An award-winning Vancouver Island whisky distiller says he’s seen a surge of interest from Canadian buyers amid the looming trade dispute with the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to slap a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods, along with his repeated musing about annexing Canada as a 51st state has helped launch a booming “buy Canadian” movement.
Graeme Macaloney, founder and president of Macaloney’s Island Whisky, said he’s seen the buy-local sentiment firsthand.
Macaloney and his team have been producing single-malts in Saanich since 2016, winning a string of national and international awards.
In recent weeks, he said there has been a surge of interest in his product, not just in B.C. but from across Canada.
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“Canadians are stepping up to the plate with a buy-Canadian attitude, and we are seeing a lot more interest in our whiskies,” he said.
“When you interact with the consumers and the Canadians and you hear just how much they want to support you that’s really uplifting.”
Macaloney said it’s not just the general consumer who has shown a greater interest. Whisky buyers, including big government agencies, have also stepped up.
He said that could have a big impact in other provinces like Ontario and Alberta, where he’s traditionally only been able to get one of his whiskies onto government store shelves at a time.
“Now they seem more amenable to breaking the glass ceiling because of the buy Canadian sentiment of their consumers,” he said.
“That means I will start to employ Canadians in those provinces to support the sales.”
While Macaloney says the trade dispute could open new doors for Canadian whiskies, tariffs would unquestionably slam the door to the U.S. market being shut.
The U.S. whisky market is highly competitive, he said, meaning specialty Canadian products being sold at a 25 per cent premium would become “non-viable.”
The distillery is instead setting its sights overseas — in Europe and in China, which he said has become the world’s number-two market for whiskies.
“We don’t need Americans at this point if the tariffs are going to stop us getting our whisky there,” he said.
“Diversification is the key.”
It remains unclear whether Trump will follow through on his tariff threats.
He pulled back on the tariffs ahead of his prior Feb. 1 deadline after a last-minute border deal with the federal government — but only for 30 days.
The next deadline is March 5.
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