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EDMONTON — Alberta is lowering the minimum price for booze following a weekend tit-for-tat social media sniping exchange between Premier Danielle Smith and Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas.
Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally said Monday he has directed the provincial liquor regulator to reverse course on recent hikes to the minimum price of alcohol sold in bars and restaurants.
The increase, which had taken effect earlier this month, mandated higher minimum prices on everything from spirits and liquors to wine, beer and cider.
The minimum cost for cans and bottles of beer, and 28.5-millilitre shots of spirits, went up to $4 from $2.75.
The cheapest price that a pint of beer could be sold for was hiked to $5 from $3.20.
Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally said the change is immediate and necessary “to provide businesses and Albertans with greater certainty and consistency.”
He announced the reversal after the price hike was mentioned in a social media feud over the weekend between Smith and Farkas concerning the upcoming Calgary Stampede festival.
Smith and high-level staffers had accused Calgary city council of being the “fun police” for implementing new rules around noise and earlier closing times for Stampede festival concerts on weeknights.
Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also took Smith’s side, saying “gatekeepers” at city hall were “smothering country music culture.”
Farkas fired back, saying it was Smith’s government that didn’t support good times — or businesses and workers — by hiking minimum booze prices.
The mayor also defended the new noise and curfew rules, which had been shared with festival venues back in February. Farkas shared a memo to council explaining that the changes are intended to reduce the festival’s impact on downtown residents after 225 late-night noise complaints and numerous calls about public intoxication were received last year.
Nally didn’t address Farkas directly in his statement Monday, but he did encourage Calgary’s leadership to follow the province’s lead by reversing course on its own policy.
“Alberta’s government is proud to support our hospitality and liquor industry as they create jobs, attract visitors and deliver memorable experiences for Albertans and tourists alike,” Nally said.
“I would encourage the City of Calgary to take the same approach by working with industry and local businesses to find solutions that support jobs, tourism and the Stampede music scene, including repealing its misguided noise bylaw.”
