Doug Ford Accelerates Availability of Ready-to-Drink Cocktails in Grocery Stores Amid LCBO Strike
“This is an important milestone for grocery retailers and consumers alike as we continue our work modernizing Ontario’s alcohol marketplace,” Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy stated on Monday.
“As the next step in the government’s plan to give people in Ontario more choice and convenience, licensed grocery stores will be able to order ready-to-drink beverages and large beer pack sizes starting Thursday … and begin selling them immediately upon arrival,” added Bethlenfalvy.
“This new timeline accelerates the first phase of the government’s plan to expand alcohol sales to grocery, convenience and big-box stores by allowing the 450 grocery stores that are currently licensed to sell beer, cider or wine to sell them once they arrive in store, rather than Aug. 1,” he said.
This means Ontarians could purchase ready-to-drink beverages — such as Bacardi Breezers and Mike’s Hard Lemonade — in supermarkets as early as next week.
For now, these drinks will only be available in the 450 stores licensed to sell six-packs of beer and wine, a policy introduced by former premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals in 2015.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), representing over 9,000 workers whose strike has closed 680 LCBO stores since July 5, criticized the Progressive Conservative premier’s decision.
“Ford’s picking a fight with workers and the people of Ontario who are in this fight with us,” said MacLeod.
“It’s why we’re fighting for a fair collective agreement at the table and for better policies in the streets,” she said, adding “it’s on Ford to end this strike, after all — he forced it to justify his rushed alcohol everywhere scheme.
“The offer stands and we remain prepared to negotiate collective bargaining issues,” said Soleas.
But OPSEU president JP Hornick, said “it is absolutely not true” the union walked away from the table.
“The mediator, to my understanding, determined that we were at an impasse and called off talks,” said Hornick noting the union has not heard directly from the LCBO or the mediator about a resumption of bargaining.
The labor dispute has shuttered the LCBO’s 680 stores for the first time in the 97-year history of the government-run alcohol monopoly.
Soleas said OPSEU insisted that no deal was possible unless the government changed its current policy on ready-to-drink beverages in grocery and convenience stores and revoked regulations passed by the government and legislature of Ontario.
He emphasized that the LCBO does not set government policy or alcohol regulation in Ontario.
The strike came six weeks after Ford announced he would pay The Beer Store $225 million to expedite the previously announced Dec. 31, 2025, deadline for expanded liberalization of alcohol sales.
Under his changes, beer, wine, and premixed beverages will be sold at 8,500 licensed supermarkets, convenience stores, and big-box outlets by Oct. 31.
Currently, the LCBO has a monopoly on most ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages, the fastest-growing alcohol category.
Ford told the union last Wednesday that “if they want to negotiate over (ready-to-drink beverages), the deal’s off … that ship has sailed — it’s halfway across Lake Ontario.”
However, the premier said the LCBO would remain a public asset and retain its exclusive rights for the sale of spirits, such as whisky, vodka, gin, rum, and tequila, and it would control the wholesale distribution of wine and ready-to-drink products to all private retailers.
Last week, Ford said the LCBO had made a fair offer to OPSEU, including seven percent raises over three years and a pledge to move 400 casual employees into full-time jobs.
Soleas said Monday that the union has never responded to the LCBO’s proposal.
“The offer stands and we remain prepared to negotiate collective bargaining issues,” he said.
On Sunday, the LCBO scrapped plans to reopen 32 stores for limited hours later this week. Instead, it will focus resources on online shopping on its website.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles, Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, and Green Leader Mike Schreiner have blamed Ford’s alcohol liberalization push for the job action.
