Doug Ford Wants To Change The Beer Store's 'Monopoly' On Booze & Here's How (VIDEO)
"We need to have convenience for the consumer."
Ontario Premier Doug Ford at a press conference May 15, 2023. Right: A Beer Store location in Toronto, Ontario.
Doug Ford is famous for making a few beer-related promises, but while the infamous days of Buck-A-Beer are long gone, the Ontario premier's five-year-old promise to sell beer and wine in corner stores still hasn't become a reality.
When asked about that plan at an unrelated news conference, Ford made some interesting comments, including one where he referred to the Beer Store as a monopoly.
At the news conference in Mississauga on Monday, a reporter asked Ford whether his government had abandoned its promise to sell beer and wine in corner stores, which was made almost exactly five years ago, leading into the May long weekend.
"No," the premier answered plainly.
"There's actually more beer being sold in retail than there ever has been. But I have to be aware that there is a contract with the beer stores."
@narcitytoronto Doug Ford is famous for making a few beer-related promises, but while the days of Buck-A-Beer are long gone, the Ontario premier's five-year-old promise to sell beer and wine in corner stores still hasn't become a reality. When asked about that plan at an unrelated news conference, Ford made some interesting comments, including one where he referred to the Beer Store as a monopoly. #dougford #ontario #ontariocanada #ontariogovernment #ontarionews #canadanews #canadatiktok #ontariotiktok #fyp #ontariocanada
According to the Ontario government's website, beer and cider are currently for sale in "up to 450 grocery stores," adding that there's roughly "225 that can sell wine."
That's on top of over 430 Beer Store locations, 675 LCBO stores, and over 395 "LCBO convenience outlets."
But despite those numbers, Ford still hasn't delivered on part of his promise from 2018 that "our government will expand the sale of beer and wine into corner stores, box stores and grocery stores all across our province."
While talking about his government's strategy to continue expanding beer and wine sales across Ontario, the premier went slightly off track when he explained, "a lot of people are in the misunderstanding that the beer stores are owned by the government."
"They aren't," said Ford. "They're owned by three massive foreign beer companies, and I just don't think that monopoly is right."
On Monday, Ford said his government is working on a contract with the Beer Store and has a goal of selling beer and wine at the "big retailers" as well as Ontario's convenience stores.
"We're going to fulfill that promise," Ford said. "We need to have convenience for the consumer."
Despite the reiterated promise, it's not clear exactly when Ontarians might be able to hop to a corner store and grab a bottle of wine or a case of beer.
Seeing as it's already been five years, maybe don't hold your breath.