Amid U.S. liquor shutdown, private retailers seeing rush on American spirits

As Canada pushes back against U.S. tariff and annexation threats, at least one American product appears to have become a hot commodity: booze.

The B.C. government has pulled all American alcohol from the shelves of BC Liquor Stores in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s escalating tariffs and repeated threats to make Canada the 51st state.

But British Columbia has not barred private liquor stores from selling off their remaining product, and some say they’re seeing a rush of customers.

1:57 Distilleries say tough barriers stop them from being on BC Liquor store shelves

“We are getting a lot of sales, American whisky sales are on fire right now, a lot of people picking up what they can while they can,” said Darryl Lamb, brand manager at Vancouver’s Legacy Liquor Store.

“You can see there are starting to be holes generated (on the shelves) because we are not refilling.”

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While there has been a crush of demand for spirits, for other products the demand hasn’t been quite as clear.

That has importers like Ashok Fogla worried. His company, True Craft Beverages, imports small-batch U.S. craft beer.

The product has a shelf life, and with sales cut off through government stores, Fogla said a substantial portion of the $250,000 in product he’s holding could go down the drain.

4:24 B.C. ramps up its response to tariffs at government liquor stores

“If this trade war continues for another two or three or four months we’re going to start destroying our product — at the end of this month, we are destroying about probably $10,000. Next month, another $10, 000 to $20,000 destroyed,” he said.

“What is our fault? We are a Canadian company, run by Canadians … and here we are caught in this crossfire.”

Fogla is counting on sales through private stores to clear out as much of his inventory as possible, but worries his business could go under.

It remains unclear how long the shutdown on U.S. liquor could last, as Canada-U.S. relations remain tense and new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney vows to fight back against any tariff escalation.

Trump has already imposed 25 per cent import tariffs on all steel and aluminum.

He has also imposed tariffs of 25 per cent on Canadian goods and 10 per cent on Canadian energy, though subsequently exempted CUSMA-compliant trade, including auto parts, from his tariffs until April 2.

He has also threatened to apply new tariffs on dairy and lumber on April 2.