{"id":175830,"date":"2026-08-20T17:13:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T17:13:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/175830\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T17:13:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T17:13:23","slug":"canada-it-may-come-back-to-the-shelves-but-do-not-buy-the-u-s-booze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/175830\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada, it may come back to the shelves, but do not buy the U.S. booze"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

A liquor store employee looks at a sign placed in the American whisky section at a B.C. Liquor Store after American-made products were removed from shelves on Feb. 2, 2025.ETHAN CAIRNS\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re fighting an economic giant next door, which is led by a volatile, unpredictable bully who threatens \u2013 or imposes \u2013 sanctions in the form of tariffs for nonsense reasons such as fentanyl flooding from Canada into the U.S. (untrue) or wildfire smoke blowing over the border, you do what you can to fight the impossible fight. What leverage did we have? Booze. <\/p>\n

Taking U.S. alcohol off Canadian shelves has had a massive impact, as The Globe and Mail has previously reported<\/a>. Canadian imports of U.S. alcohol fell by more than 80 per cent between March, 2025, and February, 2026, compared to the previous year. Between 2024 and 2025 there was a 78 per cent drop in U.S. wine exports to Canada \u2013 a \u201ccatastrophic\u201d \u201cyear of historic loss,\u201d the U.S. Wine Institute called it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But, with trade talks down to the wire, Canada had to appease the tariff tyrant. On Wednesday, Mark Carney asked premiers<\/a> to once again allow sales of U.S. alcohol, paving the way for the return of California Merlot and Kentucky bourbon to shelves in the provinces where they have been removed.<\/p>\n

Canada, U.S. officials resume talks as clock ticks down on new tariff deadline<\/a><\/p>\n

Fine. Bring back American booze if it means sating the tormenter-in-chief who governs by whim and gets a kick out of threatening Canadian sovereignty. Re-stock those shelves if agreeing to do so means saving Canadian jobs and limiting further potential rupture to our economy from this exhausting, ongoing trade war. <\/p>\n

But just because you can do something doesn\u2019t mean you have to, or should. We\u2019ve lived without Jack Daniels, Jim Beam and Ernest and Julio Gallo this long. Let\u2019s not go back to those guys! <\/p>\n

Wouldn\u2019t it be amazing if we put U.S. booze back on Canadian shelves and nobody bought it? Like, nobody? What a message that would send. Your actions might drive us to drink, Donald Trump, but we\u2019ll stick to our own stuff, thank you very much.<\/p>\n

As the news alerts about the return of U.S. alcohol were breaking late Wednesday, I heard a heartbreaking interview about another news story. People from Summerland, B.C. were returning to their homes and businesses, or what was left of them, or not left of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just looked like somebody dropped a bomb on it,\u201d Kelly Mitchell told CBC Radio<\/a> about the inn she owns. \u201cGut-wrenching.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked up La Punta Norte Guest Inn after hearing the interview. \u201cPermanently closed,\u201d Google announced.<\/p>\n

B.C.\u2019s Bald Range wildfire remains active as residents return<\/a><\/p>\n

You know what they make in Summerland and environs? Wine. Really good wine.<\/p>\n

You know what they make in Ontario\u2019s Niagara region, which has been hit by floods<\/a> this summer? Wine<\/a>. Really good wine.<\/p>\n

Might I suggest you buy some this weekend, if you drink the stuff and live somewhere you can get it. (That\u2019s a whole other issue.)<\/p>\n

In addition to the physical devastation, this is also peak tourist season for Canadian wine regions. It\u2019s too early to tally what the hospitality industry has lost from cancelled restaurant meals, wine tastings and hotel bookings. But we already know it\u2019s a disaster<\/a>. <\/p>\n

These businesses need and deserve our support.<\/p>\n

You know who doesn\u2019t deserve our support? The President of the United States.<\/p>\n

Editorial Board: Staying calm in midst of trade uncertainty<\/a><\/p>\n

With what negotiating power they have, Canadian politicians are doing what they can. The moral stand on booze took a hit. Understandable.<\/p>\n

But we can also do what we can. Sorry to sound like somebody\u2019s (wine) mom here, but there are times when you have to do the right thing. And, sorry American vintners and distillers, but the right thing right now is to not buy U.S. alcohol. We Canadians have no say in U.S. politics and yet the outcome of the last presidential election has shaken and stirred us again and again. The only vote we have is with our wallets. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s something I don\u2019t necessarily want to admit in the pages of the national newspaper, but I\u2019ll disclose it for the cause of rallying the country. I, with my unsophisticated non-oenophilic palate, enjoy a particular kind of libation that some wine snobs love to hate on: an oaky Chardonnay. The more buttery the better. As many notes of vanilla as possible, please. You know where the creamiest, butteriest Chards come from? California. <\/p>\n

Even if I am now offered the ability to indulge in this suspect preference once again, I will not. This is the time to take a stand. Please, hold your applause. It\u2019s really the most meagre of sacrifices. But it can send the strongest of messages.<\/p>\n

Are you listening, Canada? <\/p>\n

You know when I\u2019ll buy a bottle of that stuff again? When there is political news from south of the border worth toasting. When Mr. Trump has left the White House. Cheers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: A liquor store employee looks at a sign placed in the American whisky…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":175831,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[17,3118,135,13111,13110,3119],"class_list":["post-175830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-canada","tag-column","tag-dei","tag-lederman","tag-marsha-lederman","tag-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}