Canadian stores pull U.S. liquor from shelves as Trump’s tariffs take effect

As tariffs set by the Trump administration on Canada and Mexico came into effect on Tuesday, Canadians discovered empty shelves where American liquor products were once stocked.

Canadian social media users posted photos and videos of stores from across the country seemingly pulling American-made liquor from their inventories.

Joshua Gariepy, a university student based in Quebec, posted a photo Wednesday showing empty shelves from a store in Quebec, where American liquor products were once displayed.

“To me, this photo perfectly captures the situation: the ‘Products of USA’ sign remains, but the shelves are empty,” Gariepy said in an interview, referring to the sign displayed above the vacant shelf reading “Etats-Unis,” French for United States.

The government of New Brunswick said on Facebook that it has stopped purchasing American alcohol, posting a video of an employee reboxing wine bottles from the United States section of an Alcool NB Liquor store.

Another video posted on TikTok by user “Keltieheather” shows bare shelves under various “USA” signs at a store in Nova Scotia.

This follows an announcement from the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which has “ceased the purchase of all US products,” according to a statement on its website.

Trump imposed a 25% tariff on nearly all goods from Canada and Mexico, saying the levies are meant to hold the U.S.’s largest trading partners accountable for fentanyl flowing into the U.S.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau balked at the tariffs, saying in a statement Tuesday that there was “no justification” for them because “less than 1% of the fentanyl intercepted at the U.S. border came from Canada.”

In response to the U.S. tariffs, Canada on Tuesday shot back with tariffs of its own, moving ahead with an earlier plan to impose 25% levies on 155 billion Canadian dollars ($107 billion) of American goods.

The escalating trade war threatens to send ripples across the U.S. economy. Major retailers have already warned of price hikes for consumers due to the new federal import taxes.

The tariffs could also increase prices on alcohol imports from Mexico and Canada, and hurt the sale of U.S. spirits sold in those countries.

In 2023, Kentucky exported $76 million worth of whiskey and other spirits to Canada, according to Canada’s Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food. This week, Kentucky liquor products were among those pulled from Canadian store shelves.

“The governor of Kentucky said, ‘Don’t touch our bourbon,’ and I said, ‘Governor, that’s the first thing we’re going after,’” Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters on Tuesday. “We’re the largest purchaser of bourbon in the world for Kentucky bourbon manufacturers. They’re done. They’re gone.”

The Distilled Spirits Council said in a statement Wednesday that it was “greatly troubled” by American alcohol products being removed from Canadian stores, as well as the retaliatory tariffs.

The council estimated that 31,000 American jobs could be lost because of a 25% tariff on distilled spirits imports from Canada and Mexico.

“These U.S. tariffs on Mexico and Canada will result in great harm to U.S. companies and employees throughout the wine and spirits supply chain, from restaurants, bars and retail outlets, to shippers and importers/exporters of spirits and wine products,” it wrote.