How Do You Get a Tobacco Retail Permit in Each Province?

Canada has no federal tobacco retail licence, so a shop gets its permit from the province or territory where it sits. In Ontario, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut the issuer is the finance department, because the permit is part of the tobacco tax system. Alberta is the one jurisdiction we could read where we found no retail licence, because its Tobacco Tax Act licenses wholesalers, importers and manufacturers. This page lists the permit, the issuer, how to apply and what the permit does and does not cover, using government pages and statutes we read on 31 October 2026. The federal picture is in tobacco retail licensing and display bans, and city licences are in municipal tobacco retailer licensing.

Which permit does each province use?

Jurisdiction	Permit	Issued by	Fee and term stated
Ontario	Tobacco retail dealer’s permit (Tobacco Tax Act)	Ministry of Finance	Not stated
British Columbia	Tobacco Retail Authorization, one per location	Director under the Tobacco Tax Act	Not stated
Alberta	No retail licence found	Not applicable	Not applicable
Saskatchewan	Tobacco retailer licence	Ministry of Finance	Not stated
Manitoba	Retail dealer’s licence (Tobacco Tax Act)	Director under the Act	Not stated
Nova Scotia	Tobacco Retail Vendor’s Permit	Government of Nova Scotia	$124.60, valid 3 years
Prince Edward Island	Tobacco retail vendor’s license	Finance and Affordability, Taxation and Property Records	Not stated
Newfoundland and Labrador	Tobacco licence	Government Services	No fee
Northwest Territories	Tobacco retail dealers permit	Treasury Division, Department of Finance	No fee
Nunavut	Tobacco Retailer Permit	Department of Finance	Not stated

Where the table says “Not stated”, the page we read gave no figure, so ask the issuer before you budget. Quebec, New Brunswick and Yukon are not in the table because their government pages would not open for us. They are listed at the end.

How to apply

Ontario: the Ministry of Finance publishes the Application for Tobacco Retail Dealer’s Permit as form 013-1963. The tax page says anyone selling tobacco to a consumer needs the permit, and that authorized reserve retailers under the First Nations Cigarette Allocation System are treated as holding one. Two other Ontario registrations sit with the local public health unit and are separate from the permit. A tobacconist registers there, with a statement from a Chartered Professional Accountant showing the store meets the sales rules, and a specialty vape store registers there too. Those registrations unlock the display exemptions described on the display bans page.

British Columbia: apply for a Tobacco Retail Authorization (TRA) through eTaxBC or on form FIN 254. An approved TRA arrives in about 10 business days and must be displayed where tobacco is sold. Vending machines count as locations. The regulation requires the application to list each location where tobacco will be sold, and it limits who qualifies, for example an applicant whose earlier authorization or dealer’s permit was cancelled.

Saskatchewan: the Ministry of Finance issues the licence. A new business uses the online New Business Registration form, an existing taxpayer logs into Saskatchewan eTax Services and adds the licence with a service request, and a paper business registration form can go in by mail or email. Several locations can share one application, though each location gets its own licence.

Manitoba: the Tobacco Tax Act says nobody may sell or hold tobacco for sale to purchasers without a licence issued by the director. The licence covers a retail store with a storefront, or other premises the director authorizes, at the location named in it. We did not find the application form or fee.

Nova Scotia: apply online, paying by credit card, or use the paper form and mail it or drop it at the Business Registration Unit. Have the CRA business number, the Registry of Joint Stock Companies number, bank details, the location of your records and a list of owners with their percentage of ownership. The page says it normally takes about 2 weeks.

Prince Edward Island: complete form FM-103-T-E and send it to Finance and Affordability, Taxation and Property Records, by mail to PO Box 1150 in Charlottetown, in person at 95 Rochford Street or at any Access PEI Centre. The form asks for every outlet, your suppliers, 12 months of sales and whether the Department of Health and Wellness has approved your signage.

Newfoundland and Labrador: the Act says to apply in writing to the Government Service Centre. The licence page lists the Application for Food and/or Tobacco Licence, a floor plan of the premises and municipal approval if it applies. The licence is posted in a conspicuous place in the shop.

Northwest Territories: send the Retail Dealers Permit Application to the Treasury Division of the Department of Finance in Yellowknife. The permit is issued in your business name for your sales location.

Nunavut: the territorial guide says a Tobacco Retailer Permit comes from the Department of Finance under the Tobacco Tax Act. The page gives no steps or fee.

Alberta: there is nothing to apply for on the pages we read. A shop buys from a licensed wholesaler, and the Act bars buying tobacco from anyone who is not a retailer, licensed wholesaler or licensed importer.

Fees, terms and renewal

Nova Scotia is the only jurisdiction that gave a full answer: $124.60, valid for 3 years, renewed every 3 years. The province mails a renewal notice, says renewing on time is the holder’s job, and will not renew a permit while the holder has outstanding accounts with the provincial government. The Northwest Territories says there is no fee for a dealer’s permit. Newfoundland and Labrador says no fee is required for its tobacco licence. British Columbia’s Act lets regulations set an annual fee for retail authorization holders, and the regulation text we read sets none.

Renewal rules for the other permits were not stated on the pages we read. A permit can also lapse because the business changed. A new TRA is needed in British Columbia after buying a business, opening a new location, changing the address or changing the legal name. The Northwest Territories requires a new permit after a purchase and gives 15 days to return the permit when a business closes. Ontario retail dealers must tell the ministry in writing if the name or nature of the business changes or the business closes. Ontario’s tobacconist and specialty vape registrations need a new application after a change of address or ownership.

What the permit lets you do

A permit lets a shop sell tobacco to consumers at the place on the permit and buy stock from authorized wholesalers. Ontario retail dealers must buy from a ministry-authorized wholesaler with a valid permit. Saskatchewan retailers must buy from a licensed wholesaler, and Manitoba bars a retail dealer from buying from a dealer who lacks a wholesaler’s licence and collector status. The supply side is covered in buying stock legally.

What the permit does not override

A tax permit does not switch off the health laws. Section 2 of the Northwest Territories Act says its sales, display and promotion rules apply despite any permit issued under the Tobacco Tax Act. Manitoba’s Tobacco Tax Act says a retail licence does not authorize selling tobacco in a place its health law bans, such as a pharmacy. The places are listed in where tobacco and vape sales are banned. Age checks and signs are in selling to minors, and the rest of the shop floor rules are in vape retailer rules.

Prince Edward Island adds a separate product rule: an electronic smoking device may be sold only in a tobacconist shop, which the Act defines as premises whose primary business is selling tobacco or such devices. A tobacco vendor’s license does not widen that.

When a permit can be suspended or cancelled

Rules differ, and we describe only the permit itself. In British Columbia the director may suspend a permit or retail authorization for up to 30 days without advance notice and may cancel it, and the holder can appeal. In Newfoundland and Labrador a first violation suspends the licence for 3 months, a second for 6 months, and a third or later cancels it, with an appeal to the minister. Prince Edward Island requires a vendor whose license is suspended or cancelled to post an inspector’s notice. In the Northwest Territories, selling without a permit can bring a fine of $500 to $1,000 and up to 30 days in jail on conviction, according to the territory’s tax page.

Vapour products have their own registrations

A tobacco permit does not cover vapes in every province. Nova Scotia has a separate Vaping Products Retail Vendor’s Permit at $124.60 per location for 3 years. British Columbia vapour retailers notify the Ministry of Health at least 6 weeks before the first sale and report sales every year before January 15. Saskatchewan expects every vapour vendor to be registered with the Ministry of Finance as a Vapour Products Tax licensed vendor. Newfoundland and Labrador issues a vapour products licence through the Department of Finance, one per location, with no fee. Ontario specialty vape stores register with the public health unit. The ordered steps for a vape shop are in how to open a vape shop in Canada.

What we could not confirm

• Quebec: Revenu Québec’s pages returned an access error, so we state nothing about a permit there.
• New Brunswick: the Finance and Treasury Board pages and the Tobacco Tax Act returned an access error.
• Yukon: yukon.ca returned an access error for the permit page and the Act.
• Fees and renewal terms for Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Nunavut. The pages we read give none.
• Ontario’s Tobacco Tax Act text. The e-Laws site would not load, so the permit details come from the Ministry of Finance pages.
• Alberta’s regulations under the Tobacco Tax Act. The Act text shows no retail licence, but a regulation or policy could add one.
• Manitoba’s application form and any fee.
• The Prince Edward Island licensing web page, which sat behind a browser check. The form and the Act were read instead.
• Whether Newfoundland and Labrador requires a licence for shops other than the convenience stores named on its page.
• Whether Nova Scotia’s tobacco permit is per location. The vaping page says so, and the tobacco page does not.