Premier Doug Ford says U.S. alcohol will continue to be banned in Ontario “until they cut the tariffs or we make a deal with them.”

Ford made the comments at an unrelated press conference on Wednesday.

“It’s still going to be banned until they cut the tariffs or we make a deal with them. It’s not coming on our shelves,” Ford said, adding Ontario’s wine sales are up more than 67 per cent.

“If there’s a deal, another USMCA deal, which I don’t think is going to happen for the next few months, but you never know with President Trump, he could pull the carpet out from underneath us in a heartbeat like he has before,” Ford said. “Or they get rid of their tariffs and then we’ll bring the booze back into the LCBO. And if they don’t, then they’re aren’t getting any booze on our shelves.”

When asked about whether Ontario will have to dump any U.S. alcohol due to expiration, Ford said, “We still have a few months before anything expires, and we’ll take it from there.”

Canadian provinces and territories decided to pull U.S. alcohol products off their shelves in March in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada.

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Those products remain unavailable in government-run liquor stores in Ontario, B.C., Manitoba, Quebec, Atlantic Canada and the northern territories nearly six months later.

3:56
How effective are Ontario’s plans to ban U.S. alcohol and cancel Starlink contract in tariff fight?

The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States issued a statement shortly after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Friday he would remove most counter-tariffs on U.S. goods, which include American spirits, calling it a “very positive sign.”

However, they said that until all provinces put American spirits back on their shelves, it won’t have much of an impact.

In an interview with Global News, Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, said they have seen a 65 per cent decline in U.S. distilled spirits sales to Canada.

He also noted the U.S. and Canadian alcohol industry is “very intertwined together” and that there has been a broad impact on both the Canadian and U.S. hospitality industries.

“The immediate outstanding issue for great industry, and when I say great industry — the Canadian and the U.S. distilled spirits industry together — is hopefully the provinces will consider putting American distilled spirits back on the shelves,” Swonger said.

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Impact of Canadian bans of U.S. liquors being felt

Swonger said distilleries in Louisville, Ky., have shut down business going to Canada after making investments.

“On behalf of the U.S. distilled spirits industry, I come with an open hand to continue our friendship. Our industry is not involved in the broader national politics that have been under play,” Swonger said.

“With great respect, we don’t want Canada to be the 51st state. We don’t have a view on that.”

— With files from Global News’ Colin D’Mello and Uday Rana

&copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Premier Doug Ford is pressing the brakes on the idea of subsidizing tolls for trucks on Highway 407.

Global News revealed earlier this month that Ford’s office had directed civil servants to research a signature policy pitched by the NDP in 2022.

Internal emails and documents obtained using freedom of information laws showed that civil servants were told to “brainstorm and explore” policies to reduce congestion on Highway 401, including “diverting commercial truck traffic” to the 407.

Highway 401 is among the most congested arterial routes in North America, while the privately operated and tolled Highway 407 — which was sold on a 99-year lease at the turn of the century — generally flows fast.

“We talked to the trucking association, and the problem was that when you put trucks on there, and when they all get off at the same exit, there’s going to be a lineup … from here to Timbuktu,” Ford told reporters Wednesday at an unrelated news conference.

“We don’t plan on putting trucks on the 407.”

1:02
Ontario to begin Highway 413 construction in ‘next few days’: Ford

However, Ford acknowledged once again that less than three months after removing tolls from the publicly owned portion of 407, traffic on it is getting out of hand.

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Ford said earlier this month that he is considering expanding the now-clogged artery.

“Since we’ve taken the tolls off, I know on the weekends, it gets pretty busy where it’s not tolled,” he said Wednesday.

“Maybe we have to think about the future, maybe expanding that.”

Ford’s comments come on the same day he announced that construction on Highway 413 will kick off in the coming months, even as the overall costs and completion date remain a tightly guarded secret at Queen’s Park.

The Ford government announced that two construction contracts — to upgrade Highway 10 in Caledon and the 401/407 interchange in Mississauga — have been awarded, paving the way for the premier’s long-promised 52-kilometre highway connecting drivers from Milton and Halton to Vaughan.

Ford also confirmed his efforts to shift a significant portion of the highway to accommodate a request from a Canadian developer looking to save a planned housing project in the area.

Global News revealed Ford was considering a “developer proposed alignment” that would have shifted the 413 by approximately 600 metres in Caledon to prevent it from cutting through the development.

Ford said Wednesday it was “common sense” to do so.

— with files from Isaac Callan

&copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.