Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard says that American liquor products pulled off the shelves in March and set to expire in the fall won’t be going down the drain after all.
Instead, the minister said in a publication on X, the alcohol will be donated to foundations for charitable events and used for training in Quebec hotel and catering schools.
On March 4, the provincial government ordered Quebec’s liquor board, the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ), to remove U.S. alcohol from its shelves in response to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
Since then, $27 million worth of American products have been sitting in storage, but some, like rosé and boxed wines, ready-to-drink cocktails and certain beers and liqueurs, aren’t suitable for long-term storage.
Being unable to sell the affected products, worth around $300,000, the SAQ was preparing to destroy them.
“We knew that this decision would result in costs, particularly related to the storage and expiry of these products,” Girard wrote in French on X.
But he also pointed to some benefits, notably in the sale of Quebec products, some of which have seen sales increase by 30 to 60 per cent.
Several other provinces including Ontario and Alberta also directed their liquor regulators to stop buying American products in March, while B.C. banned liquor from “red states” that voted for Trump in the 2024 election.
However, Alberta and Saskatchewan have since reversed those decisions and are once again allowing the sale of U.S. alcohol.