LCBO Cancels Plan to Open 32 Stores as Strike Continues

A person walks past an LCBO store in Ottawa on March 19, 2020. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) has scrapped plans to open 32 locations for in-store shopping beginning July 19 as retail workers continue their strike across the province.

The provincially owned company will instead reallocate personnel to other parts of its operations as it continues to serve shoppers via its online store, LCBO.com, the Crown corporation said in a July 14 statement.

LCBO said it has been fulfilling online shopping orders within a week and, “because of this success” it will instead use its personnel “to further enhance support for bars, restaurants, and other businesses.”

“This pivot means that we will be able to improve how we serve Ontario bars and restaurants to help increase product selection, availability, and expedited delivery,” the statement reads, noting that more details will be shared directly with those customers.

“This means LCBO retail stores will no longer be open for the duration of the strike.”

The liquor retailer previously said it would open 32 stores with limited hours from Fridays through Sundays if the strike went past the 14-day mark.

This is the second time the LCBO has abandoned plans to temporarily reopen stores. The company announced on July 8 that it would no longer open five stores to supply wholesale customers after the Ontario Public Service Employees Union threatened to picket the locations.

More than 9,000 Ontario liquor store employees walked off the job July 5, closing 669 locations across Ontario. The action marks the first LCBO strike in the province’s history.

Negotiations

Talks between the workers’ union and the LCBO have broken off as the province and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) continue to disagree over the expansion of alcohol sales in Ontario.

The government’s decision to allow the sale of coolers and other ready-to-drink beverages in convenience, grocery, and big-box stores later this summer has been the main sticking point between the two sides.

While the union is accusing the province of allowing profits that traditionally went to the LCBO to be given to corporations and private owners, the government maintains the decision is a matter of public policy.

“If OPSEU is now prepared to agree that ready-to-drink beverages are … not something that should be discussed as part of bargaining, we strongly encourage them to respond to our July 4 offer,” the province said on July 11. “We are at the table ready for active negotiations to restart today.”

The union, however, has said the plan to open up alcohol sales is central to negotiations, saying it will “threaten thousands of jobs” and provincial revenues.

“The employer does not get to unilaterally decide what is discussed at the table—that’s why it’s called bargaining,” the union said in a July 11 statement.

“Our questions remain: how much revenue will be lost by the plan to expand alcohol sales, including ready to drinks? What is their plan to provide better job security for thousands of LCBO retail employees who are casuals and already struggling to make ends meet when revenues take a hit?”

Provincial Plans

Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy’s office said on July 5 that the province is “more committed than ever” to expanding access to beer, cider, wine, and ready-to-drink beverages in convenience, grocery, and big-box stores “starting later this summer.”

Meanwhile, Premier Doug Ford recently endorsed the province’s online tool to help consumers find alternatives to strike-bound LCBO stores.

The premier announced the new searchable online map via social media July 8, saying the historic walkout needn’t keep Ontarians from their favourite alcoholic beverages, including those from Ontario producers.

Mr. Ford has been pushing to take alcohol sales public for some time, saying the decision fulfilled a promise made during the 2018 election.

“There’s no reason why Ontario consumers shouldn’t enjoy the same convenient shopping experience as Canadians in every other province when buying some wine for their holiday party or a case of beer or seltzers on their way to the cottage,” he said in a December 2023 statement.

Ford’s government is calling it “the largest expansion of consumer choice and convenience since the end of prohibition almost 100 years ago.”

Ontario currently has the lowest density of alcohol retail stores in Canada. That will change under the province’s plan, putting Ontario in the No. 3 spot for liquor retailers across the country.

Chandra Philip contributed to this report.