Minimum Vaping Age in Canada by Province and Territory

Two layers of law decide whether a store can sell you a vape. The federal Tobacco and Vaping Products Act sets a floor. Provinces and territories write their own sales laws and may go higher, and most have.

Minimum age by jurisdiction

Each age links to the official page it comes from. The federal minimum is 18; provinces and territories can set a higher age. “Not yet confirmed” means we could not read an official page for that jurisdiction on the review date.

A few notes on the table.

Prince Edward Island is 21. The table above shows “Not yet confirmed” for the island because its government page would not load for our automated review. We read the statute itself instead: section 4(1) of the Tobacco and Electronic Smoking Device Sales and Access Act says no person shall sell or supply tobacco or an electronic smoking device to a person under the age of 21 years. The consolidation we read is current to 1 February 2025.

Quebec and New Brunswick are blank. The provincial sites did not open for us, so we have not guessed. Health Canada’s second legislative review confirms that some provinces and territories set a higher age than the federal 18.

Manitoba’s Act speaks of a child. Its supply offence refers to a “child”, and the defence turns on checking that the person was at least 18.

The federal floor and its penalties

Subsection 8(1) of the federal Act says no person shall furnish a tobacco product or a vaping product to a young person. Health Canada’s summary of the offence lists a fine of up to $3,000 for a first offence and up to $50,000 for a subsequent offence. It also states that the prohibition can be supplemented by provincial and territorial legislation, with the example of provinces where vaping products may be sold only to people over 19. Provincial fines are separate and sit in each province’s law. For the federal rules on nicotine strength and promotion, see vaping laws in Canada.

What retailers must do about ID

• Ontario. Retailers must ask for ID from anyone who appears younger than 25, and may sell only if satisfied from the ID that the buyer is at least 19. Specialty vape stores must keep out everyone under 19, apart from employees and certain support persons.
• Prince Edward Island. A person who appears to be under 21 must produce prescribed photo identification, such as a driver’s licence, a passport or another government-issued photo ID with a date of birth. The Act also says it is not a defence that the buyer appeared to be 21 or older.

For other provinces the table links to the official page for each age. The tobacco side of the same question, including age rules for cigarettes, is in the legal smoking age guide. Rules that vary by flavour and by store type are collected in vape flavour bans by province.

Buying for someone younger

PEI’s Act also prohibits buying, or trying to buy, an electronic smoking device on behalf of a person under 21. Federally, the offence is furnishing a vaping product to a young person, so handing one to a younger friend is covered by the same wording.