# How are alcoholic beverages sold in Canada? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 7, 2010, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897 "2010-09-07T07:57:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/1 "2010-09-07T07:57:35Z")
In the cult movie “Strange Brew”, the lead characters try to buy beer from what looks like a government store. Only recently did I found out that this kind of store [exists in real life](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beer_Store), except it’s actually a privately owned cartel. This suprised me because in my home state of Washington you can buy beer and wine at virtually every grocery and convenience store. (Hard liquor is only available at state owned stores.) How exactly is alcohol sold in Canada? Are beer and wine treated differently than liquor? Are there any unusual ways alcohol has to be sold by bars and restaurants? And does the antiseptic feel of the store in “Strange Brew” accurate or are alcohol outlets nicer places? ---
**Author:** ![Dunkelheit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkelheit/32/248_2.png) [@Dunkelheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunkelheit)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/2 "2010-09-07T08:09:58Z")
I don’t remember what the store in Strange Brew looked like, but yeah, IME in Canada you can’t get alcohol in grocery or convenience stores, only in provincially controlled stores (“Liquor Mart” in Manitoba, I don’t know if they have different names or rules elsewhere) that sell spirits, wine and beer, or at “beer stores” which sell only beer and seem to operate mainly out of motels. It was annoying, like living in Pennsylvania. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manitoba\_Liquor\_Control\_Commission](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manitoba_Liquor_Control_Commission) ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/3 "2010-09-07T08:15:37Z")
> [@Jeneva](#): > > I don’t remember what the store in Strange Brew looked like, but yeah, IME in Canada you can’t get alcohol in grocery or convenience stores, only in provincially controlled stores (“Liquor Mart” in Manitoba, I don’t know if they have different names or rules elsewhere) that sell spirits, wine and beer, or at “beer stores” which sell only beer and seem to operate mainly out of motels. It was annoying, like living in Pennsylvania.\ Actually, it varies according to provinces. Here in Quebec, I can pop into my local grocery or _dep_ (equivalent to a 7-11) and come out with wine and beer, or I can order it on the phone and have it delivered. ---
**Author:** ![songs2001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@songs2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/songs2001)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/4 "2010-09-07T08:16:32Z")
I believe each province has different laws regarding alcohol sales. I only been to a few places in British Columbia, but they run the gamut from small grocery store hole in the wall, to a higher end retail establishment. From [Wikipedia Article on Bars](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_%28establishment%29#Canada). > [@](#): > > Legal restrictions on bars are set by the Canadian provinces and territories, which has led to a great deal of variety. While some provinces have been very restrictive with their bar regulation, setting strict closing times and banning the removal of alcohol from the premises, other provinces have been more liberal. In Alberta, for example, patrons can order beer for “take-out” at the end of the night, a practice which is illegal in provinces such as Ontario. Closing times generally run from 2:00 to 4:00 a.m. ---
**Author:** ![FuzzyOgre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@FuzzyOgre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuzzyOgre)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/5 "2010-09-07T08:42:35Z")
Specialty stores here in Alberta, ranging from dilapidated holes-in-the-wall to large chain stores to artsy-fartsy wine boutiques. All privately owned. You can also purchase beer to go from many bars, pubs and clubs. No booze in convenience stores like 7-11 however. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/6 "2010-09-07T08:50:36Z")
[Here’s the scene I was referring to.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3DYbE44OIE) ---
**Author:** ![FuzzyOgre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@FuzzyOgre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuzzyOgre)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/7 "2010-09-07T09:20:35Z")
Yeah, that is particular to a certain era and a certain part of the country. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/8 "2010-09-07T12:05:18Z")
In Ontario Beer is bought from the [Beer Store](http://www.thebeerstore.ca/), while wine, spirits and beer can be bought at the [LCBO](http://www.lcbo.com/main/en.shtml). Some areas also have [Vintages](http://www.vintages.com/index.shtml) which tend to carry upper end wines exclusively. ---
**Author:** ![bashere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@bashere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bashere)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/9 "2010-09-07T12:16:46Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > In Ontario Beer is bought from the [Beer Store](http://www.thebeerstore.ca/), while wine, spirits and beer can be bought at the [LCBO](http://www.lcbo.com/main/en.shtml). Some areas also have [Vintages](http://www.vintages.com/index.shtml) which tend to carry upper end wines exclusively. The Beer Store is a privately owned company (held by 3 major brewers, if memory serves). The LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) is owned by the province. Vintages is, I believe, part of the LCBO and carries higher end wines (they tend to be inside of LCBOs - I don’t know of any that aren’t). There is one more wine store that sells only Ontario (or maybe Canadian) wines. I’m drawing a blank on those. Their biggest virtue is that they tend to be open a little later than the LCBO on Sundays. The LCBO is the said to be the largest single purchaser of wines in the world. They get a good deal and fail to pass the savings along to the buyer. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/10 "2010-09-07T12:46:32Z")
[quote=“bashere, post:9, topic:552897”] > [@Grey](#): > > The LCBO is the said to be the largest single purchaser of wines in the world. They get a good deal and fail to pass the savings along to the buyer. Don’t you mean they get a good deal and then call the hefty markup “taxes”? While some areas of Canada did have prohibition-like laws at the same time ast he USA, they never did undo a lot of that government control and selling alcohol tends to be more heavily regulated. The various governments tended to find that raising “sin taxes” on alcohol and tobacco was an easy way to get more money and annoy fewer people. (Which lead to some gangs on native reserves using their position and special status to become cigarette smugglers, selling smuggled cigarettes at American prices, typically less than half Canadian retail.) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/11 "2010-09-07T12:48:10Z")
Individual wineries can also operate stores in Ontario. Often these are in little separated areas of supermarkets. And in rural areas there are agency stores. For example, the general store in Limerick Township also sells beer and wine (again, in a separate area of the store). Plus, bars and restaurants have licenses to sell. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/12 "2010-09-07T13:19:00Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Individual wineries can also operate stores in Ontario. Often these are in little separated areas of supermarkets. I’ve actually seen LCBO stores co-located in some of the nicer, larger supermarkets. Well, just one, the market I usually shopped at. Then for beer and the Beer Store, I used to buy my Canadian beer on the US side for US$18, versus CND$30+ in the Beer Store. Yes, I reimported exported beer from an open market to a closed market. On the other hand, when I wanted a specialty beer, a typical, suburban Beer Store will kick the ass of any Michigan beer store as far as selection. And in my experience, the prices were pretty similar. Despite the fact that Blue was $30 for a two-four, some of the really good, smaller brewers’ beers were the same price. In Michigan (and here in Mexico), there’s a substantial premium on imported and micros. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/13 "2010-09-07T13:49:50Z")
In BC you used to only be able to buy liquor at a government liquor store. Then non-government cold beer and wine stores were permitted. Then privately owned liquor stores were allowed. I still do not see liquor sold in the grocery store, though, but say in an outlet in the same shopping centre. I still prefer the government stores. 🙂 I haven’t seen much of a price difference in the private stores, and their longer operating hours don’t really affect me. I am too old to need to buy booze at 11 p.m. on a Saturday night. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/14 "2010-09-07T16:40:31Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > In the cult movie “Strange Brew”, the lead characters try to buy beer from what looks like a government store. Only recently did I found out that this kind of store [exists in real life](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beer_Store), except it’s actually a privately owned cartel. The Beer Store is a privately-owned corporation (Labatt, Molson, and Sleeman), but I don’t know if I’d call it a cartel. Unlike a cartel, it owes its existence to legislation; and the owners don’t cooperate to control prices, as to a large extent, they are a function of legislation also. In terms of competition, the LCBO also sells beer, and the breweries themselves can set up their own stores if they wish. The Beer Store just provides brewers a method that takes advantage of economies of scale. Regardless, the Beer Store is the place most Ontarians go to when they want to buy beer. I worked for the Beer Store years ago, in stores such as like you saw in the movie; but also in the self-serve Beer Stores, and in its warehouse. If you (or anybody else) wants to know more about the chain or how it works, ask away. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/15 "2010-09-07T16:44:53Z")
What I get a kick out of, is that The Beer Store used to be called Brewers Retail. However, after decades of people simply referring to it as “the beer store” they went and changed their name to “The Beer Store.” I’m surprised the LCBO hasn’t followed suit with “The Liquor Store.” ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/16 "2010-09-07T17:06:31Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > [Here’s the scene I was referring to.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3DYbE44OIE) I used to live in Ann Arbor and go to Windsor, Ontario, to buy beer. It was _exactly_ like that scene. Moreover, all the beer was sold in the same type of bottle, and you had to leave a deposit. You can see that in the sample beers on the wall in that scene at 0:28. I think they returned the bottles for reuse and they were all the same so they didn’t have to sort which bottles went back to which brewery. (This was in the late 70s before US microbreweries were up and coming. Canadian beer was just better than Coors and Budweiser.) ---
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/17 "2010-09-07T17:11:54Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I’m surprised the LCBO hasn’t followed suit with “The Liquor Store.” That’s what they’re called in PEI. All booze is sold through outlets call “Liquor Store”, which are owned by a crown corporation. We also recently (in 2008) got canned beer in our liquor stores. Progress! ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/18 "2010-09-07T17:33:26Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > What I get a kick out of, is that The Beer Store used to be called Brewers Retail. However, after decades of people simply referring to it as “the beer store” they went and changed their name to “The Beer Store.” I believe the parent company is still called Brewer’s Retail Inc. while The Beer Store is the name that the stores put on their premises. But you’re right–nobody ever called it “Brewer’s Retail.” > [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Moreover, all the beer was sold in the same type of bottle, and you had to leave a deposit. You can see that in the sample beers on the wall in that scene at 0:28. I think they returned the bottles for reuse and they were all the same so they didn’t have to sort which bottles went back to which brewery. Yes, for many years, all brewers were required to use the “stubby” bottle. The main reason was that the bottle were reused (they still are), and so it didn’t matter which bottle was returned to which brewer. The stubby is what you’d see Bob and Doug drinking from in the movie and on the SCTV show. In the mid-to-late 1980s, brewers were allowed to use different bottles. This was a hit with consumers, but it raised costs, as bottles had to be sorted and returned to the correct brewer. At one point in the early 90s, the warehouse in Toronto was employing about 50 people on two shifts a day, simply to sort empties. I would guess that other similar warehouses in other parts of the province were doing the same. It was costly. As a result, the industry moved towards what became known as the “industry” bottle–a little more attractive than the stubby, but serving the same purpose. However, brewers who chose to use non-industry bottles (such as Sleeman) could still do so. I believe some fees were involved if brewers chose to use a non-industry bottle (these fees were meant to help pay for the remaining sorters who were needed to cull these bottles from the rest), which may explain why Sleeman bought out Northern Breweries’ interest in the Beer Store. As for deposits and bottle returns, you must first understand that the idea of a “diposable” beer bottle is foreign to Ontarians; they have always returned their empties. Most likely because the Beer Store has been putting deposits on bottles and paying them back when bottle are returned since the chain’s founding in 1927. In the early 1990s, there was a campaign to inform the public that it would also accept all kinds of beer packaging for recycling: six-pack rings, bottle caps, etc. That wasn’t terribly popular with staff or the union, but we managed. To the best of my knowledge, that still occurs, but the last time I was in a Beer Store, it wasn’t as apparent as it used to be. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/19 "2010-09-07T17:54:16Z")
The Beer Store is now the place where you take your wine and spirit bottles back for recycling. You also get your deposit back too. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897/20 "2010-09-07T18:23:59Z")
In Saskatchewan, beer, wine and liquor are (were?) sold in government-owned liquor board stores or in “off-sale” outlets that are attached to pubs or hotels (I don’t know if this is what FuzzyOgre means by “to go” or not). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-alcoholic-beverages-sold-in-canada/552897.md?page=2)