liquor Distribution Branch and its consumer-facing BC Liquor store chain.
Prodan notes that the BC wine industry has already offered to charge and remit the provincial tax if Alberta were to set up a system similar to the one that is already in place in Manitoba.
“The BC wine industry has worked hard to build a positive relationship and partnership with Alberta, particularly in the wine, culinary and tourism sectors, including having collaborated on multiple campaigns directly with the AGLC.”
The WGBC and its member wineries say they are working with both provincial government representatives to determine the root cause of the trade dispute and find a resolution that works for all parties.
