Ontario is significantly expanding the availability of alcohol in the province, with a plan to allow beer, wine, cider, coolers and pre-mixed drinks to be sold at convenience stores, grocery stores and “big box” retailers by 2026.
The new regime, which Premier Doug Ford announced Thursday, is set to take effect after the expiry of the 10-year deal the province has with the quasi-monopoly Beer Store retail chain, which is controlled by multinational brewers Molson Coors and Anheuser-Busch InBev.
The plan aims to fulfill a marquee promise Mr. Ford and his Progressive Conservatives made when first elected in 2018 but then shelved after the Premier backed away from a potentially pricey legal battle with the Beer Store over breaking its contract.
The move to expand alcohol sales was praised by business groups and retailers, but sharply criticized by community mental health and addictions organizations. The latter expressed concerns about the harms associated with more readily-available alcohol, including increased hospitalizations, diseases and deaths.
The government says that by Jan. 1, 2026, beer, wine and some other alcoholic beverages will be sold in 8,500 more stores across the province. It will make Ontario the third jurisdiction in Canada to allow beer in convenience stores, after Newfoundland and Quebec.
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The new regime will also end the Beer Store’s monopoly over the sale of 12-packs and 24-packs of beer, and allow convenience stores and other retailers to sell these or even larger 30-pack cases of beer.
And it will, for the first time, allow competitive pricing on alcohol, letting private retailers charge “promotional” prices for alcoholic drinks but with rules for minimum prices.
Speaking to reporters at a convenience store in Etobicoke on the west side of Toronto, Mr. Ford – who doesn’t drink alcohol – called the changes “the largest expansion of consumer choice and convenience since the end of Prohibition almost 100 years ago.”
He dismissed health concerns about the plan, saying it’s up to consumers to drink responsibly.
“We’ve got to start treating people like adults here in the province,” Mr. Ford said, adding that the move is “extremely, extremely” popular.
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Dave Bryans, the chief executive officer of the Ontario Convenience Stores Association, said alcohol sales would be a big boost for many struggling mom-and-pop corner retailers. But he said he hoped beer could be on shelves before the 2026 start date, which is still two years away.
As part of Thursday’s announcement, the government also said it will spend an additional $10-million over five years through the Ministry of Health to support “social responsibility and public-health efforts.” The government also said existing requirements for staff training, minimum pricing, hours of sale and warning signs will apply to all new retail outlets.
But several mental-health organizations raised alarms about the move. In a joint statement, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) in Ontario, Addictions Mental Health Ontario, and Children’s Mental Health Ontario said the new regime will contribute to an increase in violence, injuries, alcohol-related crashes and death by suicide.
Leslie Buckley, chief of addictions at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, said CAMH, which is Canada’s largest mental-health teaching hospital, is “deeply concerned” about the plan to dramatically expand the number of places where Ontarians can buy alcohol.
“Evidence shows that the expansion of alcohol availability, especially through private retail outlets, results in increased consumption and ultimately more alcohol-attributable hospitalizations, diseases and dea
ths,” she said in a statement.
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The Beer Store, which has more than 400 outlets across Ontario, will continue to exist under a new deal with the province that runs to 2031. It will also remain the major wholesale distributor of beer, as well as continuing to run the province’s bottle-return system for alcoholic beverages.
The province’s own monopoly LCBO outlets, which sell all kinds of alcohol including beer, will largely stay the same. The LCBO will also maintain its current wholesale role.
The government is also introducing legislation to cut the 6.1-per-cent tax imposed on wine sales at stores in wineries, as well as extending existing support programs for local wine and cider makers.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents LCBO workers, warned that expanding sales to corner stores would mean “cuts, layoffs and store closures as the private market takes over” – as well as significant lost revenue to the province. The union that represents Beer Store workers has previously said liberalizing beer sales would put their jobs at risk and lead to higher beer prices.
As part of the 2015 Beer Store deal, Ontario had already expanded beer sales to 450 grocery stores. The government also expanded alcohol sales during the pandemic, allowing restaurants and bars to sell takeout booze.
The day before the announcement, the province retreated on a pledge to dissolve Peel Region, west of Toronto, which Mr. Ford had promised to the late mayor of Mississauga, Hazel McCallion. The government said breaking up Peel, which consists of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon, would be too costly to taxpayers and “disrupt” critical shared services such as paramedics and police.
Mr. Ford said Thursday that Ms. McCallion, who died earlier this year at 101, would not have wanted to harm public services or raise taxes.
“You know what Hazel would say? We can’t do it,” he said.