Why IS distribution of alcohol so difficult province to province? A friend of mine and her business partner are going through the same thing right now in BC, having to expand to the US because they can't branch out in Canada.
Provincial protectionism. It’s really that simple.
It’s completely shortsighted and hurts Canadian consumers, but protects some businesses that would otherwise have more competition. It hurts innovative businesses that want to expand across provincial borders. America doesn’t have economic barriers between states like Canada has between provinces.