Doug Ford will allow bars to serve alcohol at 6…
One Canadian province will be utilizing the “it’s 5 o’clock somewhere” mentality for Sunday’s males’s hockey gold medal recreation against Team USA.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Friday that bars and eating places across the province will be allowed to serve alcohol as early as 6 a.m. ET, forward of the gold-medal match, which has an anticipated start time of 8:10 a.m. ET.
“The entire country will be watching on Sunday morning as our men’s hockey team plays for Olympic gold,” Ford posted to X Friday. “To help us all have fun Team Canada, the province will be permitting bars and eating places across the province to promote alcohol beginning at 6:00 a.m. ET.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford arrives at a portrait unveiling ceremony for former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, February 3, 2026. REUTERS
“Let’s all come together, support local businesses and cheer on Team Canada!”
Ford’s determination comes after some municipalities in the province, along with Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, introduced about a movement to allow local cafes and eating places to serve alcohol starting at 6:00 a.m. ET during the 2026 Winter Olympics.
This is just not the first time Ontario has bent the alcohol service guidelines by allowing gross sales across the province as early as 7 a.m. during the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.
Ford permitting the sale for Sunday comes shortly after Team Canada secured its spot in the championship with a thrilling 3-2 comeback win over Finland on Friday.
Connor McDavid of Team Canada acknowledges the followers after the crew’s 3-2 victory on February 20, 2026 in Milan, Italy. Getty Images
With just 35 seconds left in regulation, Nathan MacKinnon scored the game-winning aim during a Canada energy play, one thing that teammate Connor McDavid said was a 12 months in the making.
“It was built through a lot, a lot of conversations over the course of a year, starting back at 4 Nations,” McDavid said of developing the facility play, per The Athletic. “We’ve labored on this energy play a lot, it’s one thing we’ve talked about a lot, and we do it for these big moments.
“We found a way to score a big one in a big moment.”
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