![\"Wine](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/32BBM3YPHJFEBASFRA2DD2FV4Q.jpeg\")
Wine, Nova Scotia, store Wine is pictured on the shelves of an NSLC store on Aug. 11, 2026. (Jonathan MacInnis\/CTV News Atlantic) <\/p>\nAs Canada and the United States talk trade, returning American wine, beer, and spirits to store shelves is up for discussion. <\/p>\n
Though it\u2019s unsure if Canadians would buy the American liquor if it became available.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe California wines were my favourites and so I quite often had a bottle of that in my house,\u201d says Janice Peet, a N.S. liquor store customer. <\/p>\n
But Peet had to find a new favourite. As a response to U.S. tariffs, most Canadian provinces yanked American liquor, Nova Scotia did so on March 4, 2025.<\/p>\n
Peet says, she won\u2019t go back to the old favourite.<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t buy U.S. wines anymore or any kinds of alcohol. I switched to some Canadian brands and also Australian and those are my favourites now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sean Griffith, another shopper, says the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not gonna buy it, it doesn\u2019t do anything for me,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always knew that the measure would be temporary,\u201d says Dan Paszkowski, the president of Wine Growers Canada.<\/p>\n
Exports of American alcohol to Canada dropped 81 per cent, representing more than $580 million in one year.<\/p>\n
About 40 per cent of all the bottled wine exports from California went to Canada.<\/p>\n
Paszkowski says the state will be fighting hard to bring their customers back, so he\u2019d like to see a strategy to maintain the momentum.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government can help the industry turn this into a win for Canadian wines, for Nova Scotia wines and that\u2019s really the discussion we\u2019d like to have with government,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Ontario and Quebec have said the United States needs to lower or drop tariffs on Canadian goods in order for them to consider dropping the booze ban.<\/p>\n
In a statement to CTV News Atlantic, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston emphasizes how the U.S. tariffs have hurt the Canadian and American economies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we can\u2019t control what happens in Washington, we can control what goes on our shelves. At this time, we have no plans to reinstate American alcohol,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
In December 2025, the Government of Nova Scotia decided to sell off its remaining $14 million supply of U.S. alcohol.<\/p>\n
Wine, Nova Scotia, store Wine is pictured on the shelves of an NSLC store on Aug. 11, 2026. (Jonathan MacInnis\/CTV News Atlantic) <\/p>\n
Nine months later, there is still American wine on some store shelves in what might be an indication of what will happen when U.S. booze returns.<\/p>\n
Terrah McKinnon, a Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) spokesperson, says from Dec. 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026, sales of remaining U.S. products show roughly $10 million.<\/p>\n
She says more than half, or 55 per cent, of those sales occurred within the first two weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince then, sales have tapered,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n
McKinnon says should there be a change regarding future imports, the NSLC would assess timelines and next steps at that time.<\/p>\n
![\"Nova](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/YC5LW7U4QNFURD3IS44U2PKWXE.jpeg\")
Nova Scotia liquor store Nova Scotia alcohol products pictured inside an NSLC. (Jonathan MacInnis\/CTV News Atlantic) <\/p>\n