Premier Doug Ford’s highly touted plan to boost the number of places where Ontarians can buy booze is drawing little interest from grocery stores.
Three weeks after applications opened, just 37 grocery stores have received approval from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario for the new licence to start selling beer, wine and ready-to-drink cocktails, according to fresh figures provided by the Ministry of Finance.
That’s about two per cent of the roughly 2,000 grocery stores in Ontario that aren’t already licensed to sell beer and wine.
Contrast that with the 3,068 convenience stores that have been granted licences in the three weeks since applications opened. That’s more than 40 per cent of the convenience stores in the province.
Under the government’s plan, grocery stores that want to sell alcoholic beverages will be obligated to accept returns of empty beer cans and wine bottles.
Grocers concerned about accepting empty returns
Convenience stores don’t face the same obligation, and that discrepancy is why so few grocery stores are signing up, says Gary Sands, senior vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers.
“We want to sell beer and wine,” Sands said in an interview. “But many, many, many [grocers] are simply not going to go near the application process unless or until the recycling component is rethought.”
Sands says grocers have concerns about the cost, space and hygiene implications of having to accept empty returns.
“For many of the independents, they’re making a choice and they’re choosing not to take up the application process to get a licence,” he said.
Sands says the small number of grocery stores that have shown interest in applying should send a message to the government that it needs to revisit the plan.
Convenience stores that obtain a licence will be allowed to starting selling alcohol from Sept. 5, while newly licensed grocery stores can’t start selling until Oct. 31.
“Grocery and big-box stores have 112 days to apply for a licence from the AGCO to begin selling beer, cider, wine and ready-to-drink beverages,” said Colin Blachar, press secretary for Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, in a statement.
“As the first segment of the market to be expanded, we are pleased that so many convenience stores are gearing up to provide people with more choice,” Blachar added.
Just 7 new grocery stores approved in 5 largest cities
According to data on the AGCO website, there have been only seven grocery stores approved for an alcohol retail licence in Ontario’s five largest cities: two in Toronto, three in Mississauga, two in Brampton, and none in Ottawa or Hamilton.
Yet in those same cities, hundreds of convenience stores have been approved, as of Thursday, July 11:
- Toronto: 193.
- Ottawa: 74.
- Mississauga: 137.
- Brampton: 122.
- Hamilton: 86.
The AGCO said on its website last month that it approved nearly 1,900 alcohol sales licences for convenience stores and 21 for grocery stores in the first week after applications opened.
Most applicants who are already registered with the AGCO — such as for selling lottery tickets — can see their alcohol sales licence issued within a matter of days, the regulator said.
There are currently 447 grocery stores across the province already licensed to sell beer and wine under Ontario’s previous expansions of alcohol retailing.