Canadian province puts US booze back on shelves — a decision that isn’t going down smoothly
Quebec is putting some US booze back on shelves after yanking it all last year. Bloomberg via Getty Images
Quebec is putting $6.3 million worth of American alcohol back on store shelves — and some Canadians aren’t happy about it.
The bottles were removed from liquor stores in March during a trade dispute with President Trump and stored in warehouses. Starting next week, they will be available for sale again in the province just north of New York state.
“This is an exceptional measure,” Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard said Thursday. “The ban on reordering American products remains in effect.” He added that the province will sell off American bottles set to expire by March 2027 and donate up to $8.6 million in proceeds directly to food banks.
The temporary lifting of the ban comes after American distillers and winemakers faced heavy losses from the boycott. Last month, the Trump administration warned that continued enforcement of provincial US booze bans could affect the implementation of the renewed US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. Quebec is now the seventh of Canada’s 10 provinces to reintroduce American alcohol in recent months.
Most provinces are only selling off existing stock and still restricting imports. Saskatchewan and Alberta, where some residents advocate closer ties with the US, have been the only provinces to resume importing alcohol from their southern neighbor.
Even with Quebec offering the bottles at discounted prices and pledging all profits to charity, some residents remain skeptical.
“It’s a trap, don’t fall for it,” Alex Szabados wrote on Facebook. “If sales take off, they’ll put more product on the shelves suggesting it’s what the people are asking for.”
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