In response to President Trump’s new tariffs, British Columbia will ban alcohol sales from Republican-led U.S. states, while two other Canadian provinces plan to remove all American alcohol from stores, , according to the New York Post.
BC’s state-owned liquor stores will stop selling alcohol from red states ahead of Trump’s 25% tariff on Canadian goods, with existing stock pulled from shelves, per the CBC.
BC Premier David Eby said: “President Trump’s 25% tariffs are a complete betrayal of the historic bond between our countries and a declaration of economic war against a trusted ally.”
“As British Columbians, and as Canadians, we will stand strong and united in the face of this unprecedented attack,” he continued.
The New York Post wrote that Nova Scotia and Ontario will join British Columbia in banning American alcohol at state-run liquor stores starting Tuesday, targeting all U.S. states rather than just Republican-led ones.
State-controlled liquor stores dominate nearly half of BC’s alcohol market, with U.S. alcohol sales there worth nearly $1 billion annually, according to The Daily Beast.
The bans came just hours after Trump signed an executive order imposing steep tariffs—25% on most Canadian and Mexican imports and 10% on energy resources from Canada and Chinese products.
Trump defended the tariffs as a response to illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking, which the White House claims have caused “tens of millions” of American deaths. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the move “a threat targeting the entire country” and vowed retaliatory tariffs on $155 billion worth of U.S. goods, including alcohol, food, and clothing.
Some Canadian politicians welcomed the ban, happy to see American booze “go down the drain.”
Canadian MP Charlie Angus added on social media: “From here on in I will only drink ‘freedom’ wines from Canada, France or Spain. As for the beer? It’s sh*t anyways.”
