‘Still going to be banned’: Ford says on U.S. alcohol returning to Ontario shelves
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.
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.
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
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