How are Canadians feeling about buying American these days? Well, when it comes to U.S. alcohol, many are again raising a glass. But that doesn’t mean their elbows are down.
Back in February, provinces pulled millions of dollars’ worth of U.S. wine and spirits from store shelves in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods.
Saskatchewan and Alberta, which both have privatized alcohol retail sales systems, initially pulled their U.S. product at the same time as the other provinces did, but both resumed selling them in June.
For all other Canadians, Kentucky bourbon and California wines were no longer a retail option. And while there are many other options for wine lovers, bourbon is an American product, made only in the U.S.
If bourbon is your pleasure, either neat or mixed in a cocktail, you’ve likely been out of luck since March.
But since the end of October, many provinces have made some of their U.S. inventory available again, especially that which would be expiring soon. And in some cases, the net proceeds are going to local charities.
Here’s a roundup of where U.S. alcohol sales stand across the country.
British Columbia
B.C. pulled all of its U.S. alcohol imports off store shelves in March. It allowed wholesalers to continue to resell inventory already in the province to restaurants and bars until it ran out, but no further American products have been ordered since.
Manitoba
Some Manitobans braved the cold this week to line up to buy warehoused American liquor that was also pulled from shelves in March.
Restaurants, bars and other private retailers got to start buying on Monday while product was made available to the general public beginning Wednesday.
And Day 1 sales were strong, according to a spokesperson from Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, with top sellers being bourbons, California wines and some flavoured vodkas and liqueurs.
Premier Wab Kinew initially thought the government would sell about $1 million worth of U.S. product, but he said nearly $2 million was bought up on Monday alone. Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries said in November that the stockpiled U.S. alcohol amounts to $3.4 million.
Sales will continue until Christmas Eve, with the net proceeds going to charity.
Manitobans lined up at some Liquor Marts Wednesday morning for their chance to snag American alcohol. It’s been off store shelves for months amid the ongoing trade war with the U.S., but is back in limited quantities for a short time at select stores, with some of the proceeds going to local charities.
Ontario
Canada’s largest province has about $80 million worth of U.S. products in storage, with some of that — about $2 million worth — set to expire in the next six months.
The opposition Liberals raised the idea of selling off the stock and donating the proceeds to charity Wednesday, and while the government said it’s not ruling out the idea, it also isn’t ready to do it yet.
“We are currently exploring options for the products,” Emily Hogeveen, spokesperson for Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, told the Canadian Press.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he will keep U.S. booze off the shelves in the LCBO until tariffs are removed or a new trade deal is reached. Some provinces recently resumed selling American alcohol after initially banning it at the start of the trade war.
Quebec
Quebec, which also pulled its U.S. stock from shelves earlier this year, began offering products that were going to be coming up on expiration dates to various organizations that qualified under its donations and sponsorship guidelines.
Those included mainly rosés, sakes, white and red wines, ready-to-drink beverages, certain beers and liqueurs not designed for extended storage, according to SAQ spokesperson Linda Bouchard.
That operation is still ongoing, with no further plans for the stock at this time, Bouchard confirmed by email to CBC News.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia was the province that seemed to spark the sale-for-charity movement. It announced the idea late last month, with sales beginning Dec. 1, and profits going to Feed Nova Scotia and other community food groups.
Nova Scotia Liquor Commission senior communications adviser Terah McKinnon said sales were strong right out of the gate, with about $3 million in U.S. product sales last week — more than 30 per cent of that sold on Monday alone.
And what were the top sellers? Spirits — and, as in Manitoba, specifically that Kentucky bourbon.
Grocery costs have been soaring and some food banks say the need is pushing them past their limits. The CBC’s Celina Aalders has the story.
Prince Edward Island
People on P.E.I. will be able to start buying their province’s backstock of U.S. products starting Thursday, also with net profits going to food banks across the island.
The government anticipates that will translate to about $600,000.
New Brunswick
New Brunswick Liquor had made its stock of U.S. products available to licensed establishments ever since it was pulled from retail shelves in March. But it added sales to the public in October through its warehouse outlet.
NB Liquor said in an email to CBC News that while it supports Feed NB as well as other food banks and organizations through other fundraising, the money from the sales of the U.S. alcohol products will go into provincial coffers.
Chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton speaks with Andy England, CEO of Phillips Distilling Company, about his company’s decision to move production of Sour Puss liqueur to Montreal after being taken off the shelf over the trade war.
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador announced Tuesday that it would sell off its inventory of American alcohol and donate the net profit to the Community Food Sharing Association, a charity that warehouses food in St. John’s and distributes it to about 60 food banks across the province.
It expects the donation will be about $1 million.
The U.S. wine and spirits were back on Liquor Store shelves beginning Wednesday.
Territories
All three territories stopped purchasing alcoholic products from the U.S. in March. Some of the already purchased stock was sold off, but no new U.S. product has been purchased or sold since.
