Nova Scotia to survey public on where alcohol can be sold

CITYnews halifax  / By The Canadian Press

 Nova Scotia has announced a month-long public survey as it considers expanding alcohol sales to various retail outlets like corner stores.

Finance Minister John Lohr says examining how alcohol is sold and consumed makes sense as the province moves to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers.

The province will survey 1,500 Nova Scotians over the age of 19 starting this week.

It will also gather feedback on the types of stores where alcohol can be sold, locations where people can drink alcohol and health considerations related to any changes.

Alcohol is currently served at over 300 retail locations in the province.

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They include Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation stores, private wine and specialty stores, on site stores at breweries and wineries and farmers markets.

Alcohol in corner stores costly

In August of last year, Ontario made the move to allow the sale of beer, wine and ready-to-drink cocktails to convenience stores.

Consumers were able to purchase products like coolers and what the province labelled as “other ready-to-drink beverages” alongside more pack sizes at grocery stores that currently sell wine or beer.

By the end of October, convenience stores, supermarkets, and gas stations that are fully licensed to do so were selling alcohol, well ahead of the previously slated date of early 2026.

This fast-tracked mission cost Ontario taxpayers, prompting the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO) to release a report estimating the economic impact.

The report finds that expanding Ontario’s alcohol marketplace will result in a net cost of $1.4 billion under the Early Implementation Agreement, which ends on Dec. 31, 2030. Of this, $817 million is tied to the planned expansion starting Jan. 1, 2026, while $612 million is attributed to the decision to accelerate the rollout to 2024.

The FAO estimates that the cost to the province could range from $529 million to $1.9 billion by Dec. 31, 2030.

With files from CityNews’ Lucas Casaletto.