‘All bets are off’: B.C. pulls liquor, changes procurement after U.S. tariffs

British Columbia and the rest of the country is strong enough to weather the storm in the threat to Canada’s sovereignty coming from a former friend, B.C. Premier David Eby said.

Eby took the unusual step of interrupting B.C.’s budget lockup Tuesday, hours before the financial document was tabled in the legislature, to address how the province will respond after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods.

He said B.C. will again be pulling liquor off store shelves from “red” Republican states and that the government will prioritize purchasing Canadian products first, with a focus on provincial products.

“This is something that we can’t do ordinarily because of trade agreements with the United States. We have to treat their products like ours when we’re purchasing as a government otherwise it’s a trade violation. Well, obviously, all bets are off,” he said.

Eby said his government will be working closely with Indigenous, business and labour leaders to accelerate major projects in the province, and there will be supports in place for businesses to move their services or products away from the United States to domestic and global markets.

He said the province’s response to Trump’s tariffs is a message to Americans that everything is going to cost more.

“Everything, from the cost of pasta, to the cost of a home or a car, or to turn on the lights, or to fill up a tank of gas is going to go up in a way that is noticeable and significant for American families,” he said.

Eby said American manufacturing jobs will be taken by people living in countries other than the United States who have access to the raw materials that Canada provides without tariffs.

A statement from the New Car Dealers Association of BC said the industry is entering “a period of significant economic turbulence” and consumers will be affected “in the form of higher prices for vehicles, and the parts used to service them.”

It said the provincial budget released on the same day the tariffs were announced offers “nothing of consequence to support consumers and a sector that generates $17 billion in retail activity.”

Trump announced a 25 per cent U.S. tariff will be placed on Canadian goods, while Canadian energy will face 10 per cent tariffs.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that Canada will be going ahead with 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs.

The federal government says it will impose tariffs on $155 billion worth of American goods, with $30 billion being applied immediately and the remaining $125 billion landing in 21 days.

Trudeau said Canada also will challenge Trump’s actions by filing dispute resolution claims with the World Trade Organization and through the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.

Trump then responded to Trudeau’s remarks, threatening to introduce even more tariffs on Canada in a post on Truth Social, the social media platform he owns.

Trump wrote that if Canada puts retaliatory tariffs on the U.S., “our reciprocal tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!”

Bridgitte Anderson, president of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, said the tariffs are “completely unjustified” and will cause higher prices and needless economic pain on both sides of the border.

“B.C.’s best response to the trade war is a new agenda for economic growth that puts economic growth firmly at the heart of government decision-making – reducing red tape, lowering barriers to investment, increasing internal trade, and selling our resources to the rest of the world,” she said in a statement that gave the Trump administration tariffs a failing grade.

The BC Salmon Farmers Association said in a statement that tariffs will place a “substantial and unnecessary burden on Canada’s already threatened salmon farming sector.”

The association said about 70 per cent of the annual production of B.C. farm-raised salmon goes to American customers and tariffs would reduce U.S. demand by up to 40 per cent, and could result in the loss of more than 1,000 jobs.

“Ensuring (farm-raised salmon’s) continued accessibility is not only critical to salmon farmers but also to the broader Canadian economy. Salmon farming relies on an integrated supply chain built on products from Canada and the U.S., from ingredients in salmon feed to food-safe packaging, with many suppliers and services in between,” the statement said.

Following Finance Minister Brenda Bailey’s budget speech in the legislature, Conservative finance critic Peter Milobar criticized the government for releasing the budget knowing the tariffs were coming on the same day.

“One would think, after all of the over-the-top war analogies that were used in the throne speech, this government might have, given the seriousness of the tariff threat, decided that of all years to delay the budget or move it forward a week and not have it land on the exact same day as everyone is trying to sort out what exactly the tariffs mean, might have been a good year to do that,” he said.

Eby said British Columbians should continue focusing on buying local or Canadian goods, and to avoid travel to the United States, if possible.

He said that while threats to Canadian sovereignty are “disgusting,” the silver lining is that the conflict has brought out a sense of pride and solidarity among all Canadians that has not been seen for a long time.

“We’re big enough to stand on our own two feet. This is a moment for us to take an attack, and turn it into a source of strength for ourselves as a province and as a country,” he said.

Eby’s government cancelled its election promise of a $1,000 grocery rebate and froze some public-service hiring, in advance of what Eby has called economic warfare by Trump.

B.C. first pulled liquor from Republican states off the shelves last month, but temporarily reversed course when a 30-day reprieve from the U.S. threat of tariffs was negotiated.

While Trump’s order imposing the tariffs references national security concerns about drugs and illegal immigration at the Canadian border, in a post Tuesday on Truth Social he said that if companies move to the U.S. there will be no tariffs.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2025.

Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press