Several Canadian provinces ban US alcohol in tariff response

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference about the US tariffs against Canada on March 4, 2025 on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, as (L-R) Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic Leblanc and Minister of Public Safety David McGuinty look on. Trudeau said that President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canada to destroy the country’s economy to make it easier for the United States to annex its northern neighbor. The extraordinary warning about Trump’s threat to Canadian sovereignty came as the US president delivered on his vow to impose 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian goods. (Photo by Dave Chan / AFP)

Toronto, Canada — Multiple Canadian provinces, including Ontario and Quebec, banned the sale of US alcohol on Tuesday, part of a broad national retaliation against import tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

“This is an enormous hit to American producers,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in announcing the measures imposed by Canada’s largest province.

Stores run by the publicly controlled Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) sell nearly one billion Canadian dollars ($688 million) worth of US alcohol products each year, Ford said.

READ: Canada, Mexico could see relief from tariffs, Trump official hints

The LCBO’s website was down Tuesday, with a notice saying the store was removing “US products in response to US tariffs on Canadian goods.”

In Quebec, the government said it was ordering the provincial alcohol distributor “to stop supplying American alcoholic beverages” to stores, bars and restaurants.

Manitoba’s Premier Wab Kinew posted: “We are taking US alcohol off the shelves.”

The provincial government in British Columbia said its liquor distributor would “stop buying American liquor from ‘red states’,” those that voted for Trump’s Republican Party.