british columbia, manitoba, new brunswick, nova scotia and prince edward island and saskatchewan offer a mixture of privately-owned and government stores. in b.c., some rural grocery stores are permitted to sell beer. in newfoundland and labrador, beer is available in grocery stores, gas stations and government-owned liquor stores.
while details are sketchy on what could happen in ontario, a hybrid system appears likely. convenience stores could enter into the picture alongside grocery stores and a scaled down version of the beer store across the province.
would corner store beer be cheaper?
not likely.
beer taxes in ontario are already higher than anywhere else in canada, which explains why many ottawa residents currently do their beer shopping in gatineau.
a 2014 study showed that prices in alberta had risen by 28 per cent since deregulation in 1993, compared to only nine per cent in ontario. it’s worth noting, however, that the study was commissioned by the beer store.
st. john, the beer guru, says the cost of everything in the industry is going up.
“the cost of malt, the cost of hops, of labour of electricity, it’s all rising,” he said.
however, he says the ontario government will likely look at models to help support local breweries, perhaps taxing the smallest microbreweries at a lower rate than the biggest players. the more breweries that are in the game, the more jobs they create.