LILLEY: Doug Ford continues to revolutionize booze sales in Ontario
Consumers now have choices, whether it's standing in line for a discounted product at a big box store or popping into a convenience store
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Doug Ford is “consumed” with changing the booze sector his critics claim.
The latest Ontario budget introduced a slew of new tax and regulatory changes to the province’s alcohol sector that are aimed at supporting employers and jobs while lowering prices for consumers and giving them more options.
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LILLEY: Doug Ford continues to revolutionize booze sales in Ontario Back to video
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Over the past five years, starting in the depths of the pandemic lockdowns, the Ford government has systematically and fundamentally altered the landscape on alcohol sales in the province. After decades of politicians promising things like beer and wine in corner stores, it took a guy who doesn’t drink to get it done.
“We’re reducing beer taxes, markups, and fees on alcohol so that we put more money back into small businesses. We put more back into consumers, making prices lower. This is what we ran on, this is what we do,” Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said last week.
While he said the alcohol modernization program has been “amazing,” critics scratch their heads, or fume in some cases, at the Ford government’s focus on booze.
“I just can’t understand why once again this government seems to be so consumed with alcohol sales when we are facing some of the biggest attacks we’ve seen,” NDP Leader Marit Stiles said to reporters Thursday.
Stiles, like other critics, act as if alcohol is not and should never be a government priority – that is until the LCBO goes on strike, and then they campaign to make sure the liquor store is not sold off.
The Ontario government, through the LCBO, is the largest purchaser of beverage alcohol in the world. The sale of that alcohol generates billions of dollars annually for the government for every bottle of wine sold at a store, every beer or shot sold at a bar or restaurant.
In addition to the 669 LCBO stores operating across the province, there are an additional 400 LCBO agency stores operating – all of those stores employing workers, renting space, contributing to the economy.
The LCBO is also the wholesaler to the roughly 14,000 bars and restaurants that sell alcohol. Each of those locations also employs people in their local community, they pay their taxes on booze, they pay their income taxes and support the local economy.
As you can see, booze is big business for the Ontario government.
Thanks to the Ford government’s changes to allow convenience stores and all grocers to sell alcohol there are now 5,000 convenience stores offering beer, wine and ready-to-drink cocktails, and an additional 1,000 grocery stores offering products. The convenience industry predicted that allowing their members to sell alcohol would lead to increased investments and employment by store owners and that is what has happened.
“Convenience retailers have seen average sales increases of more than 15%, with many of our members, particularly in smaller and rural communities, crediting these reforms for helping them stay competitive and keep their doors open,” said Jeff Brownlee, vice president of the Convenience Industry Council of Canada.
It’s a remarkable feat to see all these changes happen in Ontario considering that when he first ran provincially in 2018, Ford’s big promise was “Buck a Beer.” That campaign promise started as a lark, staff trying to come up with a policy that would generate some media buzz in a hastily arranged election campaign.
The idea was that the government should lower the legislated minimum price of beer back down to $1 per bottle. It had been pushed up after small brewers used the niche to sell large quantities of discount beer much to the chagrin of the big players.
Ford’s promise was embraced by drinkers, mocked by his critics, and while it seemed to have faded away in the past few years, it has made a renewed appearance. A recent trip to Costco witnessed 48 cans of Busch Light on sale for $48, exactly the kind of deals Quebec consumers have been getting for years.
Like Quebec prices, that Costco price is before tax and deposit, but even after factoring those costs in, the case is still cheaper than the LCBO or Beer Store. One Costco employee said the store will compete by selling large formats or offering a discount rather than selling a wide variety of products.
The point is consumers now have choices, whether it is standing in line for a discounted product at a big box store or popping into their local convenience store.
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Now, in this latest round of alcohol changes, the Ford government will extend the wholesale discount on alcohol from 10% to 15% for bars, restaurants and convenience locations, which the government says amounts to about 23,000 small businesses. There were also tax cuts for craft breweries and distillers, a reduced mark-up at the LCBO for cider producers and a support program to encourage Ontario grapes in the production of Ontario wine.
Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said she was “frustrated” by all the talk of alcohol in the budget, implying that it shouldn’t be a priority for the government. The truth is that alcohol generates billions in direct revenue for the province and much more in the income taxes on the thousands of companies and tens of thousands of workers those jobs support.
These changes make it easier to keep those jobs going forward in Ontario during what are expected to be tough economic times. The changes also continue to give consumers greater convenience and lower prices.
If you step back and look at it that way, there’s only one thing to say.
Cheers!
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Alcohol changes in the 2025 Ontario budget
Wholesale discount rate increased from 10% to 15% for bars, restaurants, convenience stores and LCBO convenience outlets until the end of this year.
A 50% reduction of the microbrewer basic tax.
A 50% reduction in the spirit tax rate for sales at distillery retail stores.
Establishment of the Ontario Grape Support Program, which will provide up to $35 million in annual support for eligible wineries until 2029-30, with total program funding of $175 million with the aim of doubling the amount of Ontario grapes used in blended wine.
Expanded investment in the VQA Wine Support Program to $84 million annually, with total program funding of $420 million over the next five years.
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