Ontario hurled some rocks towards Alberta over private alcohol sales, and Alberta came down with the hammer.
The Beer Store launched the Ontario Beer Facts campaign to criticize Alberta's private alcohol sales after the Ontario government tabled a bill to terminate its contract with the company to expand alcohol sales to grocery stores.
The campaign, fronted by curling champion Glenn Howard, targeted Alberta's beer prices.
"I found a six-pack of Mill Street Organic," said Howard in Calgary. "This is $3 more expensive here than it is in Ontario."
#AlbertaRocks
The Alberta Liquor Store Association (ALSA) took hacks at The Beer Store through another champion curler, calling its campaign "Ontario beer fake facts."
In an ad at a liquor store, Brendan Bottcher and TV and radio host Chelsea Bird dispute that Albertans pay some of the highest alcohol prices in Canada, and that private beer stores have led to less social responsibility and fewer jobs.
"Free enterprise doesn’t mean there is a free-for-all system," ALSA President Ivonne Martinez said. "But it does mean we have competitive prices and better service, hours and selection for our customers."
ALSA says it has created 12,000 new jobs, while The Beer Store is fighting the Ontario government to protect its 7,000 workers, and that Alberta has a 98 per cent social responsibility compliance.
Statistics also show Alberta has more than 7,000 beer options and ALSA claims Ontario has fewer than 2,000.
Liquor stores in Alberta are open from 10 a.m. until 2 a.m.
"Our liquor stores are better, and our curling teams," Bottcher said.
