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Players is one of the most recognised names in Canadian tobacco. It is made by Imperial Tobacco Canada, the same company behind du Maurier and Peter Jackson, and it has sat in the premium price bracket on convenience-store shelves across the country for decades. If you have landed here looking for the current Players line-up, what a pack or carton actually costs in 2026, or what Canadian smokers reach for when a full-tax carton gets too dear, this guide covers all three. North Nation stocks a wide range of Canadian cigarettes by the carton, so we will also point out the native-made brands that smokers switch to when price is the deciding factor.
Players is a long-standing Canadian cigarette brand with roots in the historic Players Navy Cut tobacco. Today it is one of Imperial Tobacco Canada’s core labels, known for a full-bodied, traditional smoke and recognisable packaging. It is stocked at nearly every corner store, gas station and grocery checkout in the country, which is a big part of why it has stayed near the top of the Canadian market for so long.
That ubiquity is also why Players sits firmly in the premium tier. You are paying for a national brand with national distribution, and the price reflects that. If you want to see where Players fits next to the rest of the market, our rundown of the cigarette brands Canadians actually buy puts the major labels side by side.
The current Canadian Players range is simpler than the older line-up some long-time smokers remember. The main varieties you will find are:
Three Players varieties arranged by strength: Original, Smooth, and Rich, each available in regular and king size.
Each of these comes in both regular size and king size, and in packs of 20 and 25. Not every variant is carried in every province, because provincial flavour and descriptor rules differ, and availability can shift when Imperial updates its range. For a variant-by-variant breakdown of the related John Player Standard line, we have a dedicated John Player cigarette types guide; this page stays focused on price and the cheaper alternatives.
If you smoke Players Smooth and want a native-made equivalent, a lighter blend like Canadian Classics Ultra Blue in king size is the closest match in feel. For a full-flavour smoker coming off Players Original, DM Original is the carton most people try first.
Players is priced as a premium national brand, so it tracks the top end of Canadian cigarette pricing. According to Statista’s provincial cigarette price data, a pack of 20 ran from roughly $15.36 in Quebec up to about $19.75 in Newfoundland in 2025, with every other province falling in between. Prices have only climbed since.
Scale that up to a carton of 200 and you are looking at well north of $140 in most provinces, and more again in the Atlantic provinces where tobacco tax is highest. The exact figure moves every time a province adjusts its tobacco tax, so the number on the shelf today may be higher than the one you paid last year. If the carton math is what brought you here, our breakdown of the cheapest ways to buy cigarettes in Canada walks through where the savings actually come from.
The short answer is tax. On a mainstream brand like Players, the large majority of the carton price is federal excise duty plus provincial tobacco tax, not the cost of the tobacco or the pack itself. The Non-Smokers’ Rights Association tax tables show how wide the provincial spread is, and every annual budget tends to push those numbers up rather than down.
This is the single biggest reason Canadians go looking for alternatives. The tobacco inside a premium carton and a reserve-made carton is not what separates them on price. The tax treatment is.
How Canadian cigarette prices break down: taxes dwarf the cost of tobacco and packaging.
Shop Canadian cigarettes by the carton →
The most common alternative Canadian smokers move to is native-made cigarettes. These are produced by First Nations manufacturers on reserve land, including well-known operations at Kahnawake, Six Nations and Tyendinaga, and they have grown into a sizeable domestic industry. Coverage of the native cigarette market describes how quickly these brands have expanded across the country.
The appeal is straightforward: a native-made carton typically costs around half of a comparable Players carton, sometimes less. The difference comes down to the tax structure rather than the product, which is why the price gap is so large and so consistent. For a full-flavour smoker, DM Original is the usual starting point. If you prefer a king size smoke, our king size cigarette range carries the sizes most Players smokers are used to.
Native-made cigarettes cost roughly half as much as Players due to different tax structures.
North Nation calculates provincial tobacco tax for your shipping address at checkout and applies it there, so the price you see is the final landed price with nothing added on delivery. That matters when you are comparing a shelf price at the corner store against a carton ordered online.
Compare native carton prices →
Buying by the carton online is usually about price and convenience. The corner store wins on immediacy: you walk in and walk out with a pack. Ordering online wins on carton pricing and on range, since a web catalogue carries more brands and sizes than a single till ever could.
If you are weighing it up, the honest trade-off is waiting a few days for delivery against paying noticeably less per carton. For Players smokers specifically, the brand itself is a national product you can buy anywhere, so the question is less “where do I find Players” and more “is the premium carton worth it versus a native-made one at roughly half the price.”
Online carton pricing versus corner store speed: the trade-off Canadian smokers weigh.
Browse the full cigarette catalogue →
Players is made by Imperial Tobacco Canada, which also produces du Maurier and Peter Jackson. It is a premium national brand sold through regular retail channels across the country.
Players Original is the full-flavour version with the strongest throat hit in the range. Players Smooth is a lighter, milder draw for smokers who find Original too heavy. Players Rich sits in the middle.
Players is sold in packs of 20 and 25, in both regular and king size. If you want the full breakdown of Canadian pack sizes, see our guide on [how many cigarettes are in a pack in Canada](https://northnationsmokes.one/how-many-cigarettes-in-a-pack-canada/).
The gap is almost entirely about tax, not tobacco. Native-made cigarettes are produced by First Nations manufacturers under a different tax structure, so a comparable carton often costs around half of a Players carton.
Players is a mainstream brand available through standard retail. Online tobacco retailers like North Nation focus on native-made Canadian brands sold by the carton, which is where the real price difference sits for Players smokers looking to switch.
Yes, North Nation ships cigarettes to Canadian addresses. Provincial tobacco tax is calculated at checkout, so the price you see is the final landed price with nothing added on delivery.
Players is a premium Canadian staple, sold in Original, Smooth and Rich, in regular and king size, in packs of 20 and 25. In 2026 you are paying national-brand prices for it, and most of that carton total is tax. For Canadians who want the same everyday smoke without the premium-brand tax load, native-made cartons at roughly half the price are the obvious alternative. You can compare them in the North Nation cigarette range and see the landed price before you order.
