Buck-a-beer coming next month, source says

Ontario will see the return of buck a beer by Labour Day weekend, The Canadian Press has learned, though some in the industry predict few brewers will embrace the new, lower minimum price.

A source with knowledge of the plan says the Ford government is expected to announce Tuesday that it will lower the minimum price of a bottle or can of beer to $1 from $1.25 in September.

Brewers would not have to charge less and the lower minimum price would not apply to draft beer, nor would it include the bottle deposit.

The government is hoping to get brewers on board by launching what it calls a “bucka-beer challenge” with incentives for those who cut prices.

The move was one of Premier Doug Ford’s promises during the spring election campaign.

The Tories have said bringing back buck a beer would create competition in the beer market without affecting the province’s revenues from beer and wine taxes, which brought in roughly $589 million in 2016-2017, government documents show.

In its heyday, buck a beer was a successful marketing campaign and seized a significant share of the market, said Scott Simmons, president of Ontario Craft Brewers, an executive at the Beer Store at the time.

But the costs of making beer have gone up, as have the provincial and federal taxes, making it less feasible for brewers to sell their product at the $1 minimum price now, he said.