Liquor stores within Canadian airports
 

There's a very good liquor/wine store at YEG (half-way between security and the MLL).

There's also a liquor/wine store in the domestic concourse at YYC IIRC.

I'm not aware of a liquor/wine store at YYZ T1 Domestic (of course there's a duty free shop in the int'l and transborder concourse).

Btw, which shop at YVR are you referring to? I've seen a shop outside security which is pretty useless IMO. Is there another shop airside?

YUL also has one. If you have access to a duty free shop airside, but not flying internationally, you can technically buy it, so long as you pay the duty on it.

Have you tried this? I don't think any duty free shop in Canada or the US would allow that. They aren't set up with separate pricing for this situation.

YLW has a great wine store airside, full of nice BC wines

Good selection but the prices are not always that great. While Ontario has been selling Crown Royal Harvest Rye for $32.80, the YEG shop has it for $55! Who says free enterprise is always cheaper than a govenment monopoly?

Indeed with free wine tastings!

Yes. Sometimes they have to look up the duty and and taxes being charged. You will be paying north of lcbo pricing though.

I've picked up a few bottles of wine there, but I've been surprised by the prices. $20 for something that would be best used for cooking (actually, one bottle I picked up there, at that price, wasn't even fit for that).

There is a monopoly! It's the only place to get bottles of liquor/wine airside. I wouldn't doubt there's a per bottle levy that goes straight to EIA...

As a rule, "duty free" in airports usually just means the store is collecting the exorbitant profits instead of the government. Know the fair value of what you're buying and don't assume it's cheaper just because it's duty free.

100%. Much better deals even at land-based duty free stores.


Cheers

That's good to know - sometimes I miss my chance to buy duty-free on a return to Canada, so it's good to know I'd have options if I transit through YEG and YYC.

With LCBO having such a monopoly (for now), I don't see them opening up in an Ontario airport. Even if they wouldn't be competing with Duty Free, those shops could always claim that there would be confusion, that people would shop there not knowing it's not duty free.

As for YVR, that's the one - below baggage claim. I mentioned it as if your destination is YVR it's convenient (or if you're checking in there), but not if you're transiting and not leaving the secure area.

These posts have been split of a thread in the Air Canada forum as they are off topic and better suited to the Canada forum for further discussion.

Regards,

tcook052
AC forum moderator

The pricing at the YEG location is very poor indeed. Skip.

It all depends IME. I only buy stuff there I'm familiar with and rarely noticed a price premium (the price was always within +/-$1 compared to standard prices in BC/AB/ON).

But even if there's a small price premium, I'm happy to pay that in return for the convenience of not having to go the liquor store. Since it's 20m from the elevator going downstairs, it usually adds < 1min to my trip.

Just an FYI for anyone going through YYC. There are four liquor stores. There are two behind security with one for the AC concourse and the other for the WS concourse, one on the departures level (non-secured side) near the AC check-in counters and the last one is on arrivals level around the WS carousels.