If you’re hoping to wet your whistle on some California wine or Kentucky bourbon now that Prime Minister Mark Carney has dropped counter tariffs on American goods — well, the B.C. government has some bad news for you.
The province’s retaliatory measures against the United States aren’t coming down, even as the prime minister lowered the temperature federally last week in a bid to get a negotiated trade deal with President Donald Trump.
“Our measures will stay in place, including pulling U.S. alcohol from government liquor store shelves and prioritizing Canadian goods where it makes sense,” Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon said in a statement to Northern Beat this week.
“Our measures will stay in place.”
Ravi Kahlon
“Prime Minister Carney’s decision to lift counter-tariffs may be a signal of good faith, but we’ve yet to see the same from the White House.”
B.C. pulled American liquor from store shelves in March, as part of measures that also included directives to public agencies to avoid U.S. supply purchases where possible. Several other provinces made similar moves, though Alberta and Saskatchewan have since rescinded their bans.
Sales of American spirits in Canada dropped more than 66 per cent earlier this year, compared to 2024, according to the Distilled Spirits Council and Spirits Canada. Exports of U.S. liquor fell 62 per cent over the first six months of the year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
BC NDP ban on US alcohol ‘performative,’ says critc
The Opposition BC Conservatives have said the B.C. government’s focus on American alcohol remains just an attempt at “using the president of the United States as a straw man” to score political points in a trade war that is actually being handled by Ottawa.
“It’s performative,” said finance critic Peter Milobar. “How many times do they want to go to the well about this as their sole action? The fact that’s their one tangible thing they’ve been able to do since January speaks volumes.”
“The fact [the alcohol ban] is their one tangible thing [the BC government has] been able to do since January speaks volumes.”
Peter Milobar
Instead of empty theatrical moves, the province could be implementing its own targeted support to small businesses being hammered by the global economic uncertainty caused by the U.S. disruption of supply chains.
“Perhaps the premier and his economic minister could actually start talking to the B.C. business community about what they’re going to do to help and support that B.C. community that is feeling less and less competitive, and every day, is looking at massive shutdowns and layoffs across the board,” Milobar said.
Ottawa had also slapped a 25 per cent tariff on American spirits in March as part of a suite of counter measures that targeted things like oranges, peanut butter and motorcycles, as a response to Trump’s 35 per cent tariff threat. In the interests of advancing trade negotiations, Carney announced last week he was dropping those retaliatory measures on goods from the U.S. covered by the Canada-U.S. Mexico Agreement. However, Canadian counter-tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles will remain.
Mixed reviews from premiers
Some provinces have expressed confusion and concern at Ottawa’s actions, while others, such as Saskatchewan and Alberta were calling for the move.
“I’m not a fan of this move. Is this ‘elbows down?’” Manitoba’s Wab Kinew said last week. “I think Canadians want us to fight for this country that we love so much. This doesn’t seem to match the moment.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would keep American alcohol off stores shelves until there’s a deal.
“They get rid of their tariffs and then we’ll bring the booze back into the LCBO, and if they don’t, then they aren’t getting any booze on our shelves,” Ford told reporters Wednesday.
British Columbia, which had at first praised Carney’s “Team Canada” approach to involving provinces in his American strategy, also expressed concern.
“It was a bit of a surprise to us,” Kahlon told the CBC last week. “It’s a little too soon to tell — to use an ice hockey analogy — whether this is about regrouping at our own end with the puck, or pulling the goalie.”
Hockey analogies galore
Carney had his own hockey analogy to explain his move.
“There is a time in a game, in a big game — and this is a big game — when you go hard in the corners, the elbows up,” he told reporters.
“There’s a time in the game where you drop the gloves in the first period to send a message. We’ve done it, pretty uniquely in the world. We happen to have the best deal with the Americans right now.
“There’s also a time in the game where you want the puck. You want to stick handle. You want to pass. And we’re moving later in the game.”
Private stores will sell remaining US liquor
The B.C. government has not reported any financial impact on American firms as part of its directive to public agencies to cancel U.S. contracts and subscriptions, and buy Canadian products instead.
Kahlon said Trump’s tariffs on softwood lumber — which were recently increased to 35 per cent duties — remain in place and are hurting B.C. businesses in particular. The government has called for a fair share of Ottawa’s aid package for the softwood lumber sector, though no particulars have been revealed on the financial allocation yet.
British Columbia continues to sell its remaining stock of American liquor through private liquor stores, but has said it will not order any more to replenish supplies. The move avoids the situation in Quebec, where that province stored American alcohol in a warehouse and may now have to destroy up to $300,000 worth of product set to expire.