Premier David Eby said allowing alcohol from the United States back on British Columbia store shelves would give up a key piece of leverage in the ongoing Canada-U.S. trade war.
Eby’s comments, made during an event in Surrey on Tuesday, came after members of the B.C. Conservative caucus met with U.S. officials earlier this month, including U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra.
Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer, the Opposition’s shadow minister for forestry, later said in an interview with CKNW that the issue of U.S. alcohol was discussed during the meeting. He said lifting the ban would be a show of good faith and could move the needle in trade talks with the U.S.
Eby disagreed.
“While our forest families are under direct attack by the president, who has imposed draconian tariffs on our wood products in order to apparently facilitate imports to the United States from Russia and Europe instead of from Canada, we will never put US alcohol back on the shelves,” said Eby.
“I understand the Conservatives had their quiet meeting with the ambassador of the United States and have come out and said that we should get rid of the only leverage that appears to be catching the attention of the president, by putting U.S. alcohol back on the shelves,” said Eby. “I couldn’t disagree more. I think that would sell out forest families for nothing,” he said.
Several provincial liquor boards stopped buying U.S. beer, wine and spirits in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs and comments about annexing Canada as the “51st state.”
Alberta and Saskatchewan lifted their restrictions after a few months, but B.C. is among those that have maintained the ban.
Hoekstra was criticized last year for calling Canadians “mean and nasty” to deal with on trade, pointing to policies like the bans on U.S. alcohol.
The issue appears to be a sore spot for the Trump administration, which recently threatened to impose 50 per cent tariffs on Canadian exports in response to Canada’s actions affecting U.S. alcohol, dairy products and vehicles.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her radio show last Saturday called the U.S. alcohol ban a “pretty extraordinary measure,” and said she is allowing retailers and customers to decide whether they want to purchase American products.
