What Does a Pack of Cigarettes Carry in Tax in Quebec?
Key takeaways
The last Quebec tobacco rate we could read in an official document is 18.9 cents per cigarette from 9 February 2023, or $37.80 per carton of 200. With federal excise of about $38.92 that is roughly $76.72 per carton before sales tax. Quebec's own rate page was blocked to us, so a later increase is possible and is not included.
In Quebec the tobacco tax is called the specific tax on tobacco products, and it is charged per cigarette. The most recent rate we could read in an official document came from the Ministère des Finances. Its information bulletin of 8 February 2023 raised the rate from 14.9 to 18.9 cents per cigarette as of 9 February 2023, an increase the bulletin describes as $8.00 for each carton of 200.
The arithmetic
| Item | Per pack of 20 | Per carton of 200 |
|---|---|---|
| Quebec specific tax (18.9 cents) | $3.78 | $37.80 |
| Federal excise duty (from 1 April 2026) | $3.89 | $38.92 |
| Combined, before sales tax | $7.67 | $76.72 |
The carton figure is calculated: 18.9 cents times 200. Federal excise is the Canada Revenue Agency rate of $0.97299 per 5 cigarettes, times 40.
Read this before quoting the number
Revenu Québec’s own rate page refused automated access when we tried, and the budget documents we could open did not state a rate. So 18.9 cents is a floor for what is in force, not a confirmed current rate. If you need the figure for a filing or a purchase decision, check it on the Revenu Québec site.
What is safe to say is the comparison. The Ministry of Finance’s 2003 breakdown of a carton shows how long Quebec has sat at the low end: in December 2003 it raised its tax from $18.10 to $20.60 per carton, and its own table put Quebec at $20.60, Ontario at $19.70 and every other province between $28.13 and $35.98 per carton (some of those figures include provincial sales taxes). The 2023 rate leaves Quebec just above Ontario’s $36.95 and well under the $58 to $68.80 charged by the provinces and territories in the west, the Atlantic region and the north that we could confirm. See Ontario for the nearest comparison.
What a lower tax does and does not tell you
A lower tax means a smaller slice of each carton goes to government. It does not by itself tell you what a store charges, and it says nothing about illegal sales. The page on why cigarettes cost less in Quebec goes through what the official documents do and do not support.
For the other provinces, see the table of tobacco tax rates or the ranking of provinces. To turn a pack price into yearly spending, use the cost of smoking calculator.
Figures are estimates for planning. Actual prices and taxes vary by seller and date. Read the full disclaimer.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a pack of cigarettes in Quebec?
We cannot give a shelf price from an official source. The tax inside it was at least 18.9 cents per cigarette provincially (about $3.78 a pack of 20) plus about $3.89 of federal excise, before sales tax.
Is 18.9 cents still the Quebec rate?
It is the latest rate we could confirm from an official document, the February 2023 bulletin. Revenu Québec's rate page returned an access error, so we cannot rule out a later increase and we do not show one.
Why does Quebec's tax look so close to Ontario's?
Among the rates we could confirm, Ontario's 18.475 cents and Quebec's 18.9 cents are the two lowest provincial tobacco taxes. The gap is $0.85 per carton.
Sources
- Information Bulletin 2023-2: increase in the specific tax on tobacco products — Ministère des Finances du Québec. Accessed October 27, 2026.
- Excise duty rates — Canada Revenue Agency. Accessed October 27, 2026.
- Breakdown of the retail price of a carton, Quebec 2003 — Ministère des Finances du Québec. Accessed October 27, 2026.
- Tobacco tax rates (Ontario data catalogue) — Ontario Ministry of Finance. Accessed October 27, 2026.