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“Of course that’s not the case, but a large proportion of Ontarians aren’t aware of that just yet.”

Upon hearing who owns the Beer Store — which lays claim to 80 per cent of beer sales in the province — most participants were displeased. Sixty-eight per cent either somewhat or strongly disapproved of the chain’s foreign ownership while 17 per cent either somewhat or strongly approved.

The poll comes as the Beer Store faces renewed scrutiny from both government and consumers alike. Though enshrined in Ontario’s liquor laws for close to 90 years, the Beer Store is now owned by three multinationals: Molson-Coors, Labatt (owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev) and Sleeman (owned by Japan’s Sapporo). While all three have breweries in Ontario, their ownership resides outside of the country.

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In recent months, a government assets report recommended squeezing more value out of the Beer Store for the provincial coffers and members of the bar and restaurant industry are demanding change.

Several weeks ago, the Beer Store announced it had launched a program to allow small, Ontario brewers to buy a stake in the chain’s ownership, although the majority of the board of directors would still consist of the Big Three. Seventy per cent of respondents in Mainstreet’s poll said the proposed reforms don’t go far enough.

“It’s obvious that most Ontarians are not aware of the ownership structure of the Beer Store”, said Quito Maggi, President of Mainstreet Technologies. “It’s very clear once Ontarians learn about the current ownership of the Beer Store they are not happy with the arrangement.”

When asked what sort of reform they’d most like to see, just 17 per cent of respondents wanted to see beer sales in convenience stores and supermarkets — somewhat contrary a 2013 Angus Reid poll that found 69 per cent of Ontarians wanted to see more private retail options.

The most popular option, chosen by 30 per cent of those polled, would be to mandating majority ownership of the Beer Store to Ontario-based brewers. Another 23 per cent were in favour of giving Ontario’s government total control of the operation, running it as they do the LCBO.

“Seventeen per cent of people approve of the foreign ownership right now, that to me is surprising, but that being said, what I think the real takeaway from the poll is that the plan proposed by the Beer Store right now does not go far enough in Ontarians’ view,” said Valentin.

“The government of Ontario is looking at reforming the way that beer is sold in the province and what this polls shows to me is there’s an appetite to change the way it’s happening right now.”

The interactive voice-response poll surveyed 2,890 Ontarians of legal drinking age on Jan. 28 and has a margin or error of +/- 1.82%, 19/20.