American alcohol could be back on Canadian shelves if a trade deal with the United States is reached, but it doesn’t necessarily mean Canadians will be rushing to buy it.
Provincial boycotts of American alcohol have been a major trade irritant for U.S. President Donald Trump, who pointed to what he called “discriminatory” measures when he announced fresh tariffs on Canada last month, which were delayed until Saturday while both sides work on a trade deal.
Several premiers, including Nova Scotia’s Tim Houston, have said that Prime Minister Mark Carney has asked provinces to restock American alcohol on their shelves as Canada finalizes that new trade deal, which could see Canada avoid these tariffs.
When the Trump administration hit vast sections of the Canadian economy with tariffs in 2025 amid threats of annexation to make Canada the “51st state,” several Canadian provinces removed U.S. alcohol from their shelves.
Most Canadian provinces, except Alberta and Saskatchewan, now have no U.S. alcohol on their shelves.
Carney’s request to put it back on does not guarantee that Canadians will jump for U.S. liquor the moment it is back on the shelves, Houston said on Wednesday evening.
“Whether Nova Scotians or Canadians will actually buy it when it gets back on, that’s a whole other discussion,” he said.
The data points to Canadians souring on U.S. booze altogether.
Nearly seven in 10 (69 per cent) of Canadians in British Columbia, Ontario, Manitoba and the four Atlantic provinces said their provincial governments should keep the restrictions on American alcohol in place, new survey data released by Abacus Data revealed earlier this month.
Only 19 per cent want American products returned to store shelves, while 11 per cent are unsure, the survey of 1,363 adults added.
Canadian attitudes towards U.S. alcohol are tied to the Trump administration, retail analyst Bruce Winder said.
Even in the two provinces that still have U.S. alcohol on their shelves, sales have been slowing, Winder said.
“It really depends on what kind of deal the government secures with the administration,” he said.
“If they perceive the deal to be not as great, they might continue to just not buy U.S. alcohol from the shelves.”
Get breaking National news
Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story.
The 18 months without U.S. booze on the shelves have given Canadians a chance to discover Canadian alcohol, said Dan Paszkowski, president and CEO of Wine Growers Canada.
“We recognize that U.S. wines would come back at some point in time, but we hope that the Buy Canadian mentality will continue and the growth will continue,” Paszkowski said.
“We don’t want to lose what we’ve gained. Our target is to have a 50 per cent market share. We only have 30 per cent right now.”
An early uptick in U.S. alcohol sales will be crucial in determining whether provinces will continue to order more spirits, wine and beer from down south, Winder said.
“Some provinces have the alcohol already here in storage,” he said.
“In order for the provinces to order more alcohol, more supply of alcohol, they need to sell what they have now. It starts with the consumer. If the consumer doesn’t buy the alcohol, then there won’t be new orders for U.S. suppliers.”
The provincial boycotts have caused significant economic pain for the U.S. alcohol industry.
From 2024 to 2026, there has been a 78 per cent drop in U.S. wine exports to Canada, marking a loss of US$357 million for the American wine industry, according to the Wine Institute, an American advocacy group for the wine industry.
Within a month of Canadian provinces announcing a ban on U.S. booze in 2025, sales of U.S. spirits in Canada fell by more than 66 per cent, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.
While British Columbia Premier David Eby called for a “Team Canada” approach on Wednesday, he did not address the issue of bringing alcohol back on the shelves.
Alcohol became a symbol of Canadian resistance to American tariffs when, in April 2025, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario announced it would stop buying American alcohol, citing the U.S. tariffs put in place after Trump came into office earlier that year.
Those tariffs spurred a massive Buy Canadian movement and in September 2025, Ontario Premier Doug Ford dumped out an entire bottle of Crown Royal in protest of the whisky maker’s decision to shutter its bottling facility in the province.
Ford had not publicly reacted to news of the tentative trade deal or Carney’s request for a rollback of the boycott as of Thursday afternoon.
Houston said Nova Scotia was “working through that process” but did not confirm when that would be.
Quebec Premier Christine Frechette says those negotiations are “far from over.”
“It is Quebec, and Quebec alone, that will decide” whether U.S. booze gets back on the shelves in the province, Frechette said.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said he was not announcing a return of U.S. alcohol to Manitoba’s shelves on Thursday.
“The prime minister very clearly asked us to put the booze back. He very clearly wants this. He’s like, you know, just blame me, put this on me,” he said in a radio interview with 680 CJOB in Winnipeg.
680 CJOB is owned by Corus Entertainment, which is the parent company of Global News.
“We reserve the right to take it back off again, because we know that this guy is very erratic, the American president. And he may go back on his word, as he’s done countless times,” he added.
“No CUSMA, no booze-ma,” Kinew said, referring to the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement.
Will you keep up a boycott of American alcohol even if it returns to shelves near you? Are you a Canadian business vowing not to restock it even if you’re able to? Let us know using the contact form below and we may be in touch for future articles.
