American-made alcohol is coming off the shelves in Canada in response to President Donald Trump over the weekend issuing 25% tariffs on goods imported from the Great White North. File Photo by Billie Jean Shaw/UPI
Feb. 2 (UPI) — U.S. alcohol is being pulled from Canadian shelves as provinces of the Great White North respond to tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on their country over the weekend.
Trump made good on his promise to impose 25% tariffs on imported goods and 10% tariffs on imported energy sources on Canada on Saturday over the alleged inflow of drugs, specifically fentanyl, into the United States via their shared border.
At $776 billion a year, Canada is the United States’ largest trading partner, second only to Mexico, which Trump also hit with similar tariffs. However, only some 50 pounds of fentanyl was seized at the U.S. northern border last year, compared to more than 18,000 pounds at the southern border, according to U.S. statistics.
In response, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday announced retaliatory 25% trade tariffs against $155 billion worth of American goods.
On top of that, provinces have been taking action, with Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador stopping the sale of U.S. alcohol within their borders, among other moves.
The government of Ontario, Canada’s most populated province, on Sunday directed the Liquor Control Board of Ontario to remove all U.S. alcohol products from its physical and online stores no later than Tuesday.
The ban not only prevents individual customers from buying American alcohol, but also wholesale customers, including bars, restaurants and grocery and convenience stores.
According to the LCBO, it sells more than $676 million in U.S.-made alcohol, of which it lists more than 3,600 products from 35 U.S. states.
“I wish we weren’t here,” Premier Doug Ford of Ontario said in a statement after Trump’s announcement over the weekend.
“President Trump has chosen to move forward with tariffs that will only hurt America and make Americans poorer. Canada now has no choice but to hit back and hit back hard.”
He said the tariffs threaten some 450,000 jobs in the province and will be felt across all sectors and regions.
The government, he said, will now invest billions to retrain workers, retool companies for new customers and reshape supply lines.
Premier David Eby of British Columbia, Canada’s third most populated province, announced in a statement Saturday that they were immediately pulling alcohol from Republican-led states. He also directed the provincial government and federal corporations to buy Canadian over American products.
Eby described Trump’s move as “a declaration of economic war against a trusted ally.”
In Nova Scotia, Premier Tim Houston announced the province will limit procurement from American businesses and look to cancel existing contracts. It will also double tolls at the Cobequid Pass for U.S. commercial vehicles effective Monday and will remove all U.S. alcohol for its shelves starting Tuesday.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, Premier Andrew Furey on Sunday similarly pulled U.S. liquor from its stores, while calling on the international community “to buy responsibly and support us in standing up to the American bully next door.”
Manitoba and Quebec also announced the end of U.S. alcohol sales in their provinces.
“Trump’s tariff tax is an attack on Canadians,” Manitoba Premier Wab Kiew said in a statement Sunday. “There are plenty of great breweries and distilleries to support instead.”
Trump first threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico, as well as China, over the smuggling of drugs and migrants into the United States in late November, after winning a second term in office.
Elected officials from Canada warned that the seemingly arbitrary tariffs would not only have devastating effects on Canada, but the United States.
The move also threatens an important U.S. relationship, not only in terms of trade and national security but with the Canadian public. After the tariffs were imposed by Trump, boos rained down during the U.S. national anthem when performed Saturday night during NHL games in Ottawa, Ont., and Calgary, Ab.
Fans also booed the U.S. anthem Sunday in Toronto when the Toronto Raptors took on the Los Angeles Clippers.
Trudeau said the federal government, with the provinces, are also considering other “non-tariff” retaliatory actions, involving critical materials, energy procurement and other partnerships.
“We will stand strong for Canada,” he said during a press conference Saturday. “We will stand strong to ensure our countries continue to be the best neighbors in the world.”