Exporting wine to Canada. The buyer is the province.
In Canada you don't sell wine to just any importer. It's bought, or received, by the province's liquor board.
The buyer is the provincial liquor board. Section 3(1) of the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act prohibits importing alcohol into a province unless it has been bought by or on behalf of the provincial body authorised to sell it, and consigned to that body. Each province sets its own rules for putting forward a wine.
The bottle must be a permitted size. For imported wine the CFIA allows 50, 100, 200, 250, 375, 500 and 750 millilitres, and 1, 1.5, 2, 3 and 4 litres. A 700-millilitre bottle isn't allowed.
The label is bilingual. The product name, alcohol content and country of origin go in English and French. Wine is exempt, on the other hand, from the list of ingredients and the nutrition facts table, unless voluntary nutrition claims are made.
This page is part of exporting wine: the documents, who issues them and when you need them, and covers the Canadian market. The importer's licence, supplier verification and the CETA origin declaration, which apply to every food, are in exporting food to Canada.
How to export wine to Canada: the three constraints
Exporting wine to Canada comes with three constraints that ordinary foods don't have. The buyer is the provincial liquor board, by federal law. The bottle must be one of the sizes the CFIA allows. And the label shows the name, alcohol content and country of origin in English and French.
| Constraint | What it asks for | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who buys | The provincial body authorised to sell alcohol, or someone buying on its behalf. | Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act, s. 3(1) |
| Size | 50, 100, 200, 250, 375, 500, 750 ml; 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4 litres. | SFCR ss. 187-188; CFIA |
| Languages | Name, alcohol content and origin in English and French. | FDR B.01.012(2), B.02.108; SFCR 206(1) |
Who buys wine in Canada: the provincial liquor board
In Canada, wine imported into a province has to be bought by or on behalf of the provincial body authorised to sell alcohol, and consigned to it. That's set out in section 3(1) of the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act, the federal law on importing alcohol, which applies notwithstanding any other law.
“a person is not permitted to import, or cause to be imported, into a province from a place outside Canada any intoxicating liquor unless the intoxicating liquor has been purchased by or on behalf of, and is consigned to, Her Majesty or the executive government of a province, or any board, commission, officer or other governmental agency of the province that, by the law of that province, is authorized to sell intoxicating liquor” (Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act, s. 3(1))
For an Italian winery this means the Canadian market is split by province, and each province has its own board and its own rules for putting forward a wine. The first question to ask a Canadian agent or importer is which provincial board they work with, and how that board chooses its wines.
Permitted bottle sizes for wine in Canada
Wine imported into Canada has to come in a permitted size. Sections 187 and 188 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations require standard sizes for imported food, and the CFIA lists those for wine: 50, 100, 200, 250, 375, 500 and 750 millilitres, and 1, 1.5, 2, 3 and 4 litres.
The 750 ml Bordeaux bottle, the 375 ml half bottle and the 1.5-litre magnum are all allowed. A 700 ml bottle, a 5-litre one or any size not on the list isn't, and has to be changed before shipping. The downloadable sheet checks your size and, for the 750 ml, the minimum height of the net quantity lettering.
For a 750 ml bottle up to 360 millimetres tall, section 229(3) of the regulations allows net quantity characters 3.3 millimetres high, instead of the 6.4 millimetres that would otherwise apply. It's the exception designed for the most common size, and the CFIA covers it on the same page about alcoholic beverages.
The wine label in Canada: English and French
The wine label in Canada is bilingual. The CFIA, on its page on alcoholic beverage requirements updated on 24 March 2026, requires the common name in English and French (Food and Drug Regulations, B.01.012(2), and SFCR, 206(1)), and the country of origin in both languages on the principal display panel (B.02.108).
The alcohol content is written in one of the forms set out in B.02.003, for example “13 % alc./vol.”, with its French equivalent, “13 % d’alcool par volume”. Wine meeting the standard doesn't carry a list of ingredients, and above 0.5% alcohol it doesn't carry a nutrition facts table, unless voluntary nutrition claims are made.
| Item | What to write | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Product name | In English and French. | FDR B.01.012(2); SFCR 206(1) |
| Alcohol strength | “13 % alc./vol.” and the French form. | FDR B.02.003 |
| Country of origin | In English and French, on the principal display panel. | FDR B.02.108 |
| Net quantity | In metric units; 3.3 mm for a 750 ml bottle up to 360 mm tall. | SFCR 229(3) |
| Ingredients and nutrition facts table | Not required for wine meeting the standard. | FDR B.01.008(2)(f), B.01.401(2)(b)(i) |
The Canadian label comes on top of the European one: Article 119 of Regulation (EU) 1308/2013 also applies to wine destined for export, as explained on the page about the documents for wine and its label. The differences between markets are in export labelling, market by market.
The template, to download
One file, two sheets. The first is the checklist, with the Canadian law or regulation next to each line and a drop-down status to fill in. The second takes the bottle volume in millilitres and tells you whether the size is allowed, and for the 750 ml the minimum height of the net quantity lettering.
| File | Contents | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Wine to CanadaExcel, two sheets | Twelve checklist lines with their sources, and the bottle size check. |
The files are free. There's no form in the way, we don't ask for an email address, and we don't get notified when anyone downloads them. The provincial boards' rules aren't in the sheet: they vary from province to province and are on each board's website.
Questions and answers
Who buys imported wine in Canada?
The provincial body authorised to sell alcohol, or someone buying on its behalf. Section 3(1) of the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act prohibits importing alcohol into a province unless it has been bought by or on behalf of the provincial board and is consigned to it.
Each province has its own board and its own rules for putting forward a wine, set out on the board's website.
Which bottle sizes are allowed for wine in Canada?
For imported wine the CFIA allows 50, 100, 200, 250, 375, 500 and 750 millilitres, and 1, 1.5, 2, 3 and 4 litres, under sections 187 and 188 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations.
A 700-millilitre or 5-litre bottle isn't allowed, and the size has to be changed before shipping.
Does the wine label in Canada have to be in French?
Yes, in English and French. The product's common name goes in both languages (Food and Drug Regulations B.01.012(2), Safe Food for Canadians Regulations 206(1)), and so does the country of origin, on the principal display panel (B.02.108).
The alcohol content is written in one of the forms in B.02.003, for example 13 % alc./vol., with the French form.
Does wine exported to Canada need a nutrition facts table?
Usually not. The CFIA says beverages with more than 0.5% alcohol are exempt from the nutrition facts table (B.01.401(2)(b)(i)), unless voluntary nutrition claims are made, and that wine meeting the standard is exempt from the list of ingredients (B.01.008(2)(f)).
The name, alcohol content, country of origin and net quantity remain mandatory.
How tall does the net quantity lettering have to be on a 750 ml bottle?
For a 750 ml bottle up to 360 millimetres tall, section 229(3) of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations allows net quantity characters 3.3 millimetres high, instead of the 6.4 millimetres that would otherwise apply.
For other sizes, the height depends on the label area and is set out in the same regulations.
Notes on sources
- Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. I-3), full text on Justice Laws, section 3(1). The quotation is word for word.
- Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SOR/2018-108), full text on Justice Laws, sections 187 and 188(1): standard sizes for imported food.
- CFIA, labelling requirements for alcoholic beverages, page modified on 24 March 2026: wine sizes, the 3.3 mm exception for the 750 ml, the bilingual rules, alcohol content, country of origin and the exemptions, with references to the Food and Drug Regulations.
- The sources were read on 25 September 2026. Each provincial board's rules for putting forward a wine aren't covered here: they're on the board's website.
In Canada, the first question is which province.
That decides the board, its rules and its calendar. The bottle size gets settled before anything else. At Itria we start from the outside and build tailored digital systems for exporters. For you, that means more enquiries, fewer losses and less manual work. Drop us a line about what's slowing you down. We'll make the first move: we'll look at what a buyer sees when they search for you, and tell you what we found. Even if we never end up working together.