It\u2019s been over a year since the \u2018booze ban\u2019 on American alcohol took effect, and U.S. lawmakers are fighting to have it reversed. Abigail Bimman reports. <\/p>\n
A Democratic U.S. Senator has taken to social media to urge Canada to reconsider its boycott on American alcohol, specifically wine from California.<\/p>\n
In a post on X, California Senator Adam Schiff said that the \u201cboycott of California wine is causing devastating harm to winegrowers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last month, Schiff sent a letter<\/a> to Quebec Premier Christine Fr\u00e9chette, asking her to reconsider the boycott in the province.<\/p>\n \u201cQu\u00e9bec consumers have historically enjoyed access to a wide variety of American wines, and their absence limits choice in the marketplace, while cutting off a $434 million market,\u201d he wrote. \u201cUnfortunately, the restriction on American wine has had damaging consequences for regional consumers, businesses, and producers who have no influence over national policies.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that reopening the market to American wine would \u201crestore consumer choice and signal a commitment to restoring fair and balanced trade for Qu\u00e9becois consumers and American wineries who have no connection to the underlying trade disputes.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement to CTV News in response, Fr\u00e9chette\u2019s office made it clear she is standing firm on the boycott measures.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the context of the ongoing trade war, the Premier continues to defend Quebec\u2019s economic interests,\u201d reads the statement. \u201cThis measure will remain in effect as long as the United States maintains these unjustified tariffs. Our government will re-evaluate its position when the American administration reverses these measures.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, New York Congresswoman Claudia Tenney announced this week<\/a> she is launching legislation to investigate unfair trade practices \u2013 the Combatting Attacks on our National Alcoholic Drinks by Allies \u2013 or CANADA \u2013 Act.<\/p>\n Ontario Premier Doug Ford maintains<\/a> his province \u201cwon\u2019t back down.\u201d<\/p>\n Canadian booze sellers thriving<\/p>\n At Westcott Vineyards in Ontario\u2019s wine-rich Niagara region, owner Carolyn Hurst is glad for premiers who aren\u2019t backing down.<\/p>\n As a direct result of the March 2025 booze ban, she says Westcott sales at the LCBO have increased by 600 per cent. On-site sales are up 20 per cent. She\u2019s expanding her operations by a third, planting another 30 acres of vines and in the permitting process for an expansion building. <\/p>\n \u201cEvery dollar that\u2019s been spent on an Ontario wine, and on a Westcott wine, has gone right back into the province of Ontario,\u201d Hurst told CTV News Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cConsumers voting with their wallets, in terms of buying our products, has generated all kinds of opportunity for us here.\u201d<\/p>\n She says many customers who have found their vineyard for the first time tell her they\u2019re not in a rush to buy American if the trade war calms down.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the world has changed, and the relationship between Canada and the U.S. has changed, and I just don\u2019t think that we\u2019re going back to business as usual, whether the products come back onto the shelves or not.\u201d<\/p>\n Ontario\u2019s LCBO tells CTV News over the past year, Ontario VQA wine sales have jumped 44 per cent across the board, while Canadian alcohol sales overall were up 18 per cent.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a very different story south of the border, where the Wine Institute<\/a> recorded a 78 per cent drop in U.S. wine exports to Canada between 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n Canada used to be the top export market for American wine, representing 36 per cent of all U.S. wine exports worldwide in 2024. In 2025, that dropped to just 12 per cent of exports, representing more than US$357 million in lost export value.<\/p>\n Wine Institute President & CEO Steve Gross tells CTV News in a statement the industry is \u201ceager to rebuild our relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRestoring access offers Canadian consumers choice, and supports retailers, restaurants, workers, wineries and farming families in both countries,\u201d Gross wrote. <\/p>\n In terms of liquor, an analysis by Spirits Canada found the sale of U.S. spirits in Canada were reported to have dropped <\/a>66.3 per cent between March 5, 2025, when provinces announced they would stop carrying the products in retail stores, and the end of April 2025.<\/p>\n