What it actually costs
The sticker price is not the landed price. Here is every component of what you pay when a bottle crosses a provincial line — including what producers remit to destination authorities.
The four components
- The producer’s price. What they charge on their own site. Sometimes below the liquor-store shelf price for the same bottle — and sometimes not. Compare the landed total, not the sticker alone.
- The destination province’s cut. Producers remit an amount to the province receiving the shipment, and generally build it into their pricing rather than adding it at checkout. Ontario uses a published multi-band LCBO mark-up on basic price (excluding shipping, deposits and HST) — see the table below. Alberta collects an administrative fee plus GST plus container and recycling amounts (AGLC DTC programme), without a headline retail percentage. Most other provinces have published nothing on fees yet.
- Shipping. The largest visible cost, and the most variable — a flat fee per case is common, and many producers waive it above a threshold. Producers set their own rates; the worked example below uses an illustrative figure, not a quote from any producer.
- Minimum order. Not a fee, but it shapes the bill: many producers set a multi-bottle minimum (often six or twelve), because shipping one bottle costs nearly as much as shipping several.
Ontario (LCBO) mark-up bands
From the official out-of-province DTC quarterly financial report templates v1.0 (winery, brewery, distillery). Remittance also includes container deposits and HST on the mark-up. Know your obligations. Full table on Ontario rules.
| Product class | Band | Mark-up |
|---|---|---|
| 100% Canadian wine & cider | — | 0% of basic price |
| All other wines or wine coolers | — | 19.1% of basic price |
| Beer and malt-based RTD | Microbrewer | $0.46/L |
| Beer and malt-based RTD | Manufacturer | $1.18/L |
| Spirits (including spirit-based RTDs and coolers) | ≤7.1% alcohol by volume | 20% of basic price |
| Spirits (including spirit-based RTDs and coolers) | >7.1% and ≤18% alcohol by volume | 25% of basic price |
| Spirits (including spirit-based RTDs and coolers) | >18% alcohol by volume | 30.75% of basic price |
A worked example
Illustrative only — six bottles of 100% Canadian wine at $28 from a Nova Scotia winery, shipped to Ontario, with a $24 flat shipping fee:
+ $24.00 shipping
= $192.00 landed → $32.00/bottle
(LCBO mark-up on 100% Canadian wine & cider is $0 in the v1.0 templates — the producer still handles deposits / HST components where they apply; nothing is added as a separate DTC tax at your checkout)
That $4-per-bottle delivery premium is the real number to weigh — against a tank of petrol to wine country, or against not being able to get the wine at all. Other product classes (non-Canadian wine, beer, spirits) use different mark-up bands above.
What isn’t published yet
Ontario now has a usable multi-band schedule from the DTC templates; Alberta has described fee components without a single retail percentage. Alberta and Ontario and Prince Edward Island publish a reporting cadence for producers. Prince Edward Island has said it collects sales data and tax remittance fees without publishing rates; most remaining provinces have published nothing on fees. A precise landed cost for every corridor is still not computable from public sources alone. See exactly what is and isn’t confirmed, province by province →
Questions
Do I pay an extra tax when a bottle crosses provincial lines?
Not as a separate charge at delivery. Under the arrangements published so far, the producer remits an amount to the destination province itself — you pay the producer's listed price plus shipping. Ontario's schedule is multi-band (mark-up on basic price, deposits, HST on the mark-up); Alberta collects administrative and container amounts. Most other provinces have not published fee detail.
Why is shipping so expensive?
Alcohol is heavy, breakable, and often needs someone available to receive it. A full case is a dense parcel, which is why many producers set multi-bottle minimums — the per-bottle shipping cost drops as the order fills.
Is it cheaper than buying at the liquor store?
Usually not, for something the store already stocks. The point of direct shipping is access to the long tail of Canadian producers your provincial store does not carry — small runs, single vineyards, seasonal releases. Compare it to a trip to the winery, not to a shelf price.
Current as of 2026-08-31. LCBO mark-up figures from templates verified 2026-07-26. Examples are illustrative; producers set their own prices and shipping terms. Confirm before ordering.