A third brewer is hopping on buck-a-beer in time for the Labour Day weekend, but not for long.

Loblaw said Tuesday it will make seven varieties of its President’s Choice brews available “for a limited time” at a dollar a bottle and only in Beer Stores starting Aug. 27, joining Premier Doug Ford’s push for cheaper suds.

“It’s been a decade since the end of buck-a-beer in Ontario,” said Ian Gordon of President’s Choice, which first launched the brew for a dollar in 1992. “With the change in pricing rules here, we were excited to help our customers in Ontario celebrate this long weekend.”

The company would not say how long the promotion will last as Ford tries to build buck-a-beer into a bigger, longer-term trend by promising brewers ads in LCBO flyers, and in-store promotions such as extended shelves and end-of-aisle placement to boost their prominence.

The premier dropped the floor price for beers with fewer than 5.6 per cent alcohol by volume from $1.25 despite concerns in some quarters that the move may encourage some drinkers to imbibe too much.

Buck-a-beer won’t apply to cans of PC beer, but only to bottles, including the low-alcohol PC 2.5, the Cerveza, Dry, Light, Genuine Lager and Honey Red brews. With deposit included, they will cost $13.20 for a case of 12 and $26.40 for 24. That’s down from regular prices of $20.95 for 12 and $35.50 for 24.

Ford maintained brewers who participate in buck-a-beer will find “the respect and appreciation they will get from consumers will be priceless” but several craft brewers have said the costs of quality ingredients and other production factors make it impossible to sell for a dollar.

Only a tiny fraction have joined in, with Barley Days of Picton preparing to offer its Loon Lager for a dollar in select LCBO stores and Cool Beer Brewing Co. of Etobicoke also on board.

There are 272 craft breweries in the province in addition to more than 15 foreign-owned breweries such as Labatt, Molson and Sleeman, and several dozen contract brewers.

Cool’s corporate development officer Kevin Meens has called on craft brewers to use buck-a-beer to engage the new government about taxes and fees breweries must pay, and to press for changes to regulations that would allow consumers to buy beer direct from breweries at a lower price.

“We want to get in a room with Mr. Ford and say, ‘We’ve done our part, we’ve given up our margins, now let’s take a look at taxes and fees.’ ”

In Ottawa, Dominion City Brewing said it would turn $1.30 from each $3.55 can of blonde ale to Refugee 613, a local agency helping refugees build new lives. The blonde ale is labelled “Buck a Beer (for refugees in Ottawa.)”

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Critics in the Legislature have punched back at the buck-a-beer policy as a gimmick and a distraction for Ford, who has stirred controversy by cutting the size of Toronto city council and halving a planned 3-per-cent increase in welfare rates.

New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner questioned the premier’s priorities, saying there are bigger issues facing the province.

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