As Canada and the United States talk trade, returning American wine, beer, and spirits to store shelves is up for discussion. But will Canadians buy the American liquor if it becomes unavailable? “The California wines were my favourites and so I quite often had a bottle of that in my house,” says Janice Peet, a Nova Scotia liquor store customer. But Peet had to find a new favourite. As a response to U.S. tariffs, most Canadian provinces yanked American liquor from store shelves, including Nova Scotia, which did so on March 4, 2025. Peet says she won’t go back to the old favourite. “I won’t buy U.S. wines anymore or any kinds of alcohol. I switched to some Canadian brands and also Australian and those are my favourites now.” Sean Griffith, another shopper, says the same. “I’m not gonna buy it, it doesn’t do anything for me,” he says. “We always knew that the measure would be temporary,” says Dan Paszkowski, the president of Wine Growers Canada. Exports of American alcohol to Canada dropped 81 per cent, representing more than $580 million in one year. About 40 per cent of all the bottled wine exports from California went to Canada. Paszkowski says the state will be fighting hard to bring their customers back, so he’d like to see a strategy to maintain the momentum. “The government can help the industry turn this into a win for Canadian wines, for Nova Scotia wines and that’s really the discussion we’d like to have with government,” he says. Ontario and Quebec have said the United States needs to lower or drop tariffs on Canadian goods in order for them to consider dropping the booze ban. In a statement to CTV News Atlantic, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston emphasizes how the U.S. tariffs have hurt the Canadian and American economies. “While we can’t control what happens in Washington, we can control what goes on our shelves. At this time, we have no plans to reinstate American alcohol,” he says. In December 2025, the Government of Nova Scotia decided to sell off its remaining $14 million supply of U.S. alcohol. Nine months later, there is still American wine on some store shelves in what might be an indication of what will happen when U.S. booze returns. Terrah McKinnon, a Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) spokesperson, says from Dec. 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026, sales of remaining U.S. products show roughly $10 million. She says more than half, or 55 per cent, of those sales occurred within the first two weeks. “Since then, sales have tapered,” she adds. McKinnon says should there be a change regarding future imports; the NSLC would assess timelines and next steps at that time. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
