Independent outlets and supermarket chains are joining the alcohol expansion in Ontario

Just a month after the province began allowing convenience stores to sell alcohol, leading industry figures say they would give it a “nine out of 10” for success and have been forced to restock almost weekly .

On September 5, the Ford government finally made good on a promise it made six years earlier, allowing convenience stores to stock beer, wine and ready-to-drink beverages.

The move resulted in the government paying the privately held Beer Store a quarter of a billion dollars and led to a weeks-long standoff with the union representing LCBO workers, who feared the change would lead to mass layoffs and closures.

However, a month after the change took place, convenience store owners say they are happy with how business has turned out.

“From what I hear, we’ve already ordered three or four times and it’s only been (a few) weeks. I’ve ordered three, four times myself because I didn’t expect it to move this quickly, but everyone tells me it’s moving at a very, very good pace,” Kenny Shim, president of the Ontario Convenience Store Association, told me. to Global News’ Focus. Ontario.

“Ten out of ten? Maybe not. But nine times out of ten is certain: much more needs to be done.’

Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said he sometimes has to “pinch” himself as the rollout is going better than he could have predicted.

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“I travel all over Ontario, people come up to me and they don’t see me as the Minister of Finance, they see me as the guy who got alcohol to a location convenient to them,” he said.

Bethlenfalvy said it’s “too early to tell” whether the 4,539 new convenience stores selling alcohol would lead to a sales tax increase, but said he was “optimistic.”

The true cost of Ontario’s historic change in alcohol sales remains a hotly debated point between the government and its critics.

A calculation by the Ontario Liberals suggested that after the rollout was announced, the final price tag of the move would be well over $1 billion. The party said the province would be hit on four fronts by the new deal: money for The Beer Store, LCBO rebates, a wholesale discount and lost licensing fees.

The government has disputed that figure, but has not released its own calculations on how much money could be lost as a result of this measure. Although a report from the parliamentary supervisory body will provide an estimate in early January, the Minister of Finance remains tight-lipped.

“I have no concerns at all about the LCBO,” Bethlenfalvy said, reiterating his pledge not to remove liquor and spirits from the county store, in response to questions about its potential losses.

“I said when we modernized in May ’24, when we made the announcement, we’ve said all along that we will update the numbers in the autumn economic statement.”

It’s not yet clear which companies will benefit most from the rollout of beer, wine and ready-to-drink beverages to convenience stores in Ontario.

Data from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, which issues licenses to sell beer in convenience stores, shows some businesses have taken over some of the spots to sell booze.

For example, 183 Shell Canada locations have been licensed, along with 72 Avondale Stores branded operations. Sixty-one MacEwen Petroleum stores are licensed, as are 58 7-Eleven stores.

The data also shows that more than 500 Circle K franchise points now sell alcohol across the province.

A spokesperson for the Minister of Finance emphasized that the rollout – to independent stores and chains – would lead to job creation.

“This change will provide new support and opportunities for thousands of Ontario small businesses while creating more jobs in our province,” they said.

A small business group told Global News that while they are happy with the way the licenses have been managed so far, they are paying close attention to ensure that large chains do not receive preferential treatment in the future.

“We wouldn’t dispute this as long as the distribution is fair — which would include the distribution of the licenses themselves as well as the distribution of alcohol,” said Julie Kwiecinski, director of provincial affairs for Ontario at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. .

“If we see elements in which the large companies are treated differently or given preferential treatment, we would of course object to that. And again, it’s still early days, that’s something we have to keep an eye on and so far we haven’t heard of (those issues) from anyone.”

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