Last week, MTL Blog reported that the Canadian government is increasing the price of cigarettes across the country. The public reaction ranged from smokers' furious anger to anti-cigarette campaigners celebrating the news. Today, we've learned that one of the cigarette's best friends, beer, is also becoming more expensive.
Yep, you read that right. The Quebec government is raising the price of beer, per litre, by almost $3.50. Now, there's a lot of complicated math involved, so before you start protesting and occupying your local dep, keep reading.
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TL;DR The government of Quebec is raising the price of beer per litre by almost $3.50 cents in some cases. This doesn't mean your beer is going to be that much more expensive, though! In some cases, the price won't change at all, but for the most part, the price will only go up by 55 to 61 cents.
@dee_la_reveuseLet's break it down before I create a panic. According to DepQuebec and the Régie des alcools, courses et jeux (RACJ), inflation peaked to 1.7% in Quebec this past year whereas Canada's is up to 2.3%. But what does this mean for Quebecers?
Due to inflation rates, the Quebec government and the RACJ are going to raise the minimum beer prices by 2.3%. This doesn't mean that your tall-boy of Pabst is going to be 2.3% more expensive. Thanks to Quebec deps, we'll still have the cheapest beer prices in the country, despite the increase.
Keep in mind that the price change will affect the price of beer per litre. For beers under 4.1% alcohol, the price will increase by up to $3.0462 per litre.
For beers under 5% alcohol, up to $3.2175 per litre. For beers under 6.2% alcohol, up to $3.3376 per litre. Finally, for beers over 6.2% alcohol, up to $3.4496 per litre.
Think about it, though! You don't buy beer by the litre, right? So let's think of it in terms of a two-four.
A 24-case of Molson Dry at 5.5% alcohol content will increase to $27.30, up 61 cents from its previous price.
Keep in mind that this price change may only affect supermarkets and big box stores like Costco because Quebec independent depanneurs like the one on your corner already raise their prices to reflect retail markup.
Compared to Ontario, we're still getting away with rock-bottom beer prices for pretty much every kind of beer you can imagine.
A case of 24 beers at a The Beer Store in Ontario can run you upward of $39.50 plus tax! First of all, there are no "beer stores" in Quebec so we automatically win. En plus, we don't have to pay close to 40 bucks for a two-four.
When you break it down, it's not so bad, right? So please refrain from marching on Couche-Tard, okay?
