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New Brunswick’s premier says she’s willing to put American alcohol back in stores if the United States reverses course on significant tariffs and duties.
The comments came a week after U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick criticized the provincial bans on American alcohol as disrespectful while testifying before a Senate subcommittee.
“It is outrageous that Canada will not put U.S. spirits on the shelf. It’s insulting,” he said on April 22.
New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said Tuesday she’ll only return U.S. booze to NB Liquor shelves if the U.S. government is willing to make key trade concessions.
“If [U.S. President] Donald Trump wants us to put that alcohol back on the shelves, then we look forward to him starting with removing the softwood lumber tariffs,” she said.
“We want a free and open trade relationship with the U.S. Steel tariffs, the softwood lumber tariffs, those are hurting our economy and our businesses in New Brunswick, so we’re using the leverage that we have as Canadian consumers.”
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Canada-United States-Mexico-Agreement (CUSMA), which governs the terms of free trade between those three countries, is up for review before July 1.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has acknowledged that provincial bans on American alcohol are a “trade irritant.”
When reporters asked Carney last week what specific trade details the U.S. has raised issues with, Carney pointed to “provincial actions.”
“These are provincial actions, with respect to alcohol on the shelves,” he added.
Provinces and territories enacted bans more than a year ago in response to Trump’s tariffs and anti-Canadian rhetoric. Alberta and Saskatchewan have since lifted their bans.
But Holt said the ban is working in her province.
“It’s clear that we’ve got Washington’s attention, which means that this move to not purchase new U.S. alcohol is doing its job,” said Holt.
“New Brunswickers have demonstrated that they’re not interested in supporting the U.S. economy when they’ve put illegal tariffs on our economy.”
Last fall, New Brunswick began selling off about $3.4 million worth of American alcohol in their warehouses as expiry dates loomed. Nova Scotia also sold off its remaining stock and said $4 million in net profits would be given to Feed Nova Scotia.
In Nova Scotia, Premier Tim Houston says he’s open to the idea of putting American booze back on the shelves if it serves negotiations.
“We had a reaction to the actions in the U.S., and one of them was kind of removing the U.S. alcohol,” he said Tuesday.
“But certainly, if the people at the negotiating table said that’s an irritant, that’s a problem, (then) we’ll be guided by the people at that table.”
The U.S. alcohol industry has raised concerns over falling exports. Data from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States shows that U.S. booze exports to Canada fell 70 per cent in December, compared to the same period the year before.
— With a file from Global News’ Uday Rana
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
