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Most Ontarians don’t know who owns The Beer Store, aren’t happy when they find out it’s multinationals that aren’t based here, and don’t think much of the owners’ attempt to make peace with Ontario-based craft brewers, a new poll has found.

I’m not familiar with polling firm Mainstreet Technologies, and I’m a touch skeptical of any outfit that bills itself as “a collection of veteran political managers” but doesn’t appear to identify any of those people on its website other than company president Quito Maggi. Usually, the big names are the big draw for a firm like this. The poll is also a robocall poll, a method that’s common but that also has some significant weaknesses.

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Those caveats in place, the poll provides some interesting data points that contrast sharply with the poll commissioned by the brewers a few weeks ago, which concluded that Ontarians think The Beer Store is awesome.

Mainstreet’s findings include that 45 per cent of us think the government owns The Beer Store. Only 10 per cent think (correctly) that it’s multinational corporations, plus another 11 per cent that say it’s privately owned, which is also arguably a correct answer. When told the truth, 68 per cent of the poll’s respondents disapprove of the situation.