My first negative thing to say about Ontario

Sweet Martha, alcohol is expensive here!

True story: my second day here, my British roommate and I tried to go buy some beer at the grocery store across the street. Turns out they don’t sell any alcohol. We thought that was a bit strange so we tried the nearby convenience store. No dice. Apparently the Province of Ontario has a monopoly on package alcohol sales here, so one can only buy any alcoholic beverage from The Beer Store or LCBO, both are government operated.

And let me tell you, they charge monopoly prices for alcohol. Want a six pack of Milwaukee’s Best? Keep in mind that the beast is a terrible, cheap swill which will set a fellow back just over 50 cents a can in the U.S. Well here, it’s $10 for a 6 pack!! Lawdy.

And a reasonable price for a pint in a bar?
At least around Waterloo, around $5 for a mass produced domestic seems to be the going rate.
(yes, they sell pints of beer here even though Canada officially uses ISO measurements, meaning they should sell 500ml glasses of beer — but this is a topic for another day)

All I can say is that I’m glad I didn’t do my undergrad here!