WINNIPEG — Manitoba's premier says he is reluctantly open to returning U.S. booze to provincial shelves as part of a trade deal, but hopes Canadians won't buy it. Wab Kinew said Thursday he's still waiting for key details, including what the final tariff rates will be, before making any commitments. He said Prime Minister Mark Carney has all but begged the provinces to agree to allow U.S. alcohol sales, as Canada and the United States work to finalize a new trade deal to ward off further punishing tariffs on Canadian goods. While he hasn't agreed to it yet, Kinew said if the province does agree, he hopes Canadians still buy locally. "If we put the booze back on the shelves, don't buy it," he said. "So we still have agency, we can still make a choice. We can still say Crown Royal is better than Jack Daniel's." The premier said part of the deal also requires provinces to drop restrictions on buying American. Since U.S. President Donald Trump launched the tariffs, Manitoba has had language in all government tenders expressing a preference for Canadian or non-U.S. contracts. Kinew said the clause has had a big effect, helping lead to an 82 per cent year-over-year decline in Manitoba government spending on American firms. "Part of this deal that the prime minister's asking, he's asking us to remove that as well, too." Kinew said he would rather push for a better deal that would see tariffs lowered further. In July, Trump said he would impose a new 50 per cent tariff on a wide range of Canadians goods, valued at about $28 billion, in retaliation for Canada's liquor bans, auto tariffs and quotas on tariff-free access for U.S. dairy. They were set to come into effect just after midnight Wednesday, but that deadline was pushed back until Saturday to allow time to turn the agreed-upon deal into a legal agreement. Multiple news reports have said the latest deal will see the U.S. lower sectoral tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal both reported the duties would be reduced from the current 50 per cent levels to 25 per cent. Kinew said those levels are still much higher than before Trump started imposing tariffs, and that Trump is unreliable on keeping his side of the bargain. "Everybody knows the American president by now. He's erratic. He's irresponsible, and he's not to be trusted." He said support for workers, including at places like the Gerdau steel mill in Selkirk, Man., will likely be needed for Manitoba to agree to the terms. Other Prairie provinces put U.S. alcohol back on the shelf long ago. Alberta had taken U.S. booze off store shelves in March of last year — in line with the other provinces — but dropped the ban three months later. The government said at the time that selling products from south of the border again showed a "renewed commitment to open and fair trade." Saskatchewan briefly implemented a ban in March 2025, but reversed course two months later. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 20, 2026. Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press
