Who Can Legally Sell Cannabis in Each Province?

Legal non-medical cannabis in Canada is sold only by retailers that a province or territory has authorized. Health Canada’s table of authorized retailers, dated 26 October 2022, sorts the 13 jurisdictions into private stores, government stores and a mix of both, and gives an age of 19 for all except Alberta (18) and Quebec (21). The table below pairs that federal list with what each province says on its own site, using pages we opened on 31 October 2026. For store lists and regulator links, see the cannabis store finder page.

Who sells cannabis in each province and territory?

Province or territory	Minimum age	Health Canada table (2022)	What the province or territory says
Alberta	18	Private stores, online	AGLC licenses private retailers and supplies them; retailers with a physical store may sell online and deliver
British Columbia	19	Government stores and online, plus private stores	Sold only by licensed private retailers and BC Cannabis Stores
Manitoba	19	Private stores, online	Licensed retailers only; stores may also take online and telephone orders
New Brunswick	19	Government stores, online	Provincial page not opened
Newfoundland and Labrador	19	Private stores, government online store	Stores licensed through the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation, or its web portal
Northwest Territories	19	Government stores, online	NTLCC-approved vendors or the approved online store
Nova Scotia	19	Government stores, online	Only through the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. (NSLC)
Nunavut	19	Private stores, online	Territorial page not opened
Ontario	19	Private stores, government online store	Private stores licensed by the AGCO, or the Ontario Cannabis Store online
Prince Edward Island	19	Government stores, online	PEI Cannabis Management Corporation stores and website
Quebec	21	Government stores, online	Provincial page not opened
Saskatchewan	19	Private stores, online	Businesses holding a retail permit from SLGA
Yukon	19	Private stores, online	Territorial page not opened

Some details differ from the 2022 table. Alberta’s own page puts adults at 18 and over. Nova Scotia’s government confirms 19, and Ontario’s confirms 19 for buying online or in person. The Northwest Territories is the clearest change: Health Canada’s 2022 table lists government retail, while the NTLCC page names approved vendors and an approved online store and does not say who runs them. Our age and possession table lines up the ages with the public carry limit.

How do online ordering and delivery work?

Health Canada’s table lists online sales in every jurisdiction, and the provinces we could read add these details.

• Alberta. Amendments that took effect on 8 March 2022 let licensed retailers sell online and deliver, and AGLC left online sales. Only a retailer with an operating physical store and an AGLC endorsement may sell online. Delivery must stay inside Alberta, orders are capped at 30 g of dried cannabis or equivalent, and the driver checks photo ID when the customer looks under 25. Food-delivery apps cannot carry cannabis. Delivery is by the retailer or a common carrier.
• British Columbia. Legal stores may ship non-medical cannabis only to customers within B.C.
• Manitoba. Licensed stores may take online and telephone orders. Since 17 December 2021 a delivery business needs an LGCA delivery licence, though a retailer can use its own staff and national carriers do not need one. Delivery licensees cannot process orders or take payment for a retailer.
• Ontario. The Ontario Cannabis Store website is the only legal way to buy cannabis online. The buyer verifies age to accept delivery, and no package is left unattended.
• Prince Edward Island. The corporation delivers by Purolator to any legal address on the island for $7.00, free over $100, and does not leave packages unattended. It does not take phone orders, and its cannabis beverages are not available for ship-to-home delivery.

The edible and drink rules that apply to these products are on the edibles and THC limits page.

How do I spot a legal source?

Health Canada says legal products carry an excise stamp in the colours of the province or territory where they are meant to be sold, a yellow box with a bilingual health warning, the standardized THC symbol and child-resistant packaging (plants and seeds excepted). The Canada Revenue Agency adds that the stamp means you are buying from a CRA licence holder who is meeting their tax obligations, and says that if you do not see it, you should not buy or use the product.

Provinces give their own checks:

• British Columbia lists the green provincial excise stamp on products and a Licensed Cannabis Retailer decal in stores. An online seller is illegal if it has no licensed physical location, no age check, ships out of province, accepts only e-transfer or cryptocurrency, sells unstamped products or makes medicinal claims without a federally licensed producer behind them.
• Ontario requires authorized stores to display the official cannabis retail seal, and the AGCO keeps the list of authorized stores.
• Alberta requires an online-endorsed retailer to show its licence numbers, premises names and addresses, and a link to AGLC’s licensee search on its homepage.
• Manitoba publishes the LGCA list of licensed stores.
• Nova Scotia names the NSLC as the only authorized seller. Mi’kmaw communities may open stores on reserve by agreement with the NSLC, selling cannabis bought through the NSLC, and those sellers must display an NSLC certificate.

Stamp colours are provincial and have changed names between sources. Health Canada’s 2022 table gives B.C. as teal, and B.C.’s own 2026 page says green, so check the province’s page before relying on a colour.

What happens if I buy from an unlicensed seller?

The penalties are provincial. Ontario says buying cannabis from anywhere other than the OCS or an authorized store could bring a fine of up to $100,000, up to one year in prison, or both. Nova Scotia’s amended Cannabis Control Act, proclaimed on 25 June 2026, sets a fine of $600 to $5,000 for purchasing cannabis anywhere other than the NSLC, and $250 to $500 for a person under 19 who possesses it. Newfoundland and Labrador says buying or selling outside the licensed system is a criminal offence.

What we could not confirm

• Quebec, New Brunswick, Yukon and Nunavut. The provincial and territorial sites we tried returned access errors or a bot check, so the model, online options and age for these four rest on Health Canada’s 2022 table only.
• Saskatchewan online ordering and delivery. The pages we read describe the private retail model and permits and say nothing about online sales, and the SLGA site did not respond.
• Who operates the NWT vendors, and whether the territory has moved from government to private retail since 2022.
• Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador delivery terms. We have the licensed-source rules but not the delivery conditions.
• Whether low-THC products below 10 micrograms per gram need an excise stamp. Health Canada’s label page says products below that threshold may not need one, and we did not open the Excise Act, 2001.
• Whether the stamp colour list in Health Canada’s 2022 table is still current for every province.