B.C. pulling all U.S. booze from government stores, widening red-state liquor ban

American beer, wine and all other alcohol is being removed from government stores in British Columbia in retaliation for U.S. tariffs, expanding a ban on liquor from so-called red states that voted for U.S. President Donald Trump.

Premier David Eby said the widening of the ban to cover all alcohol comes in response the latest news from the United States, including threats of additional tariffs on the dairy industry.

Trump’s newest threats also include an investigation into Canadian lumber, reports that the president wants to redraw the border and to pursue Canadian water.

“Now, the reaction of many British Columbians — myself included — is if the president is so interested in Canadian water, then we’re going to help him out by letting him keep his watery beer,” Eby said as he announced the expanded alcohol ban on Monday.

He said the escalation comes both because of Trump’s newest threats and the recognition that many British Columbians don’t want to see American products on shelves anymore.

“We’re responding to what British Columbians are asking for,” Eby said.

In a statement, Mark Sheridan, president of Oliver, B.C.-based Hester Creek Estate Winery, said local producers are “seeing increased demand for B.C. wine” and the removal of U.S. wine products comes at “a critical moment for our industry.”

“This decision meaningfully supports both our producers and the local economy,” Sheridan said in his statement.

However, the group representing bars, pubs and private liquor stores said the ban presents challenges, including higher costs for customers for certain replacements.

There are no direct substitutes for bourbon, said Jeff Guignard, executive director of the Alliance of Beverage Licensees.

“We’ve got Bourbon-style whiskeys that we can produce in Canada, but those are often produced by craft distillers, so those products are probably going to be a little bit more expensive.”

Eby said the order to remove the products from shelves went out Monday and B.C.’s Liquor Distribution Branch won’t buy U.S. alcohol until the Trump White House tariff threats are resolved.

The distribution branch said some U.S.-made products will still be available through wholesale channels for purchase by restaurants and bars until existing inventory is exhausted.

Guignard said that while some customers are stocking up on their favourite U.S. liquor products, others have expressly avoided buying American, including those who have already started shunning Californian wines before Monday’s ban expansion.

“It’s difficult that our industry is caught up in this, because this is not a dispute with American wineries, brewers or distillers,” he said. “We like their products and sell a lot of them.”

Eby said fans of U.S. alcohol, such as wine from California’s Napa Valley, should try Okanagan wines or some of the “many distinguished spirits” and “delicious craft beers” made in B.C.

Wine Growers BC said in a statement that the local industry “fully supports” the decision, as it ensures prioritization of products made in the province “amid challenging economic conditions.”

“It’s particularly important as our wineries are still recovering from the devastating cold snap of January 2024, which caused significant damage to our vineyards,” said the group’s chair Paul Sawler.

“This extra shelf space is vital for our local producers to regain lost ground and rebuild their businesses,” he said.

Eby said B.C. didn’t immediately pull all American products from government-run liquor stores because Democratic state leaders had been “on side” and advocating for Canada.

But the government is still pursuing a strategy of targeting states controlled by Trump’s Republican party. Eby cited B.C.’s planned legislation to allow it to levy new fees on U.S. commercial trucks travelling through the province to Alaska.

That legislation is expected to be introduced within days.

“It’s a matter of strategy, to go after Republican products, to target Republicans, the ones who are doing this to American families and Canadian families,” Eby said.

Near the beginning of the Trump tariff threats, Eby asked people to reconsider their travel plans to the United States and now he has done the same.

He said his family cancelled plans to visit Disneyland in California despite having spent $1,000 on tickets before the trade war started.

“It was not the easiest conversation,” he said. “It led to a Google search for other Disney’s around the world, but we’re not going to an American theme park for the foreseeable future.”

Eby also said he broached with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the idea of taxing U.S. thermal coal exports that are shipped from the United States through Vancouver’s port. But he added that he is aware of possible reciprocal impacts on Canadian jobs around the coal and Alaska-bound trucks.

“I’ve already heard from people in the trucking industry expressing concern about the toll on trucks going through from Washington state to Alaska,” he said. “I know that the longshore union is anxious about the discussion that’s taken place around thermal coal, and understandably (it’s) their members that are loading that coal.”

Eby said the federal government had committed to using whatever revenue has generated by such measures “to offset what they’re doing,” and the province is urging Ottawa to take workers’ voices into account when considering the thermal coal tax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2025.

Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press