Ontario government urged U.S. distillers to contact their politicians about the need to remove tariffs

Ontario sent a outspoken substance to U.S. Booze suppliers when it yanked their alcoholic beverage away its shelves endure year, pledging to redirect customers to local producers, and those businesses say they’re trying to make the most of what could be a limited-time opportunity to change buying habits. 

Premier Doug Ford’s government pulled American alcohol off LCBO shelves almost a year ago in retaliation to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada. More than $80 million worth of American liquor has remained in a warehouse since last March, with Ontario insisting it will not be returned to store shelves until all tariffs are dropped.

Last year, when it issued the order to the LCBO, it also directed the arms-length agency to send a letter to its U.S. Booze suppliers telling them that, in the absence of their product, it intended to give Canadian businesses a leg up.

“Should you value your access to one of the largest markets in North America, we encourage you to speak with your member of Congress and senators about the impacts to your business and the need to remove tariffs on Canadian goods and products.”

Ford says no American booze in Ontario until trade deal

Dropping provincial boycotts is part of a longer list of conditions U.S. Trade representative Jamieson Greer said last month that Canada must meet in order to extend the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

Pushback from U.S. Producers, feeling the effect of the LCBO boycott, has been underway for months.

In October, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States appealed to the Trump administration to advocate for Canadian provinces to drop their American booze bans. In a submission, the group says it has seen exports drop precipitously.

“In Canada, for example, April 2025 sales of U.S. Spirits decreased by 68 per cent, while sales of Canadian and other imported spirits rose by approximately 3.6 per cent,” the submission said, highlighting the impact on American spirits producers.

“Tariffs not only erode access to key export destinations but also stall investment, suppress job growth, and limit the industry’s ability to expand globally," the council said.

The LCBO’s beverage trend report from December shows that Ontario VQA wine sales jumped by 58 per cent in 2025. Overall sales for provincially produced booze jumped by 20 per cent, according to the report.

A spokesperson for Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said American booze will remain off LCBO shelves until the tariffs are lifted, doubling down on statements made by the minister in recent weeks.

Ontario vintners, distillers and craft brewers have been looking at the last year as an unexpected opportunity. The head of Wine Growers Ontario said producers had been trying to increase their market share for some time.

But that had to be done by taking the business away from another jurisdiction, said the group’s president Aaron Dobbin.

He said the industry is not counting on the ban lasting forever, but is confident that once customers try local wines, they’ll earn a larger following.

“I think the proof will be in the pudding when those California chardonnays and Oregon pinots come back on the shelves,” he said. “But we feel pretty confident that we've been able to show Ontarians the true quality of Ontario wines, and that they will stay with us when those products come back.”

Ontario wine sales surge amid trade tensions with the U.S.

Dobbin said those increased sales have already had an impact on local producers, who hurried to buy every available grape in last year’s harvest. Many have also spent more to increase production and improve their on-site facilities to welcome tourists. 

It’s a risk, if customers go back to their old U.S. Brands whenever they return to the shelves, he said.

“At the end of the day, it is a bet on ourselves,” Dobbin said.

The experience of craft brewers has been different than wine producers, said Scott Simmons, head of the Ontario Craft Brewers association. There was less American craft beer on LCBO shelves to begin with, so they’ve seen a less pronounced hike in sales. 

But there has been an increase, he said.

“Sales are up at the LCBO for locally made craft beer, but it's just not at the same extreme that it would be for those other categories,” he said. “It's great to see Ontarians rallying around this support local cry.”

What craft brewers need beyond the current U.S. Booze ban is a revamped tax structure, said Simmons. Last spring in the provincial budget, the Ford government promised reforms which will lower costs for craft brewers, but they have yet to implement the change, he said.

“Removing the U.S. Products from the shelves has been great,” he said, but "it's really finishing the play on the tax reform that is probably the most critical thing for our industry.”

“There hasn’t been a huge push to bring awareness to new products or really focus on replacing the American products or the space left by the American products … with Canadian-made products,” said Jacks, who is also CEO of Nickel 9 Distillery.

While it’s not clear what the long-term impact will be on businesses, the U.S. Booze ban could have far-reaching impacts on consumers, said Brock University professor Antonia Mantonakis, who studies marketing and consumer psychology, with a special focus on the wine industry.

Canadians are emotionally invested in the trade war and they’re taking every opportunity to hit back with their pocket books, she said.

And it's a trend that might stick, she said.

“Just like we're seeing now that there's less travel to the U.S.,” she said. “I see the same pattern happening for consumers with wine. They are going to be less likely to purchase that Californian wine, because now they've tried what Ontario has to offer.”

Municipal Affairs Reporter

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