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The British Columbia government has made it easier for alcoholic drink manufacturers to directly distribute their products — but not everyone is happy about it.
Under B.C. rules, manufacturers could already directly sell beer, wine, cider and craft spirits to wholesale customers like bars and restaurants. The changes, which took effect Thursday, add B.C.-made coolers, hard seltzers and pre-mixed cocktails to that list.
“This practical change streamlines how these B.C. made products get to retailers and restaurants to match the flexibility already allowed for the delivery of other products in the system,” Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said in a statement.
Some B.C. manufacturers welcomed the move, saying it could help smaller producers move products faster.
Teresa Townsley, owner of Festina Lente Estate Winery in Langley, said direct delivery will cut extra costs and speed up distribution.
“It eliminates the middleman and the expensive overhead as far as shipping and cost and allows us to adjust to consumer preferences rapidly,” Townsley said.
The change, however, is not going over well with the B.C. General Employees Union, which represents B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch workers.
Bars and restaurants in British Columbia are worried about liquor shortages as the B.C. General Employees’ Union added additional pickets, including at provincial liquor stores. Bar owners and restaurateurs are only allowed to buy from provincially run stores.
The union calls the move a “betrayal” of a government promise to consult on liquor policy changes and a “gift” to industry lobbyists “who have spent years pushing for privatization of B.C.’s public liquor system.”
“The minister is giving more weight to private, corporate interests than the needs of those who elected her as a representative — the working people of B.C.,” BCGEU president Paul Finch wrote in a statement.
The new policy, the union says, bypasses the government-owned Liquor Distribution Branch.
It says refreshment beverages are currently the fastest growing category in the alcohol market, and diverting them away from the government warehouse system could put 490 jobs at risk.
“The public liquor system exists for a reason — to serve British Columbians,” Finch said.
“It performs strongly and generates significant revenue for health care, education and other public services while ensuring accountability and province-wide access.”
The B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch says the change is meant to improve flexibility in the system and it will remain the central distributor in B.C.
“These changes are limited in scope and do not represent privatization of the liquor distribution system,” it said in a statement.
Wholesale customers have long sought more direct access to liquor products in B.C., a point of contention that was sharpened when BCGEU strikes in 2022 and 2025 affected provincial distribution.
During the last strike, Noel Steen, founder of Please! Beverage Co., said the labour dispute entirely shut down the wholesale side of his business.
“We can’t move product directly, and all the [government-run liquor stores] are closed and the LDB is closed,” he told CBC in an October interview.
“So the distribution of product to the retail stores … is on hold until the resolution. So not a subtle impact, a massive impact.”
