N.L. is putting decade's worth of revenue on the books now, from a pending tobacco lawsuit
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Hamilton Spectator
12 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Bonnie Crombie admits Ontario Liberals made mistakes in losing campaign, says she'll ‘address our weaknesses'
As an Ontario Liberal leadership review vote looms later this summer , Bonnie Crombie is going on the offensive. The Liberal leader has released a four-minute video aimed at party members, acknowledging the shortcomings of her Feb. 27 provincial election campaign and promising changes going forward. Crombie, who has spent the past few months travelling Ontario to huddle with Liberals, said party stalwarts have been candid with her about what is needed to topple Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives. 'I've heard some common themes, constructive criticisms and some suggestions,' she says, staring into the camera. 'We could have opened candidate nominations earlier to allow more time for local fundraising and door-knocking,' adds Crombie, who herself was not nominated in Mississauga East-Cooksville until shortly before the election and then lost to Tory Silvia Gualtieri . 'And in response to that, I'll say that right now, we intend to open nominations in many ridings as of January 2026 to ensure that we have a head start recruiting candidates,' intones the leader. 'We could have done more to lift up and engage the rural and northern parts of Ontario, too,' she says, referring to the fact the Liberals' support is concentrated in and around Toronto and Ottawa. Crombie says she plans 'to address this issue head-on' to 'ensure that there are dedicated resources, such as staff, in place to support rural and northern ridings long before the next writ is dropped. 'We will use the learnings from this campaign to make sure the next campaign is run differently. We must evaluate and build on our strengths and identify and address our weaknesses. We'll also be having hard internal conversations about the choices made and speaking with our campaign leadership team to identify the successes and the failures.' With a mandatory leadership review vote at the Liberals' Sept. 12-14 annual general meeting at the Sheraton Centre in Toronto, Crombie is moving to shore up support. To that end, her video touted the fact the Grits won 30 per cent of the popular vote — behind the Tories' 43 per cent, but ahead of the 18.5 per cent of Marit Stiles's New Democrats — and returned the party to official status in the legislature for the first time since 2018. That latter achievement is 'unlocking millions in resources to support our team with policy, research and communications efforts,' she says. 'All of our caucus members were re-elected. We picked up five new seats. We improved our vote share in 102 of the 124 ridings. We came in second in 77 ridings.' However, the Liberals' inefficient vote, a perennial challenge for the centrist party, meant they only won 14 seats in the 124-member legislature to 80 for the PCs and 27 for the NDP. Mike Schreiner's Greens won two ridings and Independent Bobbi Ann Brady was re-elected. Despite a unanimous post-election endorsement from the Liberal caucus and party executive, there are rumblings of discontent. A small group called New Leaf Liberals — co-founded by a backer of MP Nate Erskine-Smith (Beaches-East York), runner-up to Crombie in the party's 2023 leadership contest — says she should resign if she fails to win 66 per cent support in the review. As of Wednesday afternoon, only 242 people had signed the insurgents' online petition , many with just their first names. In an interview with the Star earlier this summer, Crombie insisted she was 'confident' she would secure the leadership review threshold of more than 50 per cent as required by the Liberal constitution.
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Miami Herald
Iconic beer brand closes 10 more locations, nearly 60 closed in 2025
While the so-called "Beerpocalypse" can be blamed mote on Covid than overall interest in beer, sales have fallen. Americans are drinking slightly less beer and craft brewery sales have fallen as well. "Overall U.S. beer production and imports were down 1% in 2024, while craft brewer volume sales declined by 4%, slightly reducing small and independent brewers' share of the U.S. beer market by volume to 13.3%," according to data from the National Brewer's Association. Related: Bankrupt giant retail chain closes its remaining locations Dropping beer sales are not just an American thing. Canada, which has a strong reputation as being a beer-drinking nation, has seen a drop in liquor consumption overall. "Liquor authorities and other retail outlets sold $26.2 billion worth of alcoholic beverages in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, down 0.1% from fiscal year 2022/2023. The decrease in alcohol sales occurred despite a 2.5% increase in the price of alcoholic beverages in stores from March 2023 to March 2024," according to the Canadian government. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter The drop in sales, however, is alarming for those in the industry. "On a volume basis, sales of alcohol declined by 3.8% to 2,988 million litres in 2023/2024. This was the largest volume decline ever recorded since Statistics Canada began tracking alcohol sales in 1949. On average, Canadians of legal drinking age purchased the equivalent of 8.7 standard alcoholic beverages per week in 2023/2024, down from 9.2 the previous fiscal year," it added. In the United States, the drop in beer sales, along with high debt levels due to the Covid-era shutdowns have forced dozens of local and regional breweries to close. Many of these companies were only marginally good businesses before the pandemic, making even a small drop in business along with increased expenses impossible to survive. Beer sales have dropped in Canada as well. "By volume, beer sales declined 4.5% to 1,950 million litres in 2023/2024, a record decrease since Statistics Canada began tracking alcohol sales in 1949. The 2023/2024 fiscal year marks the eighth consecutive annual decline in beer sales by volume. Beer sales were equivalent to 3.4 standard bottles of beer per week, per person of legal drinking age," according to the Canadian government. That drop, along with a government decision expanding alcohol sales to more stores in Ontario has caused Canada's own version of the Beerpocalypse. More Retail News: Starbucks executives to get huge bonus as baristas demand better payWalmart, Sam's Club makes major donation for Texas flood reliefHome Depot spends billions on major acquisition "Restaurants Canada, which provides advocacy and resources for a variety of food service providers, including bars and restaurants, told CBC the industry saw a 55% increase in insolvencies in the first half of 2023 versus 2022," the CBC reported. The slowdown in sales has also damaged another Canadian institution, The Beer Store. While Americans may not know "The Beer Store," chain, which is nearly 100 years old, is a Canadian institution. "Becoming experts on beer doesn't happen overnight - we've been in business since 1927. There's no other team of beer experts who live and love all things beer as much as we do. We love beer as much as you - so you know we'll always be dedicated to bringing you your favourite brands from brewers around the world and offer tips on how to enjoy them responsibly. As a customer, you can choose from a multitude of beer brands from brewers around the world," the chain shared on its website. The changing economics of the industry and the increased competition from new stores selling alcohol has forced the chain to get steadily smaller. It has already closed around 50 stores this year and has just shared plans to close another 10 locations. "Closing a retail store is never an easy decision - our stores and employees contribute to communities in many ways and provide easy access to empty returns throughout Ontario," said The Beer Store Retail Vice President Ozzie Ahmed. "We are modernizing operations and focusing on what we do best, selling ice cold beer, great customer service and a world leading recycling system that gets customers their deposit money back." Related: Kroger adds new Coca-Cola flavor Target, Walmart can't carry The 10 impacted locations will close on August 24. The Beer Store has been a major player in the recycling of beer cans and bottles. The chain encourages customers to keep bringing empties back to the chain's remaining locations. It also shared a reminder with all Canadians. "All grocery stores that sell alcohol will be required to return empties starting January 1, 2026," it posted. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Obama to Democrats: ‘Just toughen up'
Former President Obama's message to Democrats is to 'just toughen up' amid frustration with the political landscape under President Trump. 'I think it's going to require a little bit less navel-gazing and a little less whining and being in fetal positions. And it's going to require Democrats to just toughen up,' Obama said in remarks at a private fundraiser Friday in New Jersey, according to excerpts obtained by The Hill. 'Don't tell me you're a Democrat, but you're kind of disappointed right now, so you're not doing anything. No, now is exactly the time that you get in there and do something,' he said. Obama's comments, which were first reported by CNN, marked his first fundraising appearance since Democrats' 2024 losses, as the party searches for a new way forward as it grapples with a GOP-controlled Washington in Trump's second term. He called out 'progressives, liberals … who seem like they're kind of cowed and intimidated and shrinking away from just asserting what they believe,' and said he's 'not impressed' by law firms that set aside the law, or universities that compromise 'academic independence' for the sake of saving money or comfort. 'What's being asked of us is make some effort to stand up for the things that you think are right. And be willing to be a little bit uncomfortable in defense of your values, and in defense of the country, and in defense of the world that you want to leave to your children and your grandchildren,' the former president said. 'And if we all do that — if we do our jobs over the next year and a half — then I think we will rebuild momentum, and we will position ourselves to get this country moving in the direction it should.' The appearance in New Jersey, alongside Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin and gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), comes ahead of New Jersey's gubernatorial and state legislative races this year. 'Stop looking for the quick fix. Stop looking for the messiah. You have great candidates running races right now. Support those candidates,' Obama said, saying the off-year elections in New Jersey and Virginia could be 'a big jump start for where we need to go.' Sherrill, who represents New Jersey's 11th Congressional District, won the Democratic nomination for governor of the Garden State in early June. She is aiming to succeed Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who is term-limited, by beating Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli in the fall. Updated at 11:50 a.m. EDT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
