Where can you legally use cannabis in Canada?
You can use cannabis at home, but public and in-vehicle rules vary by province and even by city. How to tell where it's allowed and where it isn't.
The safe answer is your own home. Beyond that, it depends heavily on where you are, because public and in-vehicle rules are set by each province, and cities can add their own on top.
The short version: your private property is almost always fine, some provinces let you use cannabis in public roughly wherever tobacco smoking is allowed, others ban it in nearly all public places, and no province lets you use it in a moving vehicle.
At home
On your own private property, adults can generally use cannabis. The catch is if you rent or live in a condo. Your landlord, building, or condo board can restrict or ban smoking and vaping, sometimes including balconies, through your lease or building rules. Those private rules are allowed even where the province would otherwise permit it. Edibles usually don’t trigger smoke-free policies, since there’s nothing to smell or inhale.
In public
This is the big variable, and it splits roughly two ways.
Some provinces take a “wherever tobacco is allowed” approach. You can consume cannabis in many of the same outdoor public places you could smoke a cigarette, with common exceptions near schools, playgrounds, daycares, hospitals, and restaurant patios.
Other provinces are far stricter. Quebec, for example, prohibits smoking or vaping cannabis in essentially all indoor and outdoor public spaces.
On top of the provincial rules, municipalities can set their own. One city may allow cannabis in parks while the city next door bans it, so two people a few kilometres apart can face different rules. Before you use cannabis anywhere public, check your province’s rules and your local bylaws.
In a vehicle
No. You cannot use cannabis in a car or boat that’s being driven, and in most provinces passengers can’t either (a few allow a narrow exception for medical passengers). Cannabis has to be transported sealed and out of reach of everyone in the vehicle. And using cannabis before you drive is impaired driving, which carries serious penalties. See cannabis and driving in Canada for the details.
Other places to watch
- Workplaces. Employers can set their own rules about being impaired at work.
- Hotels and short-term rentals. Most are smoke-free, and that usually covers cannabis.
- Anywhere near children. Schools, playgrounds, and daycares are common no-go zones across the country.
The safe move
At home on your own property is nearly always fine. Everywhere else, assume the rules are stricter than you think and check before you consume: your province sets the baseline, your city can tighten it, and your landlord or building can tighten it further. When in doubt, keep it private.
This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the current rules for your province and municipality before you rely on them.
Sources: Health Canada, Cannabis laws and regulations · Gouvernement du Québec, Cannabis legislation · Government of Ontario, Cannabis laws
Frequently asked questions
Can I smoke cannabis on my apartment balcony?
Maybe not. Even where public rules would allow it, your landlord, building, or condo board can ban smoking and vaping, including on balconies. Check your lease and your building's rules before you light up. Edibles usually sidestep smoke-free policies.
Can I use cannabis in a car if I'm not the one driving?
In most provinces, no. Consuming cannabis in a vehicle is prohibited for passengers too, though a few provinces have a narrow exception for medical passengers. It is never allowed for the driver, and cannabis must be transported sealed and out of reach.
Can I smoke cannabis in a public park?
It depends on your province and your city. Some provinces let you consume cannabis where tobacco smoking is allowed; others, like Quebec, ban it in nearly all public spaces. Many municipalities also restrict it in parks. Check your province's rules and local bylaws.
Do edibles follow the same rules?
Edibles avoid the restrictions on smoking and vaping in public, but the rest still applies: you can't consume in a vehicle, and workplace, public-intoxication, and impaired-driving rules don't change.
Know your local rules
Legal age, where to buy, and where you can use it all change by province.
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