Can You Travel with Cannabis in Canada? 

Can you travel with cannabis in Canada?

Canada has legalized cannabis for recreational use, but there are still some rules and restrictions around travelling with cannabis within the country.

It is generally legal to travel with recreational cannabis within Canada as long as you meet specific requirements.

For example, you must be of legal age (18 or 19 years old, depending on the province), you must have purchased the cannabis legally from a licensed retailer, and you must not exceed the possession limit for the province you are in.

The possession limit varies by province but is generally up to 30 grams of dried cannabis or equivalent in other forms.

Although recreational cannabis is legal in Canada, it is still illegal to bring cannabis across the border into the United States, even if you’re going from Canada directly to a legal state.

Federally, the U.S. still prohibits cannabis, and the border checkpoint is their territory. So if you plan to travel to the United States, do not bring cannabis or cannabis accessories.

Can You Travel from Province to Province in Canada with Cannabis? 

Can you travel from province to province in Canada with cannabis? Yes, technically. You’ll want to familiarize yourself with the specific rules of the province you are travelling to.

Fortunately, most provinces have similar rules. But there are some key differences. For example, the possession limit in Quebec is 150 grams. But only on private property. In the neighbouring provinces of New Brunswick and Ontario, the maximum is 30 grams whether you’re in public or not.

Likewise, the legal age is 21 in Quebec but only 19 years in Ontario.

The Rules in each Province

1. Alberta:

• Public Possession limit: Up to 30 grams of dried cannabis or equivalent (e.g., 150 grams of fresh cannabis, 2,100 grams of liquid cannabis, or 600 milligrams of cannabis extract)
• Public consumption: Where tobacco is allowed, depends on municipal bylaws, government looking into lounges
• Retail: Private retail stores and online sales

2. British Columbia:

• Public Possession limit: Up to 30 grams of dried cannabis or equivalent
• Public consumption: Where tobacco is allowed, depends on municipal bylaws, government looking into lounges, “illicit” lounges exist in Vancouver
• Retail: Private and government-run stores, as well as online sales

3. Manitoba:

• Public Possession limit: Up to 30 grams of dried cannabis or equivalent
• Consuming cannabis in public is not permitted.
• Retail: Private and government-run stores, as well as online sales

4. New Brunswick:

• Public Possession limit: Up to 30 grams of dried cannabis or equivalent
• Consuming cannabis in public is not permitted.
• Retail: Government-run stores and online sales

5. Newfoundland and Labrador:

• Public Possession limit: Up to 30 grams of dried cannabis or equivalent
• Consuming cannabis in public is not permitted.
• Retail: Private and government-run stores, as well as online sales

6. Northwest Territories:

• Public Possession limit: Up to 30 grams of dried cannabis or equivalent
• Public consumption: Trails, roadways, and parks.
• Retail: Government-run stores and online sales

7. Nova Scotia:

• Public Possession limit: Up to 30 grams of dried cannabis or equivalent
• Consuming cannabis in public is not permitted.
• Retail: Government-run stores and online sales

8. Nunavut:

• Public Possession limit: Up to 30 grams of dried cannabis or equivalent
• No public consumption but the government permits licensed cannabis smoke lounges
• Retail: Government-run stores

9. Ontario:

• Public Possession limit: Up to 30 grams of dried cannabis or equivalent
• Public consumption: Where tobacco is allowed, depends on municipal bylaws, “illicit” lounges exist in Toronto
• Retail: Private retail stores and online sales

10. Prince Edward Island:

• Public Possession limit: Up to 30 grams of dried cannabis or equivalent
• Public consumption: Generally no, some designated areas, government looking into lounges
• Retail: Government-run stores and online sales

11. Quebec:

• Public Possession limit: Up to 30 grams of dried cannabis or equivalent
• Consuming cannabis in public is not permitted.
• Retail: Government-run stores and online sales

12. Saskatchewan:

• Public Possession limit: Up to 30 grams of dried cannabis or equivalent
• Consuming cannabis in public is not permitted.
• Retail: Private retail stores and online sales

13. Yukon:

• Public Possession limit: Up to 30 grams of dried cannabis or equivalent
• Public consumption: Where tobacco is allowed, depends on municipal bylaws
• Retail: Government-run stores and online sales

Can You Fly with Cannabis? 

So long as it’s a domestic flight, technically, you can travel with less than 30 grams of dried cannabis. But that doesn’t mean some petty security guard on an ego trip won’t act like he’s the DEA.

We recommend you keep it in its original packaging. Store it in a secure, locked container if you need to. Ideally, the excise stamp should be visible.

Same for liquid cannabis, where you can possess up to the equivalent of 2,100 grams. You can also possess 5 grams of concentrates.

You should check your luggage if you decide to test the maximum limits. Most airlines limit carry-on liquid products. So you’re running into trouble if you have a cannabis extract over 100 millilitres.

However, you must pack items like vape pens in your carry-on bag. Speaking of vape pens, don’t vape at the airport or on the plane. At least, not where anyone can see you.

Unfortunately, you cannot take edible products on flights. Eat ’em up before you go through security.

FAQ: Travel with Cannabis in Canada

Canadians can grow up to four plants per household except in Quebec. Does that mean driving with clones across Quebec from Ontario to New Brunswick is illegal?

Quebec retailers also don’t sell chocolate edibles. If you bring some from Kingston, Ontario and gift them to a friend in Montreal, Quebec, are you breaking the law? What if your friend is under 21? (In that case, yes you are breaking the law. You cannot gift Quebec minors cannabis.)

Does the Cannabis Act overrule provincial statutes?

These kinds of questions still need answers.

A Quebec man is suing the provincial government over its home-growing ban. Since the federal government permits household cultivation, he argues the Quebec government should butt out. 

Decisions and appeals make their way through the courts.

Travelling Across the Border with Booze

It’s never too late to test the Cannabis Act’s limits regarding interprovincial trade. While general travel with cannabis in Canada is easy enough, problems arise when you want to buy and sell. Or go over the 30-gram limit.

Section 121 of Canada’s Constitution Act, 1867 states that “All Articles of the Growth, Produce, or Manufacture of any one of the Provinces shall, from and after the Union, be admitted free into each of the other Provinces.”

Interpreting Section 121 as a commitment to free trade within Canada is entirely valid. Provinces should exist in a free, economic union.

However, the courts routinely give provinces the go-ahead to regulate the flow of goods and services across their borders. For example, provinces regulate alcohol imports and exports. Reasons include “public health and safety,” (but actually, revenue generation).

Provincial agents do not take kindly to free-and-fair markets.

Take the case of Gerard Comeau. Stopped by New Brunswick police in 2012 and charged with exceeding the limit on alcohol he could bring into the province.

Comeau argued that this limit violated Section 121. He believed it guaranteed the free movement of goods across provincial borders.

The case became known as R. v. Comeau. It went to the Supreme Court. He lost.

Travelling in Canada with Cannabis if Common Sense Prevailed

Despite what the Supreme Court thinks, everyone has the right to pursue their own interests and engage in voluntary exchanges with others so long as they do not initiate the use of force or fraud against others.

That doesn’t mean conflicts don’t still arise. But consider the alternatives to provincial bureaucracies and nine Supreme Court judges dictating the law like high priests of the church.

Travelling in Canada with cannabis could be problematic if a liberal stoner from Edmonton goes to a conservative town in Ontario. Say he’s smoking everywhere and smelling up the place.

Now imagine there’s no government to save you. Here are your options:

1. Open dialogue: Conservative residents and the liberal newcomer can engage in open and respectful dialogue to better understand each other’s perspectives. Help bridge the divide between them and find common ground. 
2. Private property rights: If Canada were more libertarian, property rights would be highly valued. Suppose the liberal newcomer is living on private property. In that case, the property owner could ask him to leave because they don’t want him there. If the newcomer bought real estate, clauses in the contract would grant him access to throughways. Still, no business or civic institution would have to associate with him.
3. Non-violent protest: The town’s residents have the right to peacefully protest or boycott the liberal newcomer if they disagree with his beliefs or behaviours.

Who Really Controls Cannabis Travel in Canada?

Depending on the community’s beliefs, residents may feel obligated to respect the liberal stoner’s right to live and conduct his business as he sees fit. So while they may protest, they’ll do it respectfully.

Of course, some communities may declare that “there can be no tolerance” toward liberal pot smokers. However ignorant their belief about cannabis may be, in a community of private property owners, who are we to judge?

Why would a liberal from Edmonton who loves cannabis move to a conservative Ontario town that hates it?

Travelling with cannabis in Canada is a social norm. Rules are better enforced when local communities realize their civic power. Provincial laws and bureaucratic enforcement are costly and ineffective.