The Ford government’s push to get beer, wine and ready-made cocktails into convenience stores ahead of its original schedule will cost taxpayers more than $600 million, the province’s budget watchdog says.
The finding was included in a new report Monday by the Financial Accountability Office (FAO) that comes just one day before Premier Doug Ford is set to trigger an early election in the province.
In all, liberalized alcohol sales are expected to cost the province roughly $1.4 billion by 2030, the FAO said.
Of that topline figure, $817 million relates to the original plan to expand alcohol sales in Ontario by 2026. Meanwhile, $612 million is the estimated cost of Ford’s decision to accelerate the rollout.
That’s nearly three times the amount the Progressive Conservative government said it would cost to move up the timeline by about 16 months.
The province’s previous plan was to expand sales of those alcoholic offerings by Jan. 1, 2026, but last May Ford announced that would instead happen in 2024.
The Ministry of Finance said an “early implementation agreement” with The Beer Store involves Ontario paying the company up to $225 million to help it keep stores open and workers employed.
That announcement first sparked speculation of an early election call. When the premier was asked if he was trying to get booze in corner stores before an election, he wouldn’t commit to sticking to the June 2026 fixed date.
More to come.
