Canadians Snap Up Boycotted U.S. Liquor as Provinces Clear Stockpiles Amid Tariff Dispute

Four Canadian provinces are selling off the American liquor they pulled from shelves in protest over President Trump’s tariffs. Some bourbon drinkers are thrilled.

· Four Canadian provinces — Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador — have begun selling off American liquor stockpiled earlier this year, triggering brisk sales and long lines at government-run stores.

· The alcohol had been removed from shelves in February as a protest against tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, along with his rhetoric toward Canada. Once current inventories are sold, no new U.S. liquor orders are planned.

· Popular U.S. brands such as Jack Daniel’s, Maker’s Mark, Buffalo Trace, Bacardi and Barefoot wine are among the top sellers, as consumers rush to stock up before supplies run out.

· Manitoba plans to halt sales by Dec. 24, while Nova Scotia began its clearance on Dec. 1, selling roughly C$3 million worth of American spirits in a single week. Some provinces are donating proceeds to charity, including food banks.

· Other provinces are taking different approaches: Ontario is reviewing options for its large stockpile, while Quebec has limited access to permitted organizations.

· The boycott has hit U.S. exporters hard. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, American spirits exports to Canada fell 85% in Q2 2025 year-on-year.

· Provincial leaders say the sell-offs do not signal a policy reversal, stressing continued support for domestic producers while awaiting a broader U.S.–Canada trade resolution.

[ABS News Service/13.12.2025]

For many Canadians yearning to raise a glass of Tennessee whiskey or Kentucky bourbon, the wait is finally over.

At least four Canadian provinces — Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador — have decided to sell the stockpiles of American liquor that they pulled from shelves months ago in protest over President Trump’s tariffs. But once those bottles are gone, officials said they have no plans to buy more.

The unusual sale has led to something of a shopping frenzy, as many Canadians have rushed to buy their favorite brands of American liquor.

“There have been lines every day,” Wab Kinew, the premier of Manitoba, said in an interview on Friday. The province started selling American spirits at its government-run liquor stores on Wednesday. “It passes the eyeball test of there being a real phenomenon.”

Anecdotal evidence suggests that Jack Daniels, Bacardi and Barefoot wine are among the top sellers, he said. “Our joke was that the only thing more popular than taking U.S. booze off the shelves was putting U.S. booze back on the shelves,” Mr. Kinew said. “People are stocking up.”

Manitoba plans to stop selling American liquor on Dec. 24, and will not buy more as it as it continues to protest U.S. tariffs, Mr. Kinew said. “Everybody recognizes the Trump administration’s actions to threaten our economy are something we have to have solidarity around,” he said.

Miles Gould, the owner of the Grove Pub and Restaurant in Winnipeg, said he expected that some of his customers would “stick to their guns” and continue to order Canadian whiskey, even after the Kentucky bourbon and Tennessee whiskey he ordered arrives next week. But he said he was excited to have those American spirits back at the bar, at least for a while.

“I’m anxiously looking forward to being able to serve a proper Old Fashioned,” Mr. Gould said. While there has been “a lot of patriotism” around the decision to snub American liquor, he said, “there is no replacement for a proper Kentucky bourbon or a Jack Daniels, either as a drink on its own, or in a cocktail.”

Canadian provinces started removing American spirits from stores in February after Mr. Trump announced tariffs on the country and repeatedly talked about making Canada the 51st state. Since then, Saskatchewan and Alberta, which have privatized liquor retail systems, have resumed buying American alcohol.

In recent weeks, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador have chosen to sell their remaining reserves and donate some of the proceeds to charity while continuing their boycott.

Nova Scotia, which pulled American alcohol from stores on March 4, said it had 14 million Canadian dollars, or nearly $10.2 million, worth of American spirits in its warehouses. It started selling those products on Dec. 1.

Last week, “sales were higher than usual” with preliminary figures indicating that the province sold about 3 million Canadian dollars, or nearly $2.2 million, in American spirits, said Terah McKinnon, a spokeswoman for the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation. Maker’s Mark and Buffalo Trace were the top-selling products, she said.

“We will not be ordering any more from the United States once this inventory is gone,” Tim Houston, the Nova Scotia premier, said in a statement. “But Nova Scotians have already paid for this product. We don’t want it to go to waste.”

Ontario, which has 80 million Canadian dollars in American liquor stockpiled, was “currently reviewing the best course of action for the products,” a government spokeswoman said on Friday. Quebec has made its stockpile available to certain organizations that have permits to sell alcohol at fund-raisers.

Prince Edward Island placed its inventory of American alcohol on shelves on Thursday and said it would donate the net profits to food banks. Anecdotal evidence indicates strong sales of American bourbon, vodka and California red wine, a government spokeswoman said. Jill Burridge, the province’s finance minister, indicated that the sale did not signal a shift in the province’s stance toward American spirits.

“Like other provinces in the region, we are fully committed to Team Canada and are prioritizing our local producers retaining as much of their expanded shelf space as possible,” she said in a statement.

The ban on the sale of American alcohol in Canadian provinces has had a “devastating effect” on the U.S. liquor industry, said Chris R. Swonger, the president and chief executive of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. Exports of American spirits to Canada plunged by 85 percent in the second quarter of 2025 compared with the same period a year earlier, he said. Industry data from earlier this year also showed a drop in retail sales at Canadian liquor stores.

“What some of the provinces are doing now is trying to take a very bad economic policy for Canada and do something good with it,” Mr. Swonger said. “But the right thing to do is let the United States and Canada continue to negotiate a trade agreement that benefits both markets.”

Mr. Kinew, the Manitoba premier, said it was critical for the United States and Canada to reach a trade agreement that would allow American alcohol to return to store shelves. “In the meantime,” he said, “we have some pretty good Canadian brands people are very, very proud of.”