Québec to Trudeau: You Can’t Make Us Sell Marijuana

Justin Trudeau promised he would legalize marijuana. But he might not have Quebec's help.

By , a staff writer at Foreign Policy from 2015-2016 and was previously an editorial fellow.
Visitors pose in front of a flag similiar to the Canadian one but showing a cannabis plant instead of a maple leaf at a store in Eastside Vancouver during the Vancouver Winter Olympics on February 22, 2010.         AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTON      (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
Visitors pose in front of a flag similiar to the Canadian one but showing a cannabis plant instead of a maple leaf at a store in Eastside Vancouver during the Vancouver Winter Olympics on February 22, 2010. AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTON (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
Visitors pose in front of a flag similiar to the Canadian one but showing a cannabis plant instead of a maple leaf at a store in Eastside Vancouver during the Vancouver Winter Olympics on February 22, 2010. AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTON (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)

Among Justin Trudeau’s many promises to make Canada great again? Nationwide legalization of marijuana.

Among Justin Trudeau’s many promises to make Canada great again? Nationwide legalization of marijuana.

But according to Québec’s finance minister, Carlos Leitao, his province has “no plan, no idea, and no intention of commercializing [marijuana].”

Leitao told Canadian newspaper La Presse Thursday that he “will never have the obligation to commercialize [marijuana] even if it becomes legal,” and does not want to be involved in federal government distribution plans. “It’s not up to the province of Quebec to do that,” he said.  

Leitao, who belongs to Québec’s Liberal Party, made the comments amid speculation that marijuana could be sold out of liquor stores that are government-run.

Trudeau’s promises of marijuana legalization do have some caveats: It will be strictly regulated and distribution methods will be determined through conversations with local authorities in every province.  

Thursday evening, Leitao clarified his response on Facebook, saying that he believes it is too early to determine how and when weed will be distributed in his province. But one thing he made clear: “These choices will be made by the government of Québec.”

Photo Credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images

Siobhán O'Grady was a staff writer at Foreign Policy from 2015-2016 and was previously an editorial fellow.

Read More On Canada

More from Foreign Policy

Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.
Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.

Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak

Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.

Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.
Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.

Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage

The late statesman was a master of realpolitik—whom some regarded as a war criminal.

A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.
A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.

The West’s False Choice in Ukraine

The crossroads is not between war and compromise, but between victory and defeat.

Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi
Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi

The Masterminds

Washington wants to get tough on China, and the leaders of the House China Committee are in the driver’s seat.