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Select B.C. grocery stores will begin stocking alcohol this spring, plans for which first emerged in 2013. Yet, compared with the rest of Canada, B.C. is still relatively ambivalent in its attitudes and approach toward the sales of booze. Here, then, is a quick comparison by Trevor Melanson
British Columbia
Where can liquor be sold?
B.C. has a relatively evenly split system of government and private liquor stores, the latter accounting for roughly 43 per cent of sales. Soon select grocery stores will be able to stock booze (but not big-box retailers like Walmart or corner stores).
On average, how much does a six-pack of beer cost? (average price of a six-pack in 2013)
$16.41
(private stores)
What are people drinking? (as a percentage of total 2013 liquor sales)
Wine
34%
Spirits
28%
Beer
38%
Total: $3.10 billion
And are they consuming more or less? (in dollars spent, from 2012 to 2013)
+2.4%
Alberta
Alberta privatized liquor stores in 1993 and remains the only provincial government to have done so. While Alberta now has plenty of liquor vendors, 1,300 (up from 200 before privatization), grocery stores are not permitted to sell booze.
$14.81
31%
44%
25%
Total: $2.42 billion
+7.0%
Ontario
Most of Ontario’s liquor stores are run by the LCBO, a Crown corporation—although some private vendors, like The Beer Store monopoly, have special permission to sell booze. Some grocery stores also have private wine outlets within them.
$10.88
(The Beer Store)
42%
30%
Total: $7.51 billion
+2.9%
Quebec
Quebec’s liquor system, while technically public, allows for the sale of beer and wine at grocery and corner stores. Hard liquor, however, must be purchased from government-run SAQ stores.
$14.08
(grocery + corner stores)
13%
43%
Total: $5.34 billion
-0.6%