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Liquor Control Board of Ontario
The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO, French: Régie des alcools de l'Ontario) is a Crown agency that retails and distributes alcoholic beverages throughout the Canadian province of Ontario. It is accountable to the Legislative Assembly through the minister of finance. It was established in 1927 by the government of Premier George Howard Ferguson to sell liquor, wine, and beer. Such sales were banned outright in 1916 as part of prohibition in Canada. The creation of the LCBO marked an easing of the province's temperance regime. By September 2017, the LCBO was operating 651 liquor stores.
The LCBO maintained a quasi-monopoly on the trade in alcoholic beverage sales in Ontario for nearly a century after its creation: for most of this time, LCBO stores were the only retail outlets licensed to sell alcohol in Ontario, with the notable exceptions of beer (The Beer Store had a quasi-monopoly on retailing beer during most of this period) and a number of wine shops, which had once been relatively diverse but had largely consolidated into two major chains by the 2010s: the Wine Shop and Wine Rack. Many of these independent outlets were located on-site at wineries, breweries or distilleries themselves, with Wine Shop and Wine Rack locations often located within grocery stores. Because Ontario is Canada's most populous province, with over 15 million people, or almost 40% of the nation's population, LCBO's quasi-monopoly status made it one of the world's largest purchasers of alcoholic beverages.
In December 2015, the LCBO authorized some supermarkets to sell cider, wine, and beer within their grocery aisles, substantially weakening their and The Beer Store's long near-monopoly statuses. As of December 9, 2016, nearly 130 grocery stores had been licensed to do so; 450 were expected to be licensed by 2020.
The LCBO remains the chief supplier of alcoholic beverages to bars and restaurants in Ontario, which are generally required by law to purchase their alcoholic products through the LCBO, The Beer Store, or directly from Ontario wineries and breweries. Beverages sold at bars and restaurants must be consumed on the establishments' premises. The LCBO was the parent company of the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation, the only entity licensed to sell cannabis for recreational use in Ontario. This is no longer true following the passage of the Cannabis Statute Law Amendment Act, 2018.
The LCBO was created in 1927 with the end of prohibition, which had been introduced in the province in 1916. The Liquor Control Act, 1927 authorized the LCBO to "control the sale, transportation and delivery" of alcoholic beverages in Ontario. Brewers Retail was created to sell beer in a controlled manner while wines and spirits (as well as beer) were sold in LCBO outlets. Wineries and breweries were also allowed to sell from their own stores, which were limited in number.
In the 1924 Ontario prohibition plebiscite, voters chose, narrowly, by a margin of 51.5% to 48.5%, to retain the Ontario Temperance Act as opposed to the government-controlled sales of beverage alcohol. The Conservative government of George Howard Ferguson contested the 1926 provincial election on a platform of easing the temperance law. Upon reelection, it introduced the Liquor Control Act as a compromise between the complete prohibition demanded by the temperance movement and the unregulated sale of alcohol. Premier Ferguson stated that the Liquor Control Act was "... to allow people to exercise a God-given freedom under reasonable restrictions". Ferguson was further quoted as saying the purpose of the LCBO was to "promote temperance sobriety, personal liberty and, above all, to restore respect for the law". To achieve these goals LCBO was mandated by Ferguson's government to employ an oversight mechanism in order to know "exactly who is buying and how much, and what disposition is being made of it".
The first chief commissioner of the LCBO was David Blyth Hanna and the first 18 stores were opened on 1 June 1927, all designed with a clear glass store front to "make the process appear apparent and with a complete absence of mystery", according to an LCBO document. Previously, only wine sales were legal but bootlegged liquor and beer were illegally sold. The business model was a process of "disinterested management"; the product was available but purchases were discouraged and moderation remained key. By the end of 1927, the province had 86 stores and three mail-order facilities.
From 1927–1962 the LCBO required people who wanted to purchase liquor to first obtain a permit (Individual Liquor Permit). The permit was valid for a year. They had to present these permits at the point of purchase, and the clerk at the liquor store would enter information about what, precisely, the individual had purchased.
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Liquor Control Board of Ontario
The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO, French: Régie des alcools de l'Ontario) is a Crown agency that retails and distributes alcoholic beverages throughout the Canadian province of Ontario. It is accountable to the Legislative Assembly through the minister of finance. It was established in 1927 by the government of Premier George Howard Ferguson to sell liquor, wine, and beer. Such sales were banned outright in 1916 as part of prohibition in Canada. The creation of the LCBO marked an easing of the province's temperance regime. By September 2017, the LCBO was operating 651 liquor stores.
The LCBO maintained a quasi-monopoly on the trade in alcoholic beverage sales in Ontario for nearly a century after its creation: for most of this time, LCBO stores were the only retail outlets licensed to sell alcohol in Ontario, with the notable exceptions of beer (The Beer Store had a quasi-monopoly on retailing beer during most of this period) and a number of wine shops, which had once been relatively diverse but had largely consolidated into two major chains by the 2010s: the Wine Shop and Wine Rack. Many of these independent outlets were located on-site at wineries, breweries or distilleries themselves, with Wine Shop and Wine Rack locations often located within grocery stores. Because Ontario is Canada's most populous province, with over 15 million people, or almost 40% of the nation's population, LCBO's quasi-monopoly status made it one of the world's largest purchasers of alcoholic beverages.
In December 2015, the LCBO authorized some supermarkets to sell cider, wine, and beer within their grocery aisles, substantially weakening their and The Beer Store's long near-monopoly statuses. As of December 9, 2016, nearly 130 grocery stores had been licensed to do so; 450 were expected to be licensed by 2020.
The LCBO remains the chief supplier of alcoholic beverages to bars and restaurants in Ontario, which are generally required by law to purchase their alcoholic products through the LCBO, The Beer Store, or directly from Ontario wineries and breweries. Beverages sold at bars and restaurants must be consumed on the establishments' premises. The LCBO was the parent company of the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation, the only entity licensed to sell cannabis for recreational use in Ontario. This is no longer true following the passage of the Cannabis Statute Law Amendment Act, 2018.
The LCBO was created in 1927 with the end of prohibition, which had been introduced in the province in 1916. The Liquor Control Act, 1927 authorized the LCBO to "control the sale, transportation and delivery" of alcoholic beverages in Ontario. Brewers Retail was created to sell beer in a controlled manner while wines and spirits (as well as beer) were sold in LCBO outlets. Wineries and breweries were also allowed to sell from their own stores, which were limited in number.
In the 1924 Ontario prohibition plebiscite, voters chose, narrowly, by a margin of 51.5% to 48.5%, to retain the Ontario Temperance Act as opposed to the government-controlled sales of beverage alcohol. The Conservative government of George Howard Ferguson contested the 1926 provincial election on a platform of easing the temperance law. Upon reelection, it introduced the Liquor Control Act as a compromise between the complete prohibition demanded by the temperance movement and the unregulated sale of alcohol. Premier Ferguson stated that the Liquor Control Act was "... to allow people to exercise a God-given freedom under reasonable restrictions". Ferguson was further quoted as saying the purpose of the LCBO was to "promote temperance sobriety, personal liberty and, above all, to restore respect for the law". To achieve these goals LCBO was mandated by Ferguson's government to employ an oversight mechanism in order to know "exactly who is buying and how much, and what disposition is being made of it".
The first chief commissioner of the LCBO was David Blyth Hanna and the first 18 stores were opened on 1 June 1927, all designed with a clear glass store front to "make the process appear apparent and with a complete absence of mystery", according to an LCBO document. Previously, only wine sales were legal but bootlegged liquor and beer were illegally sold. The business model was a process of "disinterested management"; the product was available but purchases were discouraged and moderation remained key. By the end of 1927, the province had 86 stores and three mail-order facilities.
From 1927–1962 the LCBO required people who wanted to purchase liquor to first obtain a permit (Individual Liquor Permit). The permit was valid for a year. They had to present these permits at the point of purchase, and the clerk at the liquor store would enter information about what, precisely, the individual had purchased.
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