LCBO hides U.S. liquor stockpile details, calling them ‘cabinet confidence’
Ontario’s Liquor Control Board (LCBO) is refusing to reveal what’s in its massive $79.1-million stockpile of U.S. alcohol products, removed from store shelves earlier this year as part of a trade dispute with the United States — citing “cabinet confidence.”
The Crown corporation took 64 days to respond to a freedom-of-information request from CBC News, exceeding the legal limit by more than a month. When it finally released 50 pages of records, nearly all information on the amount, fate, and cost of the stored liquor was heavily redacted.
While other provinces — including Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia — disclosed their American liquor inventories, Ontario’s documents kept most details hidden, including how much has expired or been destroyed.
Government defends secrecy
A brief mention in the LCBO’s 2024–25 financial statements listed a $2.9-million provision for expiring product, but the supporting data was withheld.
Ontario’s Finance Ministry said the secrecy stems from government direction following U.S. tariff threats.
“In the face of President Trump’s unjustified tariffs and tariff threats, our government directed the LCBO to remove U.S.-made alcohol from their shelves,” said ministry spokesperson Colin Blachar.
“Products remain off LCBO shelves and are currently held in storage. The vast majority have a long shelf life, so very minimal product has expired.”
Experts call the move ‘ludicrous’
Transparency experts are calling the LCBO’s justification “bizarre and outrageous.”
James Turk, a researcher at Toronto Metropolitan University, said cabinet confidence is meant to protect internal political deliberations — not operational data.
“To claim that inventory levels of American wine and liquor are a ‘cabinet confidence’ is ludicrous,” Turk said.
“They have no competitors. LCBO has a monopoly on alcohol sales in Ontario. This is clearly a misuse of the concept.”
Turk compared the case to the Ford government’s earlier refusal to release ministerial mandate letters, which was ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada, and pointed to a “pattern of secrecy” in Ontario governance — from the Greenbelt scandal to a $2.5-billion job training fund lacking transparency.
Opposition calls for accountability
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles accused the government of excessive secrecy, saying the 50 redacted pages show a troubling trend.
“Ontarians have a right to know what decisions are being made and why,” Stiles said.
“Again and again, this government hides information from people. What are they afraid of?”
CBC News has since appealed the LCBO’s decision to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, seeking a full release of the records.
Until then, the contents of Ontario’s $79-million liquor cellar — and why they’ve become a matter of “cabinet confidence” — remain tightly sealed.
