Ontario to remove U.S. alcohol from shelves after Trump’s tariffs announcement

Ontario will pull all American alcohol from its government-run liquor shelves beginning Tuesday in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on Canadian imports.

Outlets of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario will also take U.S. products out of its catalog so other retailers can’t order or restock those items, according to a Sunday statement by Premier Doug Ford.

“Every year, LCBO sells nearly $1 billion worth of American wine, beer, spirits and seltzers. Not anymore,” Ford said. “There’s never been a better time to choose an amazing Ontario-made or Canadian-made product.”

Ford’s announcement came just hours after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau slapped retaliatory tariffs of 25% against $155 billion of U.S. goods.

The LCBO is one of the largest wholesalers of alcohol, selling more than 1.1 billion liters of alcohol products in Ontario in 2023. According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, Canada primarily imports hard liquor from America with an estimated $320 million in sales. The U.S.’s second main export destination for liquor as of October 2024 is Canada, with a $25.9 million trade value, according to the OEC.

In a statement provided to CNBC, the LCBO said it will be stopping all sales of U.S. alcohol products online and in stores “indefinitely,” adding that it is the “importer of record” for all American alcohol into Ontario. LCBO currently lists more than 3,600 products from 35 U.S. states, the statement added.

The move follows other similar Canadian premiers’ announcements of retaliation to the tariffs, including Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston directing the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation to remove all American alcohol from their shelves on Tuesday and British Columbia Premier David Eby directing the BC Liquor Distribution Branch to “immediately stop buying American liquor from “red states” and remove the top-selling “red-state” brands from the shelves.”