What your G1 actually allows.
The conditions that come with a G1 licence, including the ones learners most often misread.
You are never driving alone.
A G1 driver drives with an accompanying driver in the front passenger seat. For anyone who is not a licensed driving instructor, that person needs a full G licence or higher and at least four years of driving experience, and their own blood alcohol must be within the limit that applies to them. Experience means years of driving, not years of holding a card.
Zero means zero.
A G1 driver must have no alcohol in their blood while driving. This is stricter than the general limit that applies to fully licensed drivers, and it is the condition people most often get wrong because they reason from the number they have heard elsewhere. There is no short-trip exception and no familiar-route exception.
Time and place are limited.
G1 drivers may not drive between midnight and 5 a.m., and that restriction holds even with a qualified accompanying driver. G1 drivers are also kept off 400-series highways and certain high-speed expressways unless the accompanying driver is an Ontario-certified driving instructor. A family member with a full licence does not satisfy that one.
Every passenger needs a working belt.
A G1 driver carries one passenger for each working seatbelt, and the driver is responsible for seeing that passengers are properly restrained. If a seat has no working belt, that seat does not carry a passenger. Conditions and fees can change, so confirm the current requirements on the official Ontario page before you rely on them.