Canada tanks U.S. alcohol industry

American liquor and winemakers are reeling amid Canada’s nationwide snub of American alcohol products. The boycott was sparked by President Donald Trump’s tariff battles with Canada, which led much of the country to stop importing U.S.-manufactured booze and saw liquor store owners replacing American spirits with Canadian brands. Now, months later, the effects are becoming clearer.

Tariff standoff triggers sales plunge

According to the Distilled Spirits Council, estimated exports of American distilled spirits to Canada plunged to $43.4 million for the first half of 2025 — which is a drop of about 62 percent compared to the same six-month time frame in 2024. Exports of American wine were down even more — about 67%, the trade group told The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper further reported that the Wine Institute, which represents California-based wineries, estimated that American wine producers have lost more than $173 million in export value in six months in 2025. That’s notable given Canada accounted for 35 percent of American wine export business.

Sales of Canadian products are up

In Ontario — Canada’s most populous province — the Liquor Control Board of Ontario operates 688 stores that sell wine and liquor. In 2024, they sold more than $700 million in American wine and spirits. Now, according to the report, that figure is down to zero. Ontario started boycotting American alcohol “in the face of President Trump’s tariffs taking direct aim at our economy,” a spokesman for Ontario’s finance department told WSJ. Meanwhile, sales of Canada-made products have climbed 14 percent in the province, he added.

Business relationships break down

“The absence of U.S. wine from Canadian stores is not just a market disruption, it’s a breakdown in a trusted relationship built over decades,” Wine Institute Chief Executive Robert Koch told WSJ. “This is not just about wine. It’s about farming families, rural jobs and businesses that depend on access to international markets.” Robert Cullins, the CEO of Maryland-based Sagamore Spirit, which makes rye whiskey, estimated his company could miss out on about $2 million in sales this year because of the boycott. “We’re a small craft distillery,” Cullins said, “so a couple of million dollars is pretty significant.”

Alberta offers some goodwill

Another Canadian province, Alberta, resumed allowing purchases of American alcohol in June in an effort to show some goodwill as U.S.-Canada trade talks continued, the province’s minister of red tape reduction, Dale Nally, confirmed. Despite the stiff 25 percent tariff, some Canadians have started buying U.S. products again this summer. But the policy shift followed huge sales plunges: Wholesale American liquor purchases in Alberta fell 40 percent between April and June compared to the same period in 2024, while sales of U.S. wine dropped more than 55 percent, a spokeswoman for the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission told the newspaper.

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