Legal & Regulatory
Age of majority, by province.
Canada has no single legal adult age. Six provinces set it at 18; the rest of the country — British Columbia, the Atlantic provinces and the three territories — set it at 19.
Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island: 18. British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut: 19.
Inputs
Age of majority
Choose a province and press Look up.
Every jurisdiction
| Jurisdiction | Age of majority | Act |
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Common mix-ups
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Often assumedEveryone in Canada becomes a legal adult at 18.
What the source saysBritish Columbia's Age of Majority Act sets majority at 19, not 18, so someone who is 18 in BC is still a minor for general legal purposes. [1]
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Often assumedThe age you can buy cannabis or alcohol is your province's age of majority.
What the source saysThose ages are set by separate rules. Health Canada's provincial table lists a legal cannabis age of 21 in Quebec, 18 in Alberta, and 19 in Ontario, British Columbia and Manitoba, so the figure is not one national adult age. [2]
- British Columbia Age of Majority Act (BC Laws)
- Health Canada: Cannabis laws by province and territory
Checked against these sources on .
Frequently asked questions
Is the age of majority the same as the legal drinking age?
Usually, but not by definition. Each province sets its minimum drinking/cannabis age with reference to its own Age of Majority Act, so in practice they match in every province — but they are set by different pieces of legislation and a province could in principle change one without the other.
Why do some provinces use 18 and others 19?
There is no constitutional or historical rule forcing one number. Each province's age of majority is a straightforward policy choice made in its own Age of Majority Act, and the country simply never converged on one figure.
Does turning the age of majority automatically make every contract enforceable?
It removes the general incapacity a minor has, but some contexts (marriage without parental consent below a separate age, certain Criminal Code ages, specific licensing ages) are set by entirely different statutes and don't move with the age of majority.
General rule only — not legal advice
This is the general age of majority for contracts, suing/being sued in your own name, and similar general-capacity purposes. Specific ages for marriage, drinking, cannabis, voting, or particular licences are set by their own separate statutes and can differ from the figure above.