TORONTO – Prime Minister Mark Carney has asked the premiers to put U.S. alcohol back on the liquor store shelves to help resolve a major sticking point in trade talks with the United States.
While the provinces appear willing to lift the booze ban, not all Canadians plan to change their shopping habits.
“I’m Canadian and I buy Canadian,” said Toronto resident Aubrey Fernandez. “I don’t buy American.”
“I won’t be buying American booze at all,” said Clint Smith. “We as consumers are more educated now about the issues. And I think that, even if they put it back on the shelves, it’s going to be sitting there.”
Last year, every Canadian province pulled American liquor from store shelves in response to tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Those bans remain in place everywhere except Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Today, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham said Carney made the request during a call Wednesday night, and that the group of premiers agreed.
“The prime minister gave us an update on his talk with President Trump,” Wakeham said. “He’s confident they will reach an agreement, and as part of this agreement, he asked all of the provinces, as a sign of good faith, (to put) U.S. liquor back on our shelves and we all agreed.”
But Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says his province has no immediate plans to get U.S. liquor back on its shelves.
“Hypothetically, let’s say there was a deal that the prime minister really recommended, and we decided to put the liquor back on the shelves. What I would say to Canadians is: leave it there,” the premier told reporters Thursday afternoon. “If we put the booze back on the shelves, don’t buy it. Let it sit on the shelf … and buy the Canadian stuff instead.”
More than $1 trillion worth of trade is typically done between the U.S. and Canada every year, and while liquor makes up a fraction of that, experts say the ban has been a popular and effective response.
“In the total terms of the trade deal, this is small beer,” said Drew Fagan, a professor at the Munk School of Public Policy at the University of Toronto. “But it’s symbolically significant because it’s so public. This has more leverage than it deserves to have, and so there’s no question that for a deal to be done, this has to be given up.”
According to a recent poll done by Pollara, the alcohol ban is supported by about 80 per cent of Canadians in the provinces where it’s currently in place. Still, roughly half say they would also support lifting the ban as part of a trade deal.
Fagan says even if the bans are lifted, Canadians will be the ones to decide where they spend their money.
“In the end, it’s up to Canadian consumers,” he said. “And if Canadian consumers continue not to buy (U.S. liquor), the LCBO will stock less of it in Ontario and the equivalent organizations and agencies across the country.”
While the return of products like Kentucky bourbon and California wine will be welcomed by many, expert sommelier Alexander Powell predicts it will take years for sales of U.S. wine to return to where they once were.
“Some people are going to hold a grudge for an indefinite period of time, and then some people will just let that go. It’s going to be a mixed bag,” Powell said.
“But will it ever return to what it was, completely dominating the wine scene here? Not quite, I don’t think.”
