On Nov. 18, 2015, the Ontario government announced the names of 13 grocery stores that are permitted to sell alcohol in their stores. The province aims to have 60 locations selling alcohol in stores before the end of the year.
Prior to the announcement of the new initiative, the Ontario government only permitted beer to be legally sold in licensed restaurants and bars, the Ontario government-owned LCBO, and the Beer Store—a private company owned almost entirely by Labatt and Molson. The legal environment for beer sales was tightly controlled by the government, and private sellers Labatt and Molson—through their ownership of the Beer Store—essentially monopolized Ontario beer sales.
The new Ontario law broadens legislation so that beer can be sold in more locations. Most of Ontario’s large grocery chains—like Walmart, Loblaws, Metro, Longos, and Sobeys—have received licenses to sell beer. Additionally, smaller grocery chains, like Coppa’s Fresh Market, have also received licenses.
Of the 60 newly licensed stores, 25 are in the Greater Toronto Area, 16 in Western Ontario, 13 in eastern Ontario, and six in northern Ontario. The province attempted to cover every region of Ontario.
However, the exact locations of the approved stores have not yet been released. The stores licensed by the government must also be licensed by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. While the government is currently only licensing 60 stores to sell beer, the provinces ultimate goal is to have 450 grocery stores licensed in three years.
The stores will sell a wide variety of beer, with a special focus on insuring the presence of local and small brewery products.
The Ontario government previously allowed the sale of wine in grocery stores, through the introduction of special Wine Rack kiosks. The government is looking to further the sale of wine in grocery stores, and is expected to have new recommendations on wine sales later this year.
In an agreement with the Beer Store, the price of beer in grocery stores will be the same as the LCBO and the Beer Store. However, grocery stores will only be allowed to sell six packs of beer, maintaining the Beer Store’s monopoly on 12- and 24-packs of beer.
Currently, the Beer Store sells around 80 per cent of the retail beer in Ontario. The province estimates that grocery stores will soon account for 10 to 15 per cent of beer sold in the province.