Albertans will not have the same choice and convenience that customers in Ontario and Quebec have when it comes to beer, wine and cooler sales.
The Alberta government announced last week that it was abandoning plans to allow the sale of some beverage alcohol in convenience stores, an idea that Premier Danielle Smith was championing mere months ago.
As recently as last December, she was telling media that she was “all for it.” During the 2023 election, the UCP campaign told the Convenience Industry Council that they “believe in treating law-abiding adults like adults.”
Apparently not.
How can a government say it supports small business, a level playing field and freedom of choice, yet shut our entire industry of responsible retailers out in the cold? The government is literally picking winners and losers, a shocking move by a Smith-led government.
Alberta staying with the status quo is a sharp contrast to Ontario, where Premier Doug Ford last month welcomed the sale of beer and wine in provincial stores. Shortly before sales opened, Ford noted the industry’s responsible track record, saying convenience stores “dealt with everything from tobacco to lottery tickets, now beer and wine, and they’re going to be very responsible.”
Ontario has not historically been known as a leader, especially on liquor sales. Yet, even with prohibition-era liquor bureaucracy like the LCBO, the province found a way to give its local stores a fighting chance.
The stated logic behind Alberta’s move, protecting private liquor retailers, is deeply flawed and concerning. Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally said in the government’s news release: “Alberta’s private liquor model is a jewel in the crown and allows small businesses to thrive while providing a wide variety of products and services. I accept the MLA committee’s recommendation to keep a level playing field and ensure the continued success of these businesses.”
This move does exactly the opposite of what he says, — it punishes small business convenience stores and protects influential private liquor retailers at the expense of these local stores. That is clearly not “levelling the playing field.”
The facts and data weren’t taken into account. Convenience store customers typically prioritize convenience over value or seeking specialized products, accepting higher prices for the sake of efficiency, and typically making smaller, grab-and-go transactions.
In other words, a small convenience store selection could never replace the purchases better suited for Alberta’s private liquor retailers — and that was never the intent.
It’s been extensively studied. The effect on stand-alone liquor retailers was limited in Colorado when convenience stores were permitted to sell regular beer in 2019. After launch, on average, 7-Eleven stores in Colorado sold 2.6 six-packs of beer per store per day. Additionally, the average store recorded 18.7 transactions per day involving single beers as part of the customer basket, with an average purchase of 1.8 single beers per transaction.
Alberta’s convenience industry is facing ongoing sustained challenges. Alberta has more than 2,000 stores, supporting 20,000 jobs, but they are declining in number. They’re struggling from myriad challenges, including escalating overhead costs, a provincial government raising tobacco taxes and driving customers to the illicit market, and a federal Liberal government now disallowing them from selling smoking cessation products.
The option to sell alcohol would have been a lifeline for struggling convenience stores, many of whom are small family-run shops.
Back in the 1990s, Alberta was a leader in responsibly reforming liquor sales, bringing free market principles into a regulated sector as the first province to modernize the sale, licence and distribution of alcohol in the country.
Today, Alberta seems content to pass the torch of leadership on responsible freedom to Ontario.
Smith once believed in treating adults like adults. It’s a shame that’s no longer the case.
Sara MacIntyre is vice-president, Western Canada, of the Convenience Industry Council of Canada.