‘It’s a great deal’: Ford defends sped-up alcohol sales as fiscal watchdog launches review of $225M deal with The Beer Store

Premier Doug Ford is defending his government’s decision to accelerate the rollout of alcohol sales in Ontario convenience stores by a year— a deal that could see taxpayers shelling out up to $225 million to The Beer Store.

Ford made the comments during an unrelated press conference in Windsor on Monday afternoon.

It comes after Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office (FAO) said it would look into the decision.

“I think it’s a great deal,” Ford said.

The province announced back in May that while an exclusive deal with The Beer Store was set to expire in 2025, they had made arrangements so that convenience stores could start selling alcohol a year earlier. As part of that deal, the government agreed to reimburse the conglomerate up to $225 million. The province said the payment was to help secure jobs and smooth the transition.

Ford said at the time that the money was all “going to the front line people” and not into the pockets of the brewers.

However opposition parties were unconvinced. They slammed the deal, saying that money was sorely needed elsewhere, and there was no rush to expand alcohol sales.

In a statement Monday morning, the Ontario Liberal Party said that the province’s Financial Accountability Office has decided to launch an investigation into the decision in response to a request from the party.

“Ontario’s Liberals call on the Ford government to cooperate fully with this investigation and ensure the FAO receives the information he needs to complete his work,” Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said in a statement.

Speaking Monday, Ford slammed Crombie’s move to ask the FAO to investigate.

“Bonnie Crombie has made it abundantly clear that she wants to add tens of millions of dollars of cost on the backs of the people, because they’re going to pay for it,” Ford said. “She doesn’t believe in putting beer and wine in corner stores and she just wants to add to the costs of a bottle of beer, a bottle of wine, some coolers.”

The Ontario Green Party also welcomed the investigation.

“Ontarians want a government that invests in housing, healthcare and other everyday needs. But instead, we have one that’s giving hundreds of millions of dollars to the Beer Store to get alcohol into corner stores a year early,” Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said. “This government is out of touch, and we deserve to know exactly how much it’s costing us.”

In a statement, Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy’s office said the provincial government is delivering on a promise “with the largest expansion of consumer choice and convenience in provincial alcohol sales in nearly century.”

The statement said that revenues which flow to the government through the LCBO will continue to be strong, despite the expansion to other retail locations. It pointed out that the LCBO will become the exclusive wholesaler for all retail, bars and restaurants selling alcohol starting in 2026.

“History has shown that LCBO revenues have continued to grow, year over year, even as successive governments have expanded alcohol sales to new retail stores and allowed bars and restaurants to sell alcohol with take-out and delivery,” the statement read. “As LCBO assumes this expanded wholesaling role, we are confident those revenues will grow above current levels.”

The statement did not address the decision to accelerate the move through a deal with The Beer Store. 

The Financial Accountability Office provides independent financial and economic analysis to the Ontario legislature.

The report is expected to be complete in early 2025. However, it could be hampered if there’s not proper access to information, the FAO warned.

Alcohol sales rolled out in corner stores around the province on Sept. 5.

The expansion of availability has also been criticized by health and addiction experts who say increased availability is correlated with increased consumption and health risks.