Doug Ford Government to Announce Thursday Changes To Province’s Alcohol Retail Landscape
Soon we can buy booze when we buy white bread at the Circle K!
A new way to buy booze in Ontario is coming, including allowing all supermarkets, convenience stores and gas stations to sell beer, wine and canned mixed drinks starting in 2026…
Three sources in the industry say the key changes include:
- Allowing all corner stores and any gas stations that sell food to sell beer, wine, cider and ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages, such as seltzers or premixed cocktails (collectively known as RTDs).
- Allowing all grocery stores to sell beer, wine, cider and RTDs, scrapping the existing cap on the number of supermarkets with retail licences.
- Ending the restrictions that currently permit only The Beer Store to sell cases of 12 and 24.
The reforms to Ontario’s $10-billion-a-year retail alcohol sector won’t come into effect until Jan. 1, 2026
That’s because a contract setting out the rules for beer sales in the province remains in force until then…
