Ontario Premier Doug Ford says that American alcohol will remain off the shelves until tariffs are lifted or Canada reaches a trade deal with the United States.
“If there is a deal, another (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) USMCA, which I don’t think is going to happen for a few months,… or they get rid of their tariffs, and then we’ll bring the booze back into the LCBO,” Ford said at a news conference in Inglewood, Ont. Wednesday.
“And if they don’t, then they aren’t getting any booze on our shelves.”
Ontario was one of the first provinces that decided to remove U.S. products from Crown agency stores in March after President Donald Trump first imposed tariffs on Canada.
The move was on top of a 25 per cent tariff that Canada imposed on U.S. alcohol like wine and spirits. Those levies were removed by Prime Minister Mark Carney last week, along with other retaliatory tariffs on goods covered under the USMCA.
In a statement issued Monday, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States said the removal of the tariffs was “a very positive sign,” but that “until all provinces put American spirits back on their shelves it won’t have much of an impact.”
“The unfortunate decision to remove American spirits from Canadian retail shelves is not only harming U.S. distillers, but it’s also needlessly reducing revenues for the provinces, and placing unnecessary burdens on Canadian consumers and hospitality businesses,” wrote president and CEO Chris Swonger.
The council said that in 2024, the U.S. imported about $621 million worth of Canadian spirits, while Canada imported $221 million worth of spirits from south of the border.
Spirits Canada has also been advocating for the return of U.S. alcohol products, saying last month that sales of spirits generally have declined. In a joint statement with the Distilled Spirits Council, they said that spirit sales in Ontario decreased by about 20 per cent between March 5 and the end of April.
This included a 12.8 per cent decline in Canadian product sales.
At the time, Colin Blachar, spokesperson for Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, said that between February and June, the ministry had recorded a boost in Canada-made alcohol products by about 14 per cent. It also cited an increase in spirits by 10 per cent, as well as a 65 per cent increase in the sale of VQA wine.
Ford repeated that statistic on Wednesday before saying that Ontario still has a few months before U.S. alcohol already in the province, but not in stores, expires.
The premier has been a vocal proponent of retaliatory measures throughout the trade war with the United States. He reiterated on Wednesday that while the federal government has opted to remove some retaliatory levies, he still believes that Canada should match U.S. tariffs dollar-for-dollar.
“We have to fight fire with fire, but we'll see how the prime minister makes out,” he said.
“I believe (in) being firm, but being fair as well. And right now, President Trump has been anything but fair with us. So I always believe in negotiating and getting a deal is better than just sitting around and tariffing each other, but I wouldn't get a bad deal. I'd rather wait it out.”
Ford also said he is “not going to get involved” in any spats or disputes between Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to the trade war.
