Beer and wine coming to Ontario convenience stores, gas stations in January 2026: sources
Posted Dec 13, 2023 04:48:39 PM.
Last Updated Dec 14, 2023 12:17:56 PM.
Premier Doug Ford will announce on Thursday that beer, wine and canned cocktail drinks will be sold in Ontario convenience stores and gas stations starting in January 2026, sources confirm with CityNews.
The cap on the number of grocery stores allowed to sell beer will be also removed, and any retailer selling beer will be allowed to sell 12 and 24 packs, which currently are restricted to The Beer Store.
Ford teased the announcement on Wednesday — the same day that his government announced a reversal of its previous plan to dissolve Peel Region.
“We made a promise to you to bring beer and wine to convenience stores and grocery stores across the province of Ontario. Get ready, we’ve got big news coming tomorrow,” Ford said in the brief clip posted to social media.
Under the new plan, The Beer Store will continue to handle distribution and recycling.
The changes will be permitted because the province is not renewing its deal with The Beer Store
Ford commented on the years-long promise in November.
“We’re the only jurisdiction in the entire world that you can’t go into the retail store and buy a case of beer or a bottle of wine when you’re buying a steak for dinner or whatever you’re buying,” he said. “It just doesn’t make sense so we’re moving forward with it.”
Since the end of prohibition, beer in Ontario has primarily been sold at The Beer Store which began as a collection of Canadian brewers. These days, two multinational companies – Molson Coors and Anheuser-Busch InBev – own a majority of the operation which has 424 locations across the province, giving it a huge competitive advantage.
In 2015, the Liberals under Kathleen Wynne unveiled the Master Framework Agreement (MFA) which allowed some grocery stores the opportunity to bid for beer-selling licenses. Currently, there are 450 grocery stores selling beer and wine across the province.
Shortly after Ford and the Conservatives took office, he attempted to cancel the MFA with the privately owned beer store only to find out it would cost the province millions of dollars to prematurely end the contract. Now, Ford is prepared to let the agreement expire in 2025, which would then pave the way for beer and wine sales across a number of retail outlets.
The union which represents 7,000 beer store employees previously said allowing local retailers to sell beer and wine would be “catastrophic” for its business while the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health has warned that the cost of making sales of alcohol easier and more convenient is an increase in alcohol deaths.
