Saskatchewan to join Alberta in buying American booze, months after tariff war pause

Italian bottles of wines are shown on display at a liquor store in Niles, Ill., Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

REGINA — Saskatchewan’s liquor board says it will start buying and distributing American booze to retailers, months after Premier Scott Moe announced it would stop doing so.

Saskatchewan Liquor & Gaming spokesman David Morris says the action will allow the agency to sell existing inventories of U.S.-produced products as well as purchase new stock.

He says the decision is about allowing people to choose between buying American or locally made products.

The move comes three months after Moe announced the province would stop doing so during Canada’s tariff war with the U.S.

Morris says Ottawa’s 25 per cent tariff on U.S. alcohol remains in place and that the added cost is expected to be a “significant factor.”

The Alberta government last week confirmed it would start buying American alcohol again in a “renewed commitment to open and fair trade” with the United States.

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