Ontario alcohol producers push to change consumer habits during U.S. booze ban
CBC
Ontario sent a blunt message to U.S. booze suppliers when it yanked their alcohol off its shelves last year, pledging to redirect customers to local producers, and those businesses say they’re trying to make the most of what could be a limited-time opportunity to change buying habits.
Premier Doug Ford’s government pulled American alcohol off LCBO shelves almost a year ago in retaliation to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada. More than $80 million worth of American liquor has remained in a warehouse since last March, with Ontario insisting it will not be returned to store shelves until all tariffs are dropped.
Last year, when it issued the order to the LCBO, it also directed the arms-length agency to send a letter to its U.S. booze suppliers telling them that, in the absence of their product, it intended to give Canadian businesses a leg up.
“LCBO is working with Ontario- and Canadian-based producers to ensure our customers enjoy a selection of made-in-Ontario and made-in-Canada options,” said the letter, obtained by CBC News through a freedom of information request.
“Should you value your access to one of the largest markets in North America, we encourage you to speak with your member of Congress and senators about the impacts to your business and the need to remove tariffs on Canadian goods and products.”
Dropping provincial boycotts is part of a longer list of conditions U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer said last month that Canada must meet in order to extend the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
Pushback from U.S. producers, feeling the effect of the LCBO boycott, has been underway for months.
In October, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States appealed to the Trump administration to advocate for Canadian provinces to drop their American booze bans. In a submission, the group says it has seen exports drop precipitously.
“In Canada, for example, April 2025 sales of U.S. spirits decreased by 68 per cent, while sales of Canadian and other imported spirits rose by approximately 3.6 per cent,” the submission said, highlighting the impact on American spirits producers.
“Tariffs not only erode access to key export destinations but also stall investment, suppress job growth, and limit the industry’s ability to expand globally," the council said.
The LCBO’s beverage trend report from December shows that Ontario VQA wine sales jumped by 58 per cent in 2025. Overall sales for provincially produced booze jumped by 20 per cent, according to the report.
A spokesperson for Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said American booze will remain off LCBO shelves until the tariffs are lifted, doubling down on statements made by the minister in recent weeks.
Ontario vintners, distillers and craft brewers have been looking at the last year as an unexpected opportunity. The head of Wine Growers Ontario said producers had been trying to increase their market share for some time.
But that had to be done by taking the business away from another jurisdiction, said the group’s president Aaron Dobbin.
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