What to know

Ontario Liberals want the Ford government to sell the U.S. liquor in storage and donate the profits to food banks.

Critics argue Ontario is wasting taxpayer money on keeping U.S. liquor in storage and should sell the inventory like other provinces.

Provinces including Manitoba, P.E.I., Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland & Labrador are already selling their U.S. liquor stock and donating proceeds to charity.

Ontario Liberals are calling on the Ford government to sell its inventory of U.S. liquor in storage and donate the proceeds to charities.

Across Ontario, there is $80-million worth of American liquor sitting in storage ever since they were pulled from LCBO shelves earlier this year.

“We all agreed when we pulled American liquor off the shelves, it was the right thing to do. It sent a message. It felt good,” Ottawa South Liberal MPP John Fraser said in his address to the legislative assembly Wednesday.

“Other provinces are stepping up to help their local food banks by selling off the U.S. alcohol,” Don Valley West Liberal MPP Stephanie Bowman said at Queen’s Park. “Will [Ford] pour all that U.S. booze down the drain or let the LCBO sell it to feed families?”

Let’s use our existing inventory of U.S. liquor for something good.

Instead of letting it collect dust in a warehouse, let’s sell it and donate the profits to food banks.

This would help a lot of people in time for the holidays.

What do you say, @fordnation?#onpoli pic.twitter.com/acAd0dm4hW

— Ontario Liberal Party | Parti Libéral de l’Ontario (@OntLiberal) December 10, 2025

The call comes at a time when visits to food banks in the province are at a record-high, according to a report by Feed Ontario. 

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Ford: ‘I will speak to the LCBO’

Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated the reasoning behind his government’s decision to keep American alcohol off LCBO shelves, although he told reported he will speak with the liquor control board to hear their thoughts.

“Until Donald Trump gets back and starts signing deals, stops going back to our manufacturers, our companies, communities and families, we need to hit back at that. Simple,” Ford told reporters at Queen’s Park Wednesday.

In a statement, Ontario’s Ministry of Finance tells Now Toronto, “U.S. alcohol will remain off shelves and is being held in storage until further notice. We are currently reviewing the best course of action for the products.”

We also reached out to LCBO but did not hear back by deadline.

Canadians react to U.S. liquor being made available

The recent announcements by provinces to re-stock liquor store shelves with U.S. alcohol has been met with great interest from consumers, with lines outside Manitoba Liquor Marts and Newfoundland and Labrador suspending all online orders due to high demand for U.S. products.

Some Canadian provinces that pulled all US alcohol from shelves due to Trump’s tariffs, are starting to put it back in stores.

Sales will raise money for local charities this holiday season. Such a Canadian thing to do! ❤️🇨🇦https://t.co/V6ba16canc#AmericansinCanada #DemsAbroad pic.twitter.com/dhSccEtzAH

— Democrats Abroad Canada 🇺🇸🇨🇦 (@DemsAbroadCan) December 10, 2025

“Mr Doug SELL the American alcohol and take proceeds to food banks and families with children. Clear and simple, no need to sit on it. Time is running out,” one X user wrote to Ontario’s premier.

“The province spent tax $ buying U.S. booze inventory then symbolically took it off the shelves,” one X user wrote. “Time for @fordnation to put the American inventory already paid for, back ont the shelves.”

“These are taxpayer funded liquor stores and $ shouldn’t be going to charities,” another X user echoed.

Meanwhile, Ontario Director of Canadian Taxpayers Federation Noah Jarvis says the revenue from the LCBO is negligible in the grand scheme of things.

“Ontario government this year is bringing in about $223 billion. If we’re comparing that to what the LCBO bring in, LCBO is really only contributing to 0.8 per cent of the total provincial government’s revenue,” Jarvis tells Now Toronto on Thursday.

Jarvis says the Ford government should just sell the alcohol to avoid spending more taxpayer dollars.

“You have to also consider the cost or storage. Taxpayers are going to be bearing those storage costs,” Jarvis says in reference to the $80-million worth of U.S. alcohol.

Here’s how other provinces have tackled the U.S. alcohol conundrum.

British Columbia

When B.C. pulled all U.S. alcohol from provincially-run liquor stores, it allowed wholesalers to continue to resell inventory already in the province. 

Alberta & Saskatchewan

Alberta resumed selling U.S. liquor in March and purchasing them in June. Saskatchewan also resumed purchasing and distributing American-made alcohol in June.

Manitoba

We took U.S. liquor off the shelves to stand up for 🇨🇦 in the face of Trump’s tariffs.
Now, because you’ve asked for it, we’re going to sell it between now and Christmas Eve and give the net proceeds to charity.

Thanks to the listeners of the Ace Burpee Show for bringing this… pic.twitter.com/SGI7ElPgkj

— Wab Kinew (@WabKinew) December 4, 2025

Manitoba pledged it will donate up to $500,000 from the sale of certain U.S. products at select liquor stores. The province says it will not be reordering or restocking U.S. products once it sells out.

Quebec

Quebec also made all U.S. products unavailable in March. Five months later, the province’s alcohol control board announced it will donate American products nearing their expiry date to organizations around the province. The total value was reportedly around $300,000.

New Brunswick

The province’s liquor corporation removed U.S. products from its shelves and suspended the purchase of any new American products in March. In October, the province began selling its existing inventory of U.S. products saying it will “free up warehouse space while also providing customers with an opportunity to stock up on their favourite U.S. products”.

Prince Edward Island

P.E.I announced it will put its existing inventory of U.S. liquor back onto shelves, with the net profit to be donated to food banks across the province. The provincial government anticipates the net profit to be approximately $600,000 and says it will be donated over the coming months after “sales have been finalized and expenses calculated.” It says it will not be re-ordering American products.

Nova Scotia

Last month, the government of Nova Scotia announced it will sell its remaining alcohol from the U.S. The net profit going to Feed Nova Scotia and other community food organizations. The province’s $14-million worth of inventory was made available at liquor stores across the province on Dec. 1, with an estimated $4-million expected to be donated.

Newfoundland and Labrador

The province announced this week its liquor board will sell off its inventory of U.S. products. It says it will donate the net profit to the Community Food Sharing Association. It pledged an immediate donation of $500,000 and estimated the total donation would be up to $1-million.

Yukon

In March, Yukon directed its liquor board to stop purchasing U.S.-made alcohol and to remove American products from all province-run liquor stores.

Northwest Territories

In March, the province directed the NWT Liquor and Cannabis Commission to cease all procurement of American products. NNSL reports that certain stores were able to sell inventory purchased before the province’s direction.

Nunavut

In March the Nunavut Liquor and Cannabis Commission halted the sale of alcohol products made in the U.S.