Well, the food and drug regulations start to apply once that product does cross a provincial boundary or for product coming into the country. In Ontario, you could have a definition for beer that fits with Ontario's Liquor Licence Act, and you can distribute it as beer within the province. But once it crosses that boundary it has to fit within the compositional standard set out under the food and drug regulations, and the food and drug regulations stipulate all the ingredients Health Canada has approved for use in a product that you label as beer.
On April 16th, 2013. See this statement in context.