Ontario convenience stores can now sell beer and wine. Many Ontarians aren't happy about it — 'Just stupid'

Residents of Ontario are questioning the priorities of their provincial government, led by Conservative Doug Ford, as beer and wine become available in convenience stores. The long-talked-about plan was accelerated after a summer that saw a strike from employees of the LCBO.

More than 4,000 convenience stores in Ontario have been issued licences to sell beer, cider, wine and ready-to-drink cocktails, according to the Canadian Press.

A post on the Ontario subreddit fired up users who gave the meme — a take on the Pawn Stars "best I can do" meme — more than 6,000 upvotes and fired up a discussion of nearly 400 comments.

"When all you want is a family doctor and a home," the top of the picture reads. Underneath, an edited photo of Ontario Premier Doug Ford behind the counter of a pawn shop includes the quote: "Best I can do is beer at the corner store."

Reddit user Reddsterbator wrote: "I would have loved to hear about an investment into healthcare, or early childhood education, or even road work and infrastructure, ... But the province has a quarter of a billion to spend on canceling a contract that was going to expire soon anyways?”

Cancelled deal cost province $225M, would have expired in 2025

The latest step to liberalize certain types of alcohol at the corner store comes in the face of a $225-million payout Premier Doug Ford’s government awarded to the privately owned Beer Store in order to end an exclusivity deal that was set to expire in 2025.

The deal stems back to 2015, when the Beer Store signed an agreement with the then-Liberal government for exclusive rights to sell 12- and 24-packs of beer in Ontario, as the sale of beer and wine was extended into grocery stores.

In May, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said the money paid to end the agreement was meant to “help maintain perhaps unprofitable Beer Stores.”

Expert says expanded beer and wine availability won't save customers money

Peter Graefe is a professor of political science at McMaster University. He says the move to liberalize certain alcohol at convenience stores will please small retailers in the province by giving them another line of business that’s potentially lucrative. He also points out that the last Liberal government were the ones to allow the sale of wine and beer at grocery stores in the first place.

“In a way the door was already opened partially under the previous Liberal administration ...” he tells Yahoo Canada. “Moving it a step forward is maybe less controversial at this stage.”

However, Graefe also suspects the move might upset some Canadians by making alcohol more available in places close to schools — a decision that can be interpreted as a contradiction after the Ford government recently announced the closure of 10 safe consumption sites across the province within 200 metres of schools.

“The decision was probably driven in part by the premier’s own sense that beer should be available and that his sense of this is shared by Ontario,” Graefe says.

Alcohol sales at convenience stores isn’t so novel across Canada.

In Quebec, beer, cider and some wine have been sold at convenience and grocery stores for decades, while Alberta has allowed 7-Eleven convenience stores to sell alcohol since 2021. In Newfoundland and Labrador, locally brewed beer is allowed to be sold at gas stations and convenience stores.

While it may be more convenient, ultimately Graefe doesn’t think this type of increased access to alcohol is going to save Ontarians any money.

“Presumably it's not going to bring lower prices to Ontarians because it’s not an efficient manner to distribute alcohol than to have it in a centralized spots,” he says.

“So the government can be thinking this will be more accessible for Ontarians but in the longer run Ontarians may come to regret the greater prices they may be paying for beer and wine as a result.”

Canadians, Ontarians react to news: 'You can't find a doctor ...'

On the Ontario subreddit post, many vented about the new policy, more specifically about the $225-million payout the province made to Beer Store for ending the exclusivity deal early.

“Buck a beer? Best I can do is 250 million,” user Reddsterbator wrote.

“I kinda wanted the beer in stores to be honest, but I would have been totally fine waiting for it." user rpgguy_1o1 wrote. "This was just stupid."

“You can’t find a doctor. You’re waiting hours upon hours in the emergency room. You can’t afford a home. But don’t worry, Doug is busy personally assuring everybody can have all the beer they want,” user ChampagneAbuelo added.

"Most of us don’t care about beer in stores," user Major_Lawfulness6122 wrote. "It’s more the fact he pissed away [$225 million] to do it sooner instead of just waiting."