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The Liquor Control Board of Ontario is a non-share capital provincial Crown corporation in Ontario, Canada. It is accountable to the Ministry of Finance. It was established in 1927 by Lieutenant Governor William Donald Ross, on the advice of his Premier, Howard Ferguson, to sell liquor, wine, and beer through a chain of retail stores. Such sales had been banned outright in 1916; thus, the creation of the LCBO marked an easing of the province's temperance regime.
Under a franchise-like agreement with existing retailers, typically in smaller communities, there are 219 Agency stores. They could be considered a contradiction to the LCBO's social responsibility stand, as they demonstrate how alcohol can successfully be sold in smaller stores which are not operated by the LCBO itself.
The LCBO is one of the world's largest single purchasers of alcoholic beverage products. Beer is also sold by the Brewers Retail Inc., which operates using the name The Beer Store, and is owned by Molson Coors, Anheuser–Busch InBev and Sapporo Brewery. Wine, beer and liquor can also be found in a number of stores operated by producers, which are licensed to sell their own brands.
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