A year after Ontario Premier Doug Ford ordered the LCBO to remove all products made in the United States, the government says roughly $2 million worth of booze has gone to waste.

On March 4, 2025, in response to the first round of tariffs levied by U.S. President Donald Trump, American alcohol was officially removed from the shelves of provincial liquor stores.

Ontario imported roughly $965 million worth of booze from America before the ban.

A year later, the Ministry of Finance said sales of Ontario-made alcohol products had increased roughly 22 per cent, with craft products up 35 per cent. A spokesperson said sales of VQA Ontario wines were up 52 per cent after the ban, which included California wine.

“We have been clear: until tariffs are completely removed, U.S. alcohol will remain off shelves,”

Through the winter, the government resisted calls to auction off expiring American products to raise funds for food banks, a move which had been used in other jurisdictions.

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It means roughly $2 million worth of U.S. products have either expired or will expire in the next few months. Most of those products, according to the government, are beer, ready-to-drink beverages and wine.

Exactly what those products were and when the government worked out they would expire is a closely-guarded secret.

Documents obtained by Global News using freedom of information laws show there was extensive interest from the CEO of the LCBO and the Minister of Finance during the summer about what would expire and when.

“I am touching base on some urgent questions that we need LCBO’s input on,” an official with the Ministry of Finance wrote in one email dated August, 2025.

“The U.S. inventory item is quite urgent at the moment and if you could provide answers to these questions as soon as possible that would be great. Please prioritize question 1 as the Minister is inquiring – we need an answer to this by Monday.”

What the minister wanted to know, however, is unclear. The majority of pages were partially or fully redacted by privacy officials, citing advice to the government and potential economic harm from their release.

The documents suggest regular reviews of expiring American stock are taking place at the LCBO.

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