Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Manitobans should continue to buy Canadian liquor if and when U.S. products return to the shelves. “Right now, we haven’t decided to put the booze back on the shelves, but hypothetically, let’s say there was a deal that the prime minister really recommended and we decided to put the liquor back on the shelves, what I would say to Canadians is leave it there,” the premier told reporters at a Thursday afternoon news conference. “If we put the (U.S.) booze back on the shelves, don’t buy it. Let it sit on the shelf where the Liquor Mart employees will be putting it and buy the Canadian stuff instead.” Kinew told reporters that the province can get U.S. liquor back on the shelves “relatively quickly” should the province decide to bring the products back. Multiple provinces, including Manitoba, pulled American booze from their shelves in 2025 in response to U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods placed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Alberta and Saskatchewan dropped their bans after several months. Manitoba briefly allowed some U.S. liquor that was about to expire to be sold around Christmas, with proceeds from the sales being donated to charity. Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham said on Thursday that all premiers have agreed to bring U.S. alcohol to store shelves following a request from Prime Minister Mark Carney. Kinew said he would take a different approach. “I think it’s pretty clear what we would do here in Manitoba were it not for the fact we’re part of Team Canada and we want to work together with the prime minister, who I fully respect is the one standing up for Canada and is the one on the phone with President Trump,” Kinew said. “I do feel that we have to respect that. But at the same time, do we have to go out and say this is the best deal ever? Do we have to cheerlead? Do we have to play to Donald Trump’s ego? No, I don’t think we do.” Kinew said buying Canadian will continue to send a message to the United States about Trump’s approach to trade. “Very wise people have said you can’t get a good deal with a bad person,” he said. With files from CTV’s Stephanie Ha and The Canadian Press
