Liquor merchants decry what they call unprecedented AGLC wine price hike​on March 6, 2025 at 12:13 am

A move to slap a 15 per cent tax on premium wines is unprecedented by Alberta’s liquor distributor and punishes consumers, say retailers.

Though the increases that impact wines in all price ranges weren’t specifically mentioned in Alberta’s 2025 budget released Feb. 27, it was announced the same day and blindsided those in the liquor sector, say merchants.

“It came without consultation with retailers, none of us saw this coming,” said Andrew Ferguson, owner of Kensington Wine Market.

“Effectively, it’s a sales tax on premium wines . . . I’m not in favour of it because it penalizes people for drinking better wine.”

That markup, which takes effect April 1, will add five per cent to wine priced between $15 and $20 per litre, 10 per cent for product costing from $20 to $25 a litre and 15 per cent for wine priced above that.

“AGLC adds markup to the liquor it sells to liquor licensees, collecting it on behalf of the government for programs and initiatives that benefit all Albertans,” states the Feb. 27 letter.

“Wholesale prices of most liquor products, including typical beers and spirits, will be unaffected by these changes, and most wines will only bear a small increase in markup.”

Those changes will drive the price of a $40 bottle of wine to $44 and a $100 purchase to $115, said Balpreet Tatla, owner of BSW Liquor.

Otherwise, other price ranges will be impacted much less, with increases of 40 cents to $1 per bottle being typical, said Tatla. That comes on top of a flat tax of $3 per 750 ml bottle that increases regularly.

“It’s going to hit the bulk of the wine we sell but especially the more expensive wine,” he said, adding it’ll end a long-enjoyed Alberta price advantage.

“Alberta’s had the least expensive prices but after this price hike takes effect, we’ll have one of the highest.”

In the three decades his family has been involved in the industry, it’s the first time they’ve seen such a markup, said Tatla, who operates seven Calgary stores.

“There hasn’t been any changes to the flat tax structure in 32 years,” he said, noting liquor sales in Alberta were privatized in 1993.

“None of us were consulted.”

The change will likely lead consumers to purchase cheaper wine and could negatively impact his sales, said Tatla.

It comes at a delicate time when wine sales have been trending down in recent years and with the impact of the tariff war with the U.S. looming.