A Summerland winery is now shipping its wines directly to consumers in Ontario.
“Ontario wineries have been shipping freely into B.C. for years,” said Ron Kubek, owner of Lightning Rock Winery. “We believe it’s only fair to extend the same courtesy in return.”
His decision came following a Memorandum of Understanding, signed by Ontario and British Columbia, to work towards direct-to-consumer shipping.
Although he is not yet able to legally ship his wines to customers in Ontario, Kubek said the principle of free interprovincial trade is already in place.
“If Ontarians can enjoy our wines just as British Columbians can enjoy theirs, we’re fostering true interprovincial fairness. We don’t need to wait for bureaucratic paperwork to do the right thing.”
In the past, Kubek has expressed his frustration with interprovincial wine trade regulations in Canada.
In July, he said he was disappointed with the federal government’s decision that discussions on direct-to-consumer alcohol shipping begin in 2026.
His frustration came because Ontario and Quebec wineries were able to ship wines to customers in B.C., but B.C. wineries were not allowed to ship wines to Ontario and Quebec.
While an interprovincial wine trade agreement is not yet in place, Kubek said the the Canadian constitution and a 2019 agreement should allow him the right to see to consumers in other provinces.
He has spoken with MP Dan Albas and with a wine lawyer on this. Albas, the MP for Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, has long advocated for improvements to interprovincial wine trade.
Kubek said the barriers that exist between provinces in Canada are not present when he sells his wines into the United States.
“I ship to the U.S. with no tariffs,” he said. “Canadians can’t even enjoy Canadian wines without being gouged by their governments.”
