LOCAL CUSTOMS · CANADA
How happy hour works in Canada
Canadian happy hour is the same shape as the American one — a posted afternoon window — with provincial minimum prices underneath it and a tax line that does not match the US bill.
The custom
After-work drinks are a weekday ritual in both Toronto and Vancouver, clustered near offices and then again in the neighborhoods people actually live in. The chalkboard deal is usually a cheaper glass of wine, a pint, a cocktail, and a short snack list between about 3 and 6 or 4 and 7. “Industry night” — a deeper discount for people who work in restaurants, often late and often Monday — is its own thing and is not a public happy hour.
Prices on the menu are before tax and before tip, as in the US. Ontario adds 13% HST. British Columbia adds 5% GST and 7% PST on restaurant meals and liquor. Alberta adds 5% GST and no provincial sales tax. A tip of about 15–20% is customary at a full-service table and is not on the menu.
Ontario
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario allows a licensee to change a drink’s price by time of day, as long as the drink stays at or above the minimum and the new price is posted while it is in effect. The minimum, tax included, is $1.34 for a standard pour of spirits over 14.8% alcohol and $2 for other standard servings (a 12 oz beer, a 5 oz wine, a 1 oz spirit). Those floors almost never bind a happy hour worth listing. What does bind is the other half of the rule: every patron pays the same price. A “ladies’ night” or a student price on alcohol is not allowed. Contests that require buying or drinking liquor are not allowed.
British Columbia
British Columbia also lets the price move during the day. The floor is calculated per ounce of alcohol and depends on the category — draught beer under a 50 oz vessel is priced off $0.25 an ounce before sales tax, with other rates for wine, spirits, and packaged beer. A happy hour is legal. A promotion aimed at getting people drunk is not the business the licence is for. Serving hours are a licence condition; they are not a national clock.
Alberta
Alberta lets a licensee change the price through the day, including after 8 p.m. The floor, before GST, is $2.75 an ounce of spirits, $0.35 an ounce of wine, $0.16 an ounce of draught beer, and $2.75 for a standard bottle or can. A posted happy hour is legal. A 2-for-1, a free drink, and all-you-can-drink for one price are not. You must be 18.
Quebec
Quebec tolerates a 5 à 7, and it forbids advertising one. The Régie des alcools says a 2-for-1 or a happy hour may be offered, and that publicising it in any form is not allowed. A usual price may still change by time of day when the drinks and the prices stay regular. The drinking age is 18. A menu price is before the federal GST and the Quebec sales tax, and before tip, unless the venue prints that tax is included.
What the Atlas does not check yet
Canadian prices are stored in Canadian dollars and shown that way. The page does not yet add GST, HST, or PST, and it does not test a deal against the provincial minimum. A two-for-one is stored as a package where a province allows it. In Alberta it is left off, because the licensee handbook forbids it.
Cities
Sources
- AGCO — pricing and promotion of liquor
- BC Liquor Primary licence handbook
- AGLC licensee handbook — liquor pricing, section 5.2
- RACJ — promoting and advertising alcoholic drinks
Laws and regulator pages as checked on 27 October 2026. A licence condition can be tighter than the statute. Confirm with the venue.