Ontario alcohol expansion largest Canadian deregulation policy in decades, report suggests

Ontario’s plan to allow the sale of beer, wine and cider at convenience and big box stores represents “the most substantial alcohol deregulation policy in Canada in decades,” a national medical journal suggests.

The finding was made in an April 8 article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal(CAMJ), based on new policy that alters how alcohol is sold in the province.

Beer cans are stacked as props in front a display of ice cream, at a press availability attended by Ontario Premier Doug Ford at a convenience store in Toronto, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023.

However, the peer-reviewed CAMJ article suggests the changes will lead to greater alcohol use and associated harms, including deaths, emergency department visits, hospital admissions, interpersonal violence and chronic disease.

Dr. Daniel Myran, one of the authors of the CAMJ article and assistant professor at the University of Ottawa, says that alcohol is estimated to have caused 6,200 deaths in 2020, in addition to 250,00 emergency room visits and just under 50,000 hospital admissions.

They also said the government announced an additional $10 million cash infusion to support "social responsibility and public health efforts to ensure alcohol continues to be sold and consumed safely."