Doug Ford giving hundreds of Ontario breweries a financial bailout

While Premier Doug Ford touted his push to get beer, wine and ready-to-drink cocktails into corner stores as an added convenience for consumers, small breweries across Ontario have been stressing about what the change to alcohol sale rules means for their business.

Early fears of sudden competition with "every corner store in the area" — stores that, additionally, aren't particularly interested in stocking craft beer — ended up being founded, with brewers noting a decline in sales just weeks into the new sales landscape last fall.

But now, Ford has decided to make it up to them with new legislation.

Within the lengthy 2025 provincial budget that just dropped on Thursday is a plan to provide financial relief for the hundreds of breweries in Ontario's robust local beer scene that has really come into its own in the last decade.

The measures include reducing the basic tax charged to microbreweries by 50 per cent, enhancing the Small Beer Manufacturers' Tax Credit, as well as freezing the cost-of-service fee applied to beer sold through the LCBO and cutting LCBO mark-up rates to bring them "closer in line" with microbrewery mark-up rates.

There will also be "targeted changes on the use of contract beer manufacturers, and technical amendments for increased flexibility and efficiency," such as changes to the LCBO Supplying Source Program to support the local alcohol sector with broader product distribution, and a new wholesale pricing model.

The 340-plus beer brands impacted seem to be pleased with the announcement, with the Ontario Craft Brewers (OCB) "sincerely thanking the government for listening, conducting its review of all alcohol taxes, mark-ups and fees."

"Today's changes will immediately reduce a craft brewers' taxes by 50 per cent and it is great news that the government is committing to building a progressive tax structure. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the government to make that a reality and create a tax structure that further unleashes the growth in Ontario's craft beer sector," the group wrote in a Thursday afternoon release.

"This is a great day for craft breweries, craft beer lovers, and communities across Ontario... today's tax changes have put it on a path to see breweries grow, create more jobs, invest in their communities, and have the ability to get more local beer on store shelves."

The issue of expanding alcohol sales has been a complicated one, with many residents opposed to what they considered a long-running market monopoly led by the Beer Store and the LCBO (though sales from the latter equate to more money for the province to invest in public services).

Future of The Beer Store in Ontario uncertain beyond 2026 https://t.co/iacHPeVNJa

— blogTO (@blogTO) May 28, 2024

People have had mixed feelings about Beer Stores now shuttering left and right as the province ends its Master Framework Agreement with the retailer early.

The Province's rules require a progressively smaller number of Beer Stores to remain open as time goes on, with at least 386 of 440 locations staying open until July 1, 2025, which falls to at least 300 stores until the end of the year, and no minimum after that.

The end of the monopoly could likely spell the end of the chain, which is largely owned by breweries Molson, Labatt and Sleeman (plus a handful of local brewers that have a significantly smaller stake).