TORONTO — Hundreds of Ontario’s liquor stores will reopen today following a strike that saw their doors close in early July.

About 10,000 Liquor Control Board of Ontario workers returned Monday to prepare for the opening of nearly 700 stores after they walked off the job on July 5.

In addition to reopened retail stores, the LCBO says there will also no longer be limits on online orders, but any online order may take up to three weeks for delivery.

Smaller bars and restaurants began to see dwindled alcohol supplies as the strike stretched on for two weeks.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents LCBO workers, had said the labour dispute was largely about Premier Doug Ford’s plan to allow convenience and grocery stores to sell ready-to-drink cocktails, saying expanded sales of the beverages would threaten their jobs.

The union secured pay raises, a thousand more permanent jobs for casual workers and no store closures over the course of the three-year deal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2024.

The Canadian Press