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Premier Doug Ford hasn’t announced his intentions, but there would be no better show of goodwill than to drop the U.S. hooch ban.
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Published Aug 22, 2025 • Last updated 21 hours ago • 3 minute read
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At the Queens Quay LCBO store, staff member Marlon loads up boxes of Jack Daniels as part of the store removing American liquor, wine and beer from their shelves on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Photo by JACK BOLAND /TORONTO SUNArticle content
Now that Canada has decided to put its elbows down, it’s time to say to our American bourbon and whisky producers, “bottoms up.”
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And put our hands out to shake with our best friends to the south.
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Yes, since Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced there will be no more punitive counter-tariffs on most items in response to Trump’s U.S. tariffs, the next move should be getting American bourbon, whisky and wine back on the LCBO and Ontario store shelves.
After Carney’s announcement, there was no reversal of this as of Friday afternoon. Premier Doug Ford’s media spokesperson Grace Lee said “no announcement” on this was coming on this day. But stay tuned. Perhaps it will be coming. What’s the point in keeping the ban? What’s the need to keep the boycott going? Why would Quebec, Ontario or any province either throw out or give away their excess American stock?
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If the prime minister says there is no strategy to deal with President Donald Trump and team in the trade wars, then end hostilities and punishing trade measures immediately. And sell that quality product that normally ages well with time.
LCBO staff placing the American hooch back on the shelves certainly would be a good photo opp like it was when the crew in March took the U.S. bottles off the shelf. (One of my videos that captured that moment had more than 10 million hits on social media. It will be neat to see if there’s as much reaction to a re-stocking media moment.)
A sign is posted on wine shelves at an LCBO store Sunday, March 9, 2025, in Toronto. Photo by Jill Colvin /AP Photo
It will also be interesting to see what Ford decides to do. On one hand, it’s the right move to drop those punitive measures since the prime minister has lowered his earlier rhetoric.
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On the other hand, Ford has vowed to fight Trump on his efforts to harm Canada and Ontario, even with the constant suggestions from Trump that Canada should become the 51st state. Even this week, Ford reiterated that desire to push back on Trump. And he showed a little fight still in him Friday when he posted on social-media site X, “If the federal government can’t achieve” an overall deal with the U.S., “they need to hit back hard against U.S. tariffs and provide additional supports for the workers and businesses in these sectors” and to “move fast to ensure Ontario steel is helping to build the future of Canada.”
Will Ford stand with the prime minister who changed his tact, or will he now battle on and maybe even go for the leadership to challenge him in an election down the road?
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Time will tell.
I spoke with Prime Minister Carney following his announcement to stress the need for an agreement with the United States that provides relief to our tariff-impacted sectors, including steel, auto, forestry and copper. If the federal government can’t achieve that, they need to hit…
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) August 22, 2025
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Ford deciding to restock American booze back on the shelves in Ontario would be a sign of good will. Something has to happen. We can’t keep going on with a cold war like this on both a business and personal basis. The ‘Canada First’ approach is not all bad, but there is reality that we need the American market, security and investment and they need our energy and resources.
It’s always been a win-win and it needs to be again. They buy our products, we buy theirs. We go to their cities and destinations and they come to ours.
It’s got to get back to that as soon as possible.
At the Queens Quay LCBO store, employees were removing American liquor, wine and beer from their shelves on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. JACK BOLAND/TORONTO SUN
A good place to start would be in the border communities. As the Sun‘s Brian Lilley wrote this week, Buffalo misses their Canadian friends coming over the bridge regularly and places like Niagara Falls have noticed fewer Americans as well.
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In Alexandria Bay, N.Y. in the Thousand Islands, say they notice very few Canadians now and they not only wish to get back their business, they also treasure the close friendship that has been there for a century.
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Maybe this move by Carney will help with this.
Nothing warms up or grows with a cold war. The only way to get both economies hot is for the Americans and Canadians to work together as Mr. Wonderful, Kevin O’Leary, has said from the beginning.
The two countries working together could be an economic juggernaut. It wouldn’t be just good for Brookfield stock but for everybody. Perhaps it’s time the two sides raise a toast of Jim Beam or Jack Daniels along with Canadian Club and Gibson’s Finest and salute each other.
After all of the past months of battling each other, there are a lot of people on both sides of the border ready for a drink.
Read More
WARMINGTON: At LCBO stores, it’s as if the U.S. doesn’t exist
WARMINGTON: If you need a drink on ‘Tariff Tuesday,’ you may not be able to make it American
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