March 22, 2023
How realistic are Canada’s new alcohol guidelines, which recommend no more than two drinks a week? We partnered with the Angus Reid Group to find out what Torontonians consume, our favourite ways to imbibe, who’s going dry, and other surprising habits of a tipsy city
Illustrations by
LeeAndra Cianci
Earlier this year,
when Canada announced its new alcohol guidelines, the news went down like a flat, warm lager. Gone were the generous limits of yore—which, since 2011, suggested weekly maximums of 15 drinks for men and 10 for women. The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction spent two and a half years crafting the new guidelines, and the resulting message was a serious buzzkill: no amount of alcohol is good for you. If you must drink, keep it to two per week. Any more than that heightens the risk of cancer. At seven weekly drinks, you have to start worrying about strokes and heart disease too.
One CCSA researcher said the guidelines are about reduction, not prohibition. But detractors called them too strict and anxiety-inducing. Dan Malleck, a professor of health sciences at Brock University and one of the study’s most vocal critics, chided researchers for ignoring the pleasure, stress relief and collegiality associated with alcohol. What about the social benefits of enjoying wine over dinner with your friends? Or the good times that come with a cut-loose, boozy night on the town? Are the new no-fun guidelines totally out of sync with reality?
To find out, we teamed up with the Angus Reid Group to ask Torontonians how much they imbibe, why they do it and whether they have any plans to cut back. The results are illuminating. They reveal the city’s favourite libations (wine, beer and caesars), surefire hangover cures (water ranks high, hair of the dog surprisingly low) and go-to places to get sloshed (home, mostly). Plus, we compare the drinking habits of men vs. women, young vs. old and downtowners vs. suburbanites. If, like us, you want to know where you fall on the consumption continuum, grab a drink (cocktail, mocktail or other), get comfy and read on.
Methodology
From February 2 to 7, 2023, the Angus Reid Group conducted an online survey among a representative sample of 1,005 alcohol consumers in the GTA, ages 19+, balanced and weighted on age and gender. All respondents were members of the online Angus Reid Forum. For comparison purposes only, a sample of this size would yield a margin of error of +/-3.1 percentage pointsat a 95% confidence level.
How many times a week we drink
Daily drinkers are more likely to be men
8%
of us drink daily
The most popular drinking days
75% of us like to get tipsy on Saturdays
12%
of us dip into a bottle every day
4% of us have a drink to help deal with Mondays
60%
of men enjoy drinking alone vs.
51%
of women
31%
of those aged 19–34 worry about missing out on social experiences if they don’t drink
number of drinks we consume in a week
Torontonians put back an average of five drinks a week
25%
of those aged 19–34 stick to one drink a week vs.
17%
of those 55 and older
21% of men consume 10+ drinks each week vs. 8% of women
24% of women have only one drink each week vs. 18% of men
Torontonians spend an average of $28 a week on booze
The Geographical Divide
No matter which area code we call home, GTAers all have roughly the same drinking habits and preferences—with a few notable exceptions
where we like to drink
79% of us enjoy drinking in the comfort of home
1. At home
2. At a friend or family member’s home
3. At a restaurant
4. At a party
5. At a bar
6. At a club
7. In the park
5% of us like to sneak a drink in the park
How comfortable we are with work-related boozing
28%
of us are okay with drinking while we’re at work itself
What’s our poison?
MEN
1st choice: BEER
2nd choice: WINE
3rd choice: LIQUOR
WOMEN
1st choice: WINE
2nd choice: A TIE BETWEEN COCKTAILS, LIQUOR AND BEER
3rd choice: SPARKLING WINE
Young drinkers are far more likely to say yes to cider and sparkling wine
57% of young drinkers will order a cocktail vs. only 16% of older drinkers
27% of drinkers under 35 like getting smashed on coolers vs. just 9% of those 55 and older
our go-to cocktails, from most-enjoyed to most-meh
57% of those aged 19–34 love margaritas
22% of men say they don’t drink cocktails
The older you are, the less likely you are to reach for a cocktail with the exception of a good caesar
My cringiest drunk memory is...
“I got black-out drunk in a bar and then didn’t get to meet Michael Cera.”
“I drank so much that I threw up in the bathroom sink of a friend’s house and clogged the drain.”
“I got arrested in college for public urination. They called my parents.”
“I called my old girlfriend. She was already married.”
“I stole a large piece of forestry equipment and then clear-cut a bunch of trees in the dark.”
“I got kicked out of an Irish bar for head-butting a giant novelty pitcher into the lap of the person sitting across from me because the band was playing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ ”
“I broke my toe and then lost my car in a parking lot.”
“I drank warm vodka on an empty stomach, then fell asleep in a 24-hour classroom on campus. My friends and I went to get food around 6 a.m. I went home and barfed chicken nuggets in the shower.”
Wealthy men are the biggest spenders. Those who earn more than $100,000 a year are more likely to drop $100 a week on alcohol.
Buzz City
Where can a person get a drink around here? As it turns out, temptation is everywhere. The city has thousands upon thousands of bars, restaurants, breweries, wineries and distilleries licensed to sell booze. Here’s just how many, by neighbourhood and type
21% of us completed the dry January challenge in 2023
61%
of those ages 19-34 find it easier to meet people when drinking vs.
25%
of those 55 and older
How we feel about the amount we drink
People UNDER 55 are more likely to want to go dry
our tried-and-true hangover remedies
One-quarter of drinkers claim they’ve never been hungover
PEOPLE ALSO SWORE BY: pickle juice, chocolate milk, tomato juice, Gatorade, sex, weed, hot showers and Wim Hof breathing exercises
21%
of those aged 19–34 tend to smoke more cigarettes when drinking socially
My best drunk memory is...
“When the Blue Jays won the World series in 1992. It was the same day I turned 30”
“I met my current partner at a bar. I was completely wasted and gave her a card that said she was beautiful. We’ve been together for five years.”
“Lots of beer and some skinny dipping at Sauble Beach.”
“Stealing a Christmas tree.”
“I met the love of my life in a bar. We got plastered and woke up together. We enjoy each other’s company just as much sober.”
“Being on the sound stage at Lollapalooza ’92.”
“I drank whiskey slushies at my 60th birthday party with 100 friends and family members. Then I tried to communicate my home address to the taxi driver. Fun times.”
Why we grab a drink (or two)
53%
of us drink to relax or unwind
71% drink casually with friends and family
51% drink for fun
33% drink only on special occasions, like weddings and birthday parties
26% drink to be more sociable
14% drink when we’re stressed out
7% drink twhen we’re sad or depressed
4% drink because of peer pressure
Younger adults are more likely to rely on booze in social settings
92%
of us have heard about the new guidelines
24%
of us plan to consume less alcohol because of them
Spirited Away
Our top five zero-ABV bottles right now
By Kate Dingwall
Pseudo suds
Bellwoods now makes a non-alcoholic version of Jelly King, their classic dry-hopped sour with a cult following. It’s just as juicy, tart and tangy as the original, but more enticing if, say, you have an early morning spin class or a business lunch lined up the next day. Other lo-fi cold ones from the brewery: an alcohol-free IPA and a sparkling water that mimics the flavour of a mojito. $4.42 for one 473-mL can. BellwoodsBrewery.com
On-the-wagon wine
Ontario-based Proxies creates non-alcoholic wines meant to be sipped and savoured like the real stuff. The makers are always tinkering with seasonal ingredients, but one of their mainstays—and our current favourite—is Red Ember. It’s a deep, moody red made with Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, blackberry vinegar, a hibiscus tea blend, pomegranate juice, sea salt and red wine concentrate. Break out the good stemware for this one. $180 for six 750-mL bottles. DrinkProxies.com
Hoppy water
This isn’t merely a jazzed-up seltzer: it’s Cascade, a sparkling hop water from Guelph’s Wellington Brewery. It gets its name from the addition of Cascade hops (found in many West Coast IPAs brewed in the past decade), and its citrusy grapefruit notes make it taste like an extremely crushable adult beverage. $12.40 for six 355-mL cans. WellingtonBrewery.ca
Souped up bubbles
Not drinking often means cracking a super-sugary Coke at a cocktail bar. Toronto-born, women-founded Barbet elevates sipping on non-buzzy bubbles into a more grown-up experience, with disco-hued (but all-natural) drinks in flavours like grapefruit-ginger-juniper and blood orange–calamansi-jalapeno. Each makes for a low-effort mix if you do drink or a complex and celebratory sip if you don’t. $36 for a dozen 355-mL cans. DrinkBarbet.com
An alcohol-free aperitivo
Free Spirits’ iteration of an Italian aperitivo can help make a spirit-free sbagliato or a no-booze negroni. The bittersweet and vibrant red Campari-ish concoction is surprisingly complex, with rich notes of rhubarb and orange peel. Sip it in a spritz, make it the base of a mocktail or drink it on the rocks with a twist. $45 for a 750-mL bottle. HoltRenfrew.com
A lot of us are trying to get sober(ish)
43% of us set a specific limit when we drink
Who’s tried non-alcoholic drinks
The older you are, the less likely you are to have tried non-alcoholic substitutes
the booze-free beverages we’re drinking
Weed-infused drinks are more popular with the younger crowd—only 5% of seniors have tried them
51%
of those aged 19-34 have tried mocktails vs.
21%
of those 55 and older
18% of us think that drinking is less cool than it used to be
This story appears in the April 2023 issue of Toronto Life magazine. To subscribe for just $39.99 a year, click here. To purchase single issues, click here