How has the culture of alcohol changed in your city/province since you were young?

[giallo]

I've always found the laws around alcohol in Canada fascinating. For a legal substance, there has always been so many caveats to its legality. This certainly depends from province to province as not all cultures in Canada treat alcohol in the same manner, but growing up in BC, alcohol always felt like it was quasi-legal. I would come back from a country like Malaysia, with its strict stance on alcohol consumption, and still feel like it was far more liberal in its attitude towards drinking than BC.

Alcohol was always very popular in BC, but heavily regulated. The provincial government controlled the sale of all hard liquor through government-run liquor stores. The only products private businesses could sell were cold beer and wine. We simply called them 'Cold Beer and Wine Stores'.

Today, a private store can sell liquor, but it must be purchased wholesale through the province. Stores are allowed to stay open until 11pm.

Open alcohol in BC was a major faux pas. Walking down the street with an open container would most definitely lead to a ticket, and possibly an arrest. There was zero tolerance, so it was very, very rare to see anyone walking around with a beer in their hand. Beaches and parks were favoured spots to drink, but one would have to be very convert in how they consumed their drink. Water bottles, thermoses, brown bags, and red cups were common.

Today, the rules are all over the place depending on the municipality. Vancouver has a few dozen parks and sections of streets were you can drink openly. Select beaches from May to October allow drinking.

As for walking around with an open container, this is still illegal, but not enforced in Vancouver. I see people walking around with beer on the street, in the bus, on the skytrain. I'm not sure what changed regarding enforcement, but it's clear that the VPD has simply given up or have more pressing issues than going after someone drinking a can of beer. A bottle might get you in trouble though. The rest of the province would probably still ticket you for any open container.

Bars, pubs and clubs would close at different times depending on their license. Pubs and bars would generally shut down by midnight with clubs going until 2am.

Not much has changed. Clubs serve until 3am now, but everything closes around the same time. Bars can serve until 2am.

One of the weirdest laws in BC back in the day was carrying your drink in a non-club environment. If you were drinking at a restaurant or bar, you were not allowed to stand and walk with a drink in hand. Switching tables would mean that your server would have to transfer your drinks to the next table. It was ridiculous, and thankfully no longer exists.

BC has definitely relaxed a lot since the 90s/early 2000s, but it's still got a lot of quirks when it comes to alcohol. One thing I've noticed is that the younger generation, Gen Z especially, don't drink much at all. Bars and clubs around Vancouver constantly mention how few young patrons they see. It could be a cost thing as going out is expensive, and there has been a serious push to remind people how unhealthy drinking is. The younger generation tend to favour edibles over alcohol, possibly due to these factors.

So how have things changed in your city or province? Is it the same as it always was or have you seen a more relaxed approach?