Which provinces are pulling U.S. alcohol off shelves over Trump’s tariffs?

As Canada hits back against U.S. President Donald Trump‘s tariffs with counter-tariffs worth $155 billion, American liquor and wine may be one of the first things to disappear from shelves.

In the hours after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s address to the nation announcing Canada’s response to the tariffs, which go into effect at 12:01 am Eastern on Tuesday, Feb. 4, provincial premiers were quick to make directives of their own.

Many targeted American liquor — with the premiers of Ontario, B.C. and Nova Scotia announcing plans to pull most, if not all, products from the U.S. in the coming days.

Below are the responses from provincial liquor boards that we know of so far.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he’s told the LCBO to pull U.S. booze from its shelves, starting Tuesday.

“Every year, LCBO sells nearly $1 billion worth of American wine, beer, spirits and seltzers. Not anymore,” Ford said in a statement.

“Starting Tuesday, we’re removing American products from LCBO shelves. As the only wholesaler of alcohol in the province, LCBO will also remove American products from its catalogue so other Ontario-based restaurants and retailers can’t order or restock U.S. products.

“There’s never been a better time to choose an amazing Ontario-made or Canadian-made product. As always, please drink responsibly.”

An LCBO spokesperson confirmed the move, saying the board would “indefinitely stop all sales of U.S. alcohol products in our stores and online and to stop wholesale sales of U.S. products to restaurants, bars, grocery, and other retailers, no later than February 2, 2025.”

B.C. Premier David Eby announced on Saturday that he had directed the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch to immediately stop purchasing American liquor from Republican-led “red states” and remove the top-selling brands from public liquor store shelves.

The LDB expanded on this plan in response to questions from Global News, saying that effective immediately, it has halted the “generation of import purchase orders of U.S.-made liquor products manufactured in Republican states” and is also taking the following actions:

• On-hand inventory of the top five selling brands, specifically those manufactured in U.S. states governed by Republican leadership, will be put on hold and unavailable for ordering by wholesale and hospitality customers. This includes products under the brands of Jack Daniels, Bacardi Rum, Tito’s Vodka, Jim Beam, and Bulleit Bourbon.
• BCLIQUOR stores will also immediately halt sales of, and remove from store shelves, impacted products of these top five selling brands.
• On-hand inventory of all other U.S.-made liquor products from states governed by Republican leadership will continue to be made available to wholesale, hospitality and retail customers until inventory is depleted.

U.S.-made liquor products from states not governed by Republican leadership will be unaffected by this move and will continue to be imported and sold by the LDB.

No retaliatory measures on alcohol have been announced yet.

An SAQ spokeswoman said: “We do not have any directive from the Quebec government to this effect yet.”

However, on Saturday evening, Quebec Premier Francois Legault indicated some goods from the U.S. would be tariffed, but it is not clear what those goods would be.

“Starting Tuesday, we will implement 25 per cent counter-tariffs on a list of products imported from the United States. We have been careful to choose products where there are replacements to have the least possible impact on our consumers,” Legault said.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation will remove all alcohol from the U.S. from shelves effective Feb. 4, 2025.

In response to questions from Global News, the NSLC confirmed the move, saying: “Following the Province’s announcement on Saturday, February 1, the NSLC will stop selling all products imported directly from the United States effective Tuesday, February 4, 2025.”

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