Drinking Age in Canada

[Limeoutsider]

Im going to Canada in December, and I was wondering, since the chaperones are throwing a fit about it, would the 19 year olds be able to buy alcohol? We were told that we wouldnt be able to, but we cant find anything about it.

 

[Cokecan]

Drinking age depends on the province you are going to visit. Quebec's age is 18 and Ontario's is 19. Not sure of the rest of the provinces. I'd bet 19.

You will likely be carded if you purchase, especially if you look young.

There really isn't much your chaperones can do, legally, if you're of age in the province you are visiting.

 

[Limeoutsider]

The issue is that we arent going to be able to get any alcohol because we're American

 

[Moses25]

That's bullpoppy. Jus' as long as you have a valid ID, and are actually 19, they will not be able to refuse you.

Happy huntin'.

Cheers.😀

 

[Limeoutsider]

Thanks all! Our chaperones are under the impression that we will be refused because we have american id. Hope they dont find anything contrary

 

[sushi854]

This thread is not nearly controversial enough for me, so I will complain that one of the stupidest laws in the United States is the drinking age. We send 18-20 year-olds to die in wars but they're not allowed to buy beer?!? I realize that this argument has been used before, but hey, it got the voting age lowered. If you can join the military, pay taxes, and be charged as an adult for crimes you commit (doesn't "charged as an adult for underage comsumption of alcohol" sound a bit strange?), you should be able to be treated as an adult in all aspects of the law.

 

[TicklishSinner]

I agree with Sushi...I am 19 years old and I been drinking for a while now, but I dont think it is fair that I have to find people to buy it for me when at 18 you can vote, be in the military, smoke, legally move out of your parents home...Used to be able to gamble t Indian reservations and buy lotto tickets (but that changed for some stupid reason) Anyways I wanna go to Canada I think it owuld be cool.

 

[Knox The Hatter]

Twenty years ago, they raised the age to 21 from 18 in New Jersey to lower the shockingly high rate of highway deaths among drunk teenagers. It worked. I don't think it's going back down to eighteen anytime soon.
I bought beer and liquor since I'm 14...even at that age, I looked very adult. Amazingly, the very first time I got carded was on my eighteenth birthday. I went into the liquor store where I had bought so many times before, and the guy asked to see my ID. I was like, what, are you kidding? I was able to buy anyway.
After I joined the Navy, it was 18 for beer, 21 for liquor in Virginia, that is, if I was off base. It was a happy day on my 21st birthday, I didn't have to worry anymore.
It's all attitudes...there are countries in Europe where, if you got caught drunk driving, you'd get put into an insane asylum. They figure you must be totally crazy to get behind a wheel drunk and endanger everyone else on the road. Here in America, it's machismo. "Hey, I can drive!"
Whether you think it's right or wrong, you have to understand that the lowering of the drinking age isn't gonna happen now, not with the prevailing moods in our society. And, with binge drinking the rage on college campuses and elsewhere, the politicians feel perfectly justified in keeping the status quo.

 

[sushi854]

I certainly don't think that anything is going to change regarding this law, nor do I expect them to, but I do have serious issues with this attitude. I guess my problem has less to do with the drinking age being 21 than the standard of "we expect you to act like an adult now but we won't treat you like one for another three years." If it is assumed that American kids cannot be responsible with alcohol until age 21, is it reasonable to assume that they can vote responsibly at 18? Should we allow/require kids who have yet to gain their full civil liberties to go to war? I see it as an infringement on individual rights more than anything else. Speaking from a safety aspect, there are plenty of adults that should not be able to purchase alcohol. Europe, from what I understand, has ridiculously strict DUI laws, therefore creating a deterrent to those who would actually endanger public safety. America chooses to simply forbid the purchase and consumption of alcohol by an age group characterized by high alcohol-related accidents and crimes and to give a slap on the wrist to those who actually endanger the lives of others. Unfortunately it really is all about attitudes. American kids are often brought up in an environment in which alcohol is considered to be a "forbidden fruit," and rebellion occurs quite naturally in college. Europeans seem to be raised in an environment in which alcohol is a large part of their culture, and therefore not seen to be as much of a problem. I fully realize the difference between American and European attitudes towards alcohol and their effect on alcohol regulations, and I certainly don't expect change, but I just wish there were a more fair manner of protecting the public interest regarding misuse of alcohol than the US currently employs.

 

[giantfan121262]

I bought beer and liquor since I'm 14...even at that age, I looked very adult. Amazingly, the very first time I got carded was on my eighteenth birthday.

There was a big downfall to that, as I have been able to buy beer without a problem since I was 15. YOU were always the one sent in to buy the goods. Which meant you were always the one risking getting caught by the ABC if they happened to walk in (never happened but the thought was enough to scare the shit out of anyone). I remember carrying cases of beer on my moped hoping I would never pass a cop on the road.

Ironically, the first time I was ever carded was when I went to a liquor store to buy beer when I was in boot camp. We were on liberty and the guy asked me for ID. I was 18 at the time (the age was 19). I showed him my military ID and he rung me up w/o a problem. I had to shave my mustache and my hair for boot camp and it took like 10 years off my appearance.

I hope you can enjoy the Canadian beer without a problem. I am a BIG fan of Canadian beer.

 

[sushi854]

Canadian beer...a much less controversial topic 😀

I like the Upper Canada Dark when I can get it, which usually is only when someone I know or myself visits there. As for brews readily available in the US, I'm quite fond of Moosehead, a damn good lager I must say.

 

[Knox The Hatter]

"American kids are often brought up in an environment in which alcohol is considered to be a "forbidden fruit," and rebellion occurs quite naturally in college. Europeans seem to be raised in an environment in which alcohol is a large part of their culture, and therefore not seen to be as much of a problem."

This statement can also apply to puritanical attitudes in America regarding sex...and if you'll notice, it's harvesting the same results, for several generations now.

 

[Barretta]

It sounds like your chaperones are pulling your chain. I know the drinking age in Niagara Falls area is 19, regardless of your citizenship. If you can drink there at 19, I'm sure you buy take-out beer/wine. I've often wondered what law enforcement would do if you were drinking in Canada, then crossed the border and came over to NY and got picked up. Or if you were drinking while under 21 in NY, but evaded the police by going across the border to Canada.

 

[Iggy pop]

The Drinking age in most states is a form of age discrimination. At age 18 you are a legal adult in most states, so why can't you drink? Could you imagine if it was the other way around and they stated that you could not legaly drink past the age of sixty five? I bet there would be a major uproar over that. The thing is that older people vote and young people usually do not. Once you are past the age of 21, and all friends are above that age as well then you really stop caring.