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Manitoba’s premier says he’s reluctantly open to restocking American liquor as part of a potential trade deal, but with a suggestion — “Don’t buy it.”
Canadian and U.S. officials are working to finalize a deal that would avert new U.S. tariffs on nearly $30 billion in Canadian goods. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney and his negotiators discussed the prospective deal with his cabinet and the premiers.
Kinew says Carney asked the provinces to return American alcohol to store shelves, but Manitoba has yet to agree to that.
If the provinces return U.S. products to Liquor Marts as part of a potential trade deal, Kinew said Canadians still have the agency to “leave it there.”
“Don’t buy it. Let it sit on the shelf … and buy the Canadian stuff instead,” he told reporters during a noon-hour news conference in his office Thursday.
“Let’s send a message that … we don’t like Donald Trump’s approach to trade or his way of treating Canada.”
The province first yanked millions of dollars worth of U.S.-made alcohol in 2025 in retaliation for Trump’s decision to levy tariffs on Canadian goods that weren’t compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement.
WATCH | Premier Wab Kinew talks about possibility U.S. alcohol could return to shelves:
Kinew: ‘We have not agreed to put American booze back on the shelves’
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said his province hasn’t yet agreed to put American alcohol back on its shelves, but if it does go back as part of a trade deal, he is encouraging Canadians not to buy it.
Manitobans stood in long lineups to buy American liquor for a limited time in December, after the province reshelved some of its stockpile before Christmas and sent $2.6 million in proceeds to holiday charities.
American wines and liqueurs expected to expire this fall were also sold at Liquor Marts in May.
Manitobans favoured local options even when U.S. alcohol was available, accounting for a year-over-year sales growth of nearly $21 million at the province’s Liquor Marts, the province said in June.
Limited amounts of U.S.-made products were brought back to some Manitoba Liquor Mart stores for the public to purchase in December and May. (Rudy Gauer/CBC)
Other Prairie provinces put U.S. alcohol back on the shelves long ago.
Alberta took U.S. booze off store shelves in March 2025 in line with the other provinces, but dropped the ban three months later. The government said at the time that selling products from south of the border again showed a “renewed commitment to open and fair trade.”
Saskatchewan briefly implemented a ban in March 2025, but reversed course two months later.
‘Trump is very weak’
Carney also asked the premiers not to exclude the United States from their procurement policies, Kinew said.
Manitoba’s procurement policies have stated a preference for Canadian or non-American sources since the trade war began last year, which has led to an 82 per cent year-over-year decline in the province’s spending on American firms, the premier said.
“That’s had a huge impact, by the way,” he said. “You can see why the Trump administration is coming to Canada and asking for a deal.”
Carney told the premiers if U.S. booze does not go back on the shelves, there will be no trade deal with the Trump administration, Kinew said.
“I wouldn’t say that he was begging us, but what is a step before begging?”
While he’s still waiting for some details of the deal, including the exact nature of what tariffs will be placed on steel and aluminum, Kinew said he would like “the tariffs to be zero.”
He said support for workers, including at places like the Gerdau steel mill in Selkirk, Man., will likely be needed for Manitoba to agree to the terms.
He called Trump erratic, irresponsible and not to be trusted, questioning whether a deal would last.
“Who’s to say it’s not going to be undone?” Kinew said. “With that in mind, we reserve the right to take the U.S. booze off the shelves again.”
He said Canada should fight for a better deal.
“I think Donald Trump is very weak. I think America is weaker around the world today than it was a year ago. He’s about to get slaughtered in the midterms,” he said.
“I think we’ve got the upper hand. They’re back on their heels right now. They’re coming to us for a deal, and so I think we should fight.”
Kinew also said he doesn’t expect to be satisfied with whatever deal may be reached.
“But it’s not about me, it’s about Team Canada — what we’ve been saying for the past year, year and a half, since all this tariff nonsense started.”