A Summerland winery owner is frustrated with what he sees as a lack of action on interprovincial wine trade regulations.
Ron Kubek, owner of Lightning Rock Winery, said he is disappointed with the federal government鈥檚 recent announcement that direct-to-consumer alcohol shipping could be in place by May 2026.
He said no agreement was signed, no legislation was passed, and no changes were implemented.
鈥淐anadians were sold a press conference, not a policy,鈥� Kubek said. 鈥淭he federal government thinks a press release is the same as reform 鈥� but for small producers like us, talk isn鈥檛 enough. We need action.鈥�
Four provinces, including British Columbia, already allow direct-to-consumer shipping from other provinces. Kubek believes others could follow this model without waiting for the federal government.
He added that while Ontario and Quebec wineries can already ship wine to customers in B.C., wineries in this province cannot ship to Ontario and Quebec.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a double standard 鈥� and everyone knows it. Federal rules technically allow interprovincial shipping, but provinces have carved out their own powers to block it,鈥� Kubek said.
Kubek is disappointed with the decisions and policies from provincial governments in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.
He said Ontario鈥檚 policy, allowing wines to be shipped from that province, but not sent directly to consumers from other parts of Canada, is a double standard.
He also refers to Alberta鈥檚 recent ad valorem tax as a tax grab, not a solution to the problem of interprovincial wine trade.
鈥淏y hiding new markups in complex legal language, your government has made it harder 鈥� not easier 鈥� for Canadians to trade with each other. Alberta can and should do better,鈥� he said in an open letter to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
He is concerned that if this tax goes unchallenged, other provinces will create similar taxes, affecting wine consumers.
As for British Columbia鈥檚 provincial government, Kubek believes the province and Premier David Eby need to speak out to promote fair interprovincial trade.
鈥淭his was a chance for the premier to stand up for fairness. Instead, he joined the others and stood up for press ops and tax revenue,鈥� Kubek said.
According to information from Wine Growers British Columbia, there were 306 licensed wineries in British Columbia in January 2025. The province has 5,132 hectares of planted land for grapes. The province鈥檚 wine.
Wines of Canada figures show 12,309 hectares of land are used for wine production, with 602 wineries across the country.
