Ontario to increase provincial fee on breweries in April
The CBC is reporting that Ontario’s liquor agency will be increasing a fee charged to brewers that will result in the cost of beer going up for retailer, restaurants and bars across Ontario.
On the LCBO’s website, information about the increase was posted informed buyers that “index-linked increases to the LCBO beer in-store and out-of-store cost of service rates will take effect April 1, 2025.”
As the LCBO noted, “Under the Excise Act, 2001, the rates of excise duty on spirits and wine are adjusted annually on April 1 based on changes to the Consumer Price Index. However, due to amendments to the Act that were included in Bill C-69, Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, which received royal assent on June 20, 2024, this adjustment was capped at 2% for two additional years. These newly announced rates have now been published on the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) website Canada.ca.”
The LCBO said that the new excise rates will be applied to new LCBO products and Private Orders (Specialty Services) starting Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
That means if the increase goes through, the fee for beer sold at a retailer, currently set at 74.11 cents per litre will increase to 77.37 cents per litre starting in April.
READ: Ontario PCs make $40B in platform promises, pledge to axe floor price for alcohol
This price increase comes as Ontario residents are heading to the polls tomorrow to vote on a new provincial government. On Monday, Ontario PC Leader Doug Ford announced as part of a campaign stop that he would scrap the province's minimum-price laws on alcohol if he and his government were re-elected.
The Ontario Craft Brewers, an association that advocates for locally-owned craft breweries in Ontario and works with government, regulators, and partners to promote and advance Ontario’s craft beer industry, posted on its LinkedIn page about the CBC report and is asking the Premier to scrap the increase:
“At a time when supporting local has never been more important in the face of U.S. tariffs, these LCBO fee increases are the wrong move at the wrong time. They only mean one thing - beer will be more expensive for consumers.
Right now, we should be doing everything we can to get more locally-made and locally-owned craft beer on LCBO shelves, and making it more affordable. Reversing this increase is the first step and we're calling on all parties to commit to immediately lower taxes on Ontario owned craft brewers, which are the highest in all of Canada, to put the industry in a position to withstand a potential trade war and thrive for decades to come.
Doing so will give Ontarians more opportunities to support local, and more upside for the province through the new jobs, new equipment, and new brewery investments that will result from a growing craft beer sector.”
