More New Brunswick grocery stores may get to sell wine

Additional grocery stores in New Brunswick may be selling wine next year. And convenience stores could eventually be allowed to sell beer.

So says Brian Harriman, president and CEO of the province’s liquor regulator and retailer, NB Liquor.

The New Brunswick government allowed the sale of wine in six supermarkets in 2014 as part of a pilot program. Now 18 stores sell wine, and that number could grow.

Consumers in the province “love” being able to pick up wine in their local grocery store, Harriman told the CBC. A recent survey found 72% of New Brunswick residents support wine in supermarkets.

Harriman said NB Liquor’s board will consider adding more grocery stores at the end of the year.

As for beer, NB Liquor already has 85 privately run “agency” stores selling suds. Most are convenience stores.

“And that’s working out well, both for our customers and ourselves,” he said.

New Brunswick is the latest province to look at relaxing laws that have for decades mostly prohibited the sale of beer and wine outside of government-owned liquor stores.

A year ago Ontario gave 58 grocery stores permission to sell beer. It aims to add about another 400. Earlier this year Ontario also announced it would allow some supermarkets to sell cider and wine.

B.C. has also changed rules to allow the sale of wine on some supermarket shelves and Saskatchewan last year said it would begin to privatize many of its liquor stores. Some private liquor stores in the province are already run by supermarket chains.