Convert your drinks into Canadian standard drink sizes

For an amount of alcohol, find out how many Canadian standard drinks it represents.

Size:

ml oz1

Strength (% alcohol):

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¹ Ounces (oz) are Imperial fluid ounces (rather than US fluid ounces).

Convert your Canadian standard drinks into volume

For a number of Canadian standard drinks and % alcohol, find the volume (in ml) it represents.

Number of std. drinks:

Strength (% alcohol):

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What is a Canadian standard drink?

A Canadian standard drink contains 17.05mL or 0.6001oz (Imperial fluid ounces) or 0.5765oz (US fluid ounces) of pure ethanol. As there is no accepted international definition for a "standard drink", how a standard drink is defined both in terms of metric (i.e.: mass of pure ethanol vs. volume of pure ethanol) and amount of pure ethanol can vary widely from country to country.

This tool only provides information on Canadian standard drinks.

Learning to count drinks?

• 341mL bottle of light beer (3.7% alcohol) = 0.7 Canadian standard drinks
• 355mL can of extra strength beer (8% alcohol) = 1.7 Canadian standard drinks
• 500mL can of cider (4.5% alcohol) = 1.3 Canadian standard drinks
• 750mL bottle of wine (12% alcohol) = 5.3 Canadian standard drinks
• 9oz (Imperial) glass of wine (14% alcohol) = 2.1 Canadian standard drinks
• 2oz (Imperial) shot of spirits (40% alcohol) = 1.3 Canadian standard drinks
• 9oz (US) glass of wine (14% alcohol) = 2.2 Canadian standard drinks
• 2oz (US) shot of spirits (40% alcohol) = 1.4 Canadian standard drinks

As of Jan 2023, Canada has updated its Guidance on Alcohol and Health. Unlike the previous guidelines from 2011, the new guidelines define a 'continuum of risk associated with weekly alcohol' rather than a recommended maximum number of drinks per week.
The harms are defined as:

• 2 standard drinks or less per week — You are likely to avoid alcohol-related consequences for yourself or others at this level.
• 3–6 standard drinks per week — Your risk of developing several types of cancer, including breast and colon cancer, increases at this level.
• 7 standard drinks or more per week — Your risk of heart disease or stroke increases significantly at this level.
• Each additional standard drink radically increases the risk of alcohol-related consequences.
• Consuming more than 2 standard drinks per occasion is associated with an increased risk of harms to self and others, including injuries and violence.

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Note: The mathematical formula for calculating a Canadian standard drink using millilitres (mL) is: ((container volume in mL x % alcohol by volume)/(17.05mL of ethanol))/100