The Government of Alberta has lifted its three-month ban on U.S. liquor imports, a move the province made earlier this year in retaliation for U.S. tariffs.
The decision was announced on June 6 by Premier Danielle Smith and MLA for Morinville-St. Albert and Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally. Nally said it "sets the right tone" in how Alberta works with the U.S.
"We will always encourage Albertans to buy local, but at the end of the day, our government is focused on resetting the tone with the U.S.," Nally said. "We want to highlight our role as a responsible and collaborative trading partner, and it's important that we do this now, because we're just setting the stage for renegotiating the trade agreement between Mexico, the U.S. and Canada."
Nally said it is important to show that Alberta is a collaborative trading partner. He also said the Alberta government is aligned with Prime Minister Mark Carney, who is working to reset Canada's relationship with the U.S.
"I would suggest that not only is the premier's diplomatic approach working, but we're also aligned with Prime Minister Carney," said Nally.
However, Albertans may not rush back to buy American liquor.
Dustin Drake, manager of Campbell Liquor Store, said many people are shopping Canadian.
"Everything with politics right now and tariffs, people are holding a grudge against the U.S.," said Drake. "So, it's just like everything in the industry, or everything in the world right now, everyone's just boycotting U.S. products. It's like the huge fad of 'support Canadian.'"
Drake said his store has seen a sharp drop in U.S. wine sales since the ban was imposed in March.
"I would say bourbon still sells pretty well, but wine sales have just plummeted for us," he said.
Tony Chawla, owner of Happy Hour Liquor, said his customers also shifted during the ban, turning to buying wines from Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Canada.
He said whether a customer chooses an American product often depends on what they're shopping for.
"If somebody's coming in for a bourbon, they're sticking with the U.S. bourbon, because that's just generally one of the better ones," said Chawla. "But now there's a new company just out of Calgary that's created their own Canadian version of the bourbon, and we noticed a huge spike in sales for them."
He said while some customers continued to shop for U.S. products, many people who would buy American vodka turned to a Canadian or international company.
However, just because retailers can restock American products doesn't mean consumers will repurchase them.
"It's only been a couple days, but I mean, I still see people saying, 'You know what, I like this more, I like supporting home,' and it has definitely been a shift," said Chawla.
Drake said he sees the same thing with his customers.
"To be honest, we're not actually reordering any product. The only products that we do reorder from the U.S. are the ones that sell," said Drake. "Other than that, we won't be ordering much of any of it, so we'll end up actually probably discontinuing a lot of our U.S. wines."
Nally said allowing retailers to stock American products doesn't mean Albertans shouldn't shop Canadian; he said he would encourage Albertans to shop local whenever they have the opportunity.
"We believe that it's not up to government to decide what Albertans drink," said Nally. "It's up to Albertans to decide what they drink, not government, and we will always encourage them to buy local whenever possible."
