Some Toronto grocery stores have cut beer and wine sales. This is why
A trip to a grocery store in Toronto for your favourite wine or beer could leave you empty-handed.
That’s because a handful of grocers in the city have quietly stopped selling alcohol due to rising levels of theft and razor-thin margins.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
“It's really becoming unmanageable and getting out of hand. And so some grocers have taken the decision to remove these products from their shelves,” Retail Council of Canada spokesperson Michelle Wasylyshen told CTV News Toronto.
Since 2015, grocers across Ontario have been able to sell wine and beer in their stores under the Master Framework Agreement, signed by the previous Liberal government. The 10-year deal with the foreign-owned Beer Store limits the margins grocery stores can make on the sale of wine and beer.
Eligible large and small-sized retailers applied to sell the products but had to keep their margins between 2 and 6.99 per cent.
According to Wasylyshen, the average margin on beer and wine sales for large grocers represented by the Retail Council of Canada in Ontario is 2.2 per cent.
“It's always been really tight for them. But now it's actually physically a loss, they are selling these products at a loss and it's not sustainable,” she said.
Although the exact number of stores that have gone dry remains unclear, Wasylyshen said the decision by grocers to do so was not made lightly.
“Grocers are still very happy to be able to sell alcohol. It's important just like it was 10 years ago,” she said. “Those that have removed beer and wine from their stores because of theft and small margins, it wasn't their first option. They did so as a last resort.”
Beer is shown on newly stocked shelves as customers shop at a Loblaws grocery store in Toronto on Tuesday, December 15, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
As the sun sets on the Master Framework Agreement, Ontario Premier Doug Ford suggested in May he will make good on his 2018 campaign promise to bring booze to convenience stores.
Since then, the province has been quietly consulting with stakeholders, including the Ontario Convenience Stores Association (OCSA), on how best to make the pledge a reality.
“We are inching, if not moving faster, towards an open market,” OCSA CEO Dave Bryans told CTV News Toronto earlier this month.
“I think we're going to go forward and I hope by next Canada Day, there'll be some level of convenience stores that will be able to service the community.”
Although little is known about a possible framework to make alcohol more accessible after 2025, Wasylyshen said the government will need to address the issue of theft and margins -- as well as product variety and size -- for all retailers involved if such a program is going to succeed.
“There are a number of issues that we will be talking to the government about, that we really need to see some changes in in order to make this work,” she said.
In an email to CTV News Toronto, a spokesperson for Metro and Food Basics said alcohol products have not been removed from any of its stores.
CTV News Toronto has also reached out to Loblaw and Sobeys for comment.
With files from Katherine DeClerq and Siobhan Morris
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Top Cats: Panthers win their 1st Stanley Cup, top Oilers 2-1 in Game 7
The Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions for the first time in franchise history, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Oilers' McDavid wins Conn Smythe Trophy after Game 7 loss
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid has been awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the NHL playoffs after an incredible post-season that finished just short of a Stanley Cup.
Votes in Toronto byelection counting very slowly, Liberals narrowly ahead of Tories
Conservative candidate Don Stewart remained hopeful late Monday despite trailing his Liberal opponent in the Toronto-St. Paul's byelection where results were extremely slow to come in.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will plead guilty in deal with U.S. that will allow him to walk free
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will plead guilty to a felony charge in a deal with the U.S. Justice Department that will allow him to walk free and resolve a long-running legal saga that spanned multiple continents and centred on the publication of a trove of classified documents.
Canada's population forecast to reach 63 million, as people over 85 set to triple
New projections by Statistics Canada suggest the nation's population could reach 63 million by 2073.
opinion Princess Anne's enduring popularity: her equestrian excellence, Canadian connections and an escaped kidnapping attempt
In light of the news that Princess Anne's trip this week to Canada was cancelled because of an injury, royal commentator Afua Hagan looks at the princess's contributions as a royal figure that extend far beyond traditional ceremonials.
14-year-old boy facing 2 counts of first-degree murder in connection with Rexdale shooting investigation
A 14-year-old boy has been charged in connection with a “mass shooting” outside a school in Etobicoke earlier this month that took the lives of two men and wounded three others, police say.
Sask. speaker officially resigns from Sask. Party caucus
Speaker Randy Weekes officially tendered his resignation from the Saskatchewan Party Government Caucus – following an extended saga that saw Weekes accuse government MLAs of harassment.
Teen girl pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of Toronto homeless man
A fourth teen accused in the fatal stabbing of a Toronto homeless man has pleaded guilty.