The best Montreal candy stores to get your sugar fix

Run by the good folks at the Saint-Bock brewery a few doors (but that's a totally different kind of 'candy'), the Latin Quarter's Sucre Bleu is one of the more classic candy store you can head to in Montreal. Packing over 500 different kinds of candy in bulk, chocolates, a Jelly Belly station to mix and match, ice cream, and a whole range of imported products from the States and beyond, they've all but cornered the candy racket in their part of town.

A lot of Montrealers have good memories of coming here ever since they were kids, and now they're passing on those memories to their children. Heading off the Plaza St-Hubert strip, Oscar does a humongous selection of bulk candies, chocolate by the box and bar—a selection they're particularly proud of—plus cookies, a surprisingly big nut selection, chips both domestic and imported, and snacks. Its long store shape gives the feeling of stepping into a traincar heading straight to Candy Land.

While sweet shops in this city are often looked to for bulk bins of classic candies, Dinette is doing things a little differently. Opening in 2014, this is Montreal's premiere artisnal candy store headed up by Catherine Lépine-Lafrance (an ITHQ-trained pastry chef) and Erica Raplapla, the taste tester, they've joined up with pastry chef Caroline Foley to offer a wide range of candy made with a chef's eye and hand. Everything you see here is done by hand, from the caramels they started out with to rhubarb and passion fruit jellies, meringues, jams, syrups and lollipops. If it's winter, go for their baked goods, and if it's summertime, go for the paletas.

Like the name implies, Chocosina in Old Montreal is chocolate-forward (one step inside reveals a huge fudge and chocolate counter), but there's more to this place than that. You can come to grab a mixed box for Valentine's, but a visit isn't complete without some Prosecco gummy bears, retro bonbons, fruit pearls, marshmallow gummies, or getting a Jelly Belly grabbag of your favourites. They also do gift boxes, making this a no-brainer when you need something for a special occasion on the fly.

Based in the Monkland Village in NDG, Claire Himo's Sparkles has been a catch-all for sweet stuff in the city since 2009. She does it all: From cotton candy pop-ups during street fairs and thematic candy buffets for events, the shop promises that if you want it, they've got it. You want some retro throwbacks like Double Bubble, Ring Pops and Laffy Taffy? No problem. Gift boxes? Yup. Is it kosher? They've got gummies and jujubes right here. Best of all, if you want it and can't find it, Himo's likely got a hookup.

CandyLabs does one thing, and they do it exceedingly well: Hard candies that are handcrafted, vegan, gluten-free, allergy-free and completely customizeable. That last part's particularly important, as that's the reason they caught fire online back in 2016 when—of all things—their panda candies got noticed online. It's essentially the equivalent of having something be painted on a grain of rice, and they'll do it all. Check back on them regularly, as they've generally got a sale going on all the time.

Founded in Montreal in 2014, Squish is now a huge enterprise that's spread to cities across Canada. Touted as North America's first artisanal candy store to specialize in gourmet gummies (they've got over 100 flavours and counting), Squish really does carry it all. There's just about anything you can think of, from spicy options to floral notes, vitamin-packed gummies and unicorn packs, exotic fruits and cocktail-flavoured ones (we're down with the Cuba Libre and sake gummies, personally). Take them for a real test drive—or just cater a party—with one of their sharing packs.

A French cookie maker since 1989, La Cure Gourmande may not have started in Montreal, but the fact that the city has one of their locations is significant in its own right. While they specialize in cookies they make themselves with time-honored methods and import here, they've also got a whole bunch of caramels, nougats, lollipops, just-like-the-real-thing fruit gummies, marshmallow bars, and (rightfully) push their calissons a bunch, small traditional French candies that have the texture of marzipan and a distinct flavour of melon. 

From their original storefront to their candy catering service, Carré does candy stores right. They've got their bulk bins to dig into, sure, but few places do import retail as well as this place alongside sodas and snacks. They've also got ice cream bites worth trying out, small ice bars that fit in the palm of your hand and range from salted caramel and white chocolate blueberry to pistachio and Oreo. Heck, these guys even have Kool-Aid packets to bring back home! While all that merits repeat visits, what cinches coming back is that they're adding new products all the time.

Seasonally operational during the summers in Sainte-Marie, the neighbourhood east of the Gay Village, Le Gourmandin does a huge ice cream section in addition to keeping their candy stock vibrant with all kinds of curios they import into the country. Most interesting of all, perhaps, is the candy selection, where a whole wall of jars is organized by price determined by colour stickers. They simply can't seem to keep a consistent collection, but we like that: There's always something new to try if you're the type to roll through candy stores often.

We're totally into this Mexican-forward candy store that unabashedly posts in Spanish online, doing bulk bin candy and Mexican chocolate bars, plus imported products like Barritas and other snack foods alongside a—believe it or not—raspados (shaved ice) section. You just can't find this kind of thing anywhere else in the city, and they're doing it Mexico City-style too, covering the raspados with fruit, tajin and candy.

When the Hong Kong-born Johnny Chin brought his traditional dragon's beard candy recipe to Montreal and set up a super tiny storefront in Chinatown in 1991, no one knew it'd be such a hit. Then again, when you consider that this guy's turning pure sugar in 8,192 thin and delicate strands of floss that get wrapped around a mixture of peanuts, coconut, sesame seeds and a hint of chocolate? No wonder they buy 'em by the dozen while they're ready. Chin also does some great sweet dumplings, egg balls and Hong Kong-style waffles you don't want to miss out on.