Taxation

Tobacco Taxation

According to a World Health Organization report, raising taxes on cigarettes is among the most effective ways to reduce smoking and tobacco consumption, especially with youth. A price increase of 10% per package of cigarettes reduces demand by about 4%.

In March 2002, the Alberta tobacco tax was increased $2.25 per 200 grams of tobacco. It was the largest single-day tobacco tax increase in Canadian history. Alberta’s tax rate on 200 cigarettes (per carton) is $32.00.

According to Statistics Canada, cigarette sales in Alberta fell by 14% between the January–July 2001 reporting period (before the tax increase) and January–July 2002 (after the increase).

The federal government and other provinces have also recently raised taxes on tobacco products, recognizing that increasing cigarette prices is an effective prevention strategy.

Comparative Federal/Provincial/Territorial Tobacco Tax Rates
(March 22, 2005)

	200 cigarettes	Not including PST/HST	Roll-your-own 200 cigarettes	Roll-your-own 100 grams
NT	$42.00		$13.60
SK	$40.15	$35.00	$19.73	$17.50
MN	$40.15	$35.00	$18.70	$16.50
NL	$39.81	$34.00	$28.15	$25.00
NS	$36.61	$31.04	$16.53	$14.24
BC	$35.80		$17.90
PE	$34.90		$14.00
AB	$32.00		$16.00
NU	$31.20		$8.60
NB	$28.47	$23.50	$10.32	$8.49
YK	$26.40		$4.68
ON	$23.45		$11.72
QC	$20.60		$10.30
Federal	~$20.00	$15.85 (not including GST)	~$7.40	$5.40

Note: There is no PST on tobacco products in BC, AB, ON, QC, and PE.

Click to enlarge Map below.

LAST REVIEWED: Friday, March 23, 2007

Taxation

Tobacco Taxation

Comparative Federal/Provincial/Territorial Tobacco Tax Rates(March 22, 2005)

Comparative Federal/Provincial/Territorial Tobacco Tax Rates
(March 22, 2005)