Some Canadians are getting saucy over US booze.
British Columbia will ban the sale of alcohol from Republican states in response to President Trump’s newly announced tariffs — while two more Canadian provinces are chucking all American alcohol from stores, according to reports.
State-owned liquor stores in BC will stop carrying alcohol from US red states before Trump’s 25% tariff on Canadian goods goes into effect Tuesday, with products already in stock being pulled from shelves, according to the CBC.
“President Trump’s 25% tariffs are a complete betrayal of the historic bond between our countries and a declaration of economic war against a trusted ally,” BC Premier David Eby said during his announcement.
“As British Columbians, and as Canadians, we will stand strong and united in the face of this unprecedented attack,” he added.
Nova Scotia and Ontario will also stop selling American alcohol at state liquor stores beginning Tuesday, but will target the whole country and not just red states.
State-run liquor stores command a large portion of the alcohol market in each province — nearly half of sales in BC, with American alcohol being worth nearly $1 billion annually there, according to the Daily Beast.
The bans came within hours of Trump signing an executive order Saturday that imposed the steep tariffs on both Canada and Mexico — which placed the 25% tax on imports of most goods from those countries, along with a 10% tax on energy resources imported from Canada.
Many Chinese products were also hit with a 10% tariff.
Trump said the tariffs were in response to the countries’ tolerance of illegal immigrants and dangerous drugs like fentanyl that have made their way to the US, which White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said are responsible for “tens of millions” of American deaths. The tariffs are intended to coerce the nations into addressing those problems.
Canada and Mexico quickly struck back with plans to impose tariffs of their own on US goods, with Canadian President Justin Trudeau vowing taxes on about $155 billion worth of US alcohol, food, clothing and perfume.
Leaders from both countries also characterized Trump’s tariffs as violation of longstanding alliances between three of the most prominent North American countries, and Trudeau called the move a “threat targeting the entire country.”
Some Canadian politicians said they were more than happy to see American booze go down the drain.
“From here on in I will only drink ‘freedom’ wines from Canada, France or Spain,” wrote Canadian MP Charlie Angus on social media.
“As for the beer? It’s s–t anyways.”
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