Premier Wab Kinew, along with the vast majority of premiers across the country, has banned the sale of American alcohol in stores across the province.
When Kinew announced his decision in February, he invoked the idea of consumer autonomy. “Trump’s tariff tax is an attack on Canadians,” said Kinew. “We support the federal response to these tariffs and here in Manitoba, we’re stopping the sale of American products at Manitoba liquor marts.”
“How you choose to spend your money is one of the most important decisions you as a consumer can make,” he continued. “There are plenty of great Manitoba breweries and distilleries to support instead.”
On the one hand, Kinew recognized in his statement that how consumers decide to spend their money is an important power everyday Manitobans hold in their hands. But on the other, Kinew took that power away from them, by arbitrarily taking American liquor off Manitoba shelves.
Make no mistake: U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs are an attack on the Canadian economy. And this will likely lead to a recession.
But why is Kinew, along with most other premiers, directly going after American alcohol producers, while not banning other American products from shelves across the province? Why is the alcohol sector specifically being targeted by Canada’s politicians?
As consumers, we have all the power in our hands. If Manitobans don’t want to support American companies by buying American products, they shouldn’t have to do so. But those who want to buy their favoured American products should be able to do so.
At grocery stores, Manitobans continue to buy products that are made in the United States. It’s the same story at hardware stores, superstores, and at shopping malls. Why the hypocrisy of solely targeting American liquor with a ban?
It is true that millions of Canadians are choosing to buy less from the United States. That is their right, as consumers. And they should have the autonomy to do so.
Regardless, millions of Canadians are still buying American products. Back in March, the federal government raked in an additional $617 million from new counter-tariffs imposed on the United States. That means Manitobans are still buying all kinds of American products but are out of luck when it comes to their wine or beer of preference.
Of course, the reason this ban is possible is because alcohol is one of the very few areas in which the government has handed itself monopoly power over wholesale purchases. But that doesn’t mean the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation (MBLL) should make decisions on behalf of consumers that they can and should be able to make on their own.
Then there’s the question of what the MBLL is doing with all of the American liquor that it purchased prior to the government’s ban on its sale. Liquor stores don’t simply order products when consumers come to buy them. Like any other store, a liquor store needs to anticipate what consumers will buy based on past consumer behaviour and order accordingly. Kinew’s announcement of the liquor ban came on Feb. 2. And the order to take products off the shelves came on Feb. 4. That’s a turnaround time of two days. But U.S. alcohol would have been ordered by the MBLL weeks before, in anticipation of consumer demand. Across the border in Ontario, about $80 million worth of U.S. alcohol is sitting in warehouses, with taxpayers forced to foot the bill for storage. While Manitoba is a smaller market, no doubt millions of dollars’ worth of U.S. product is also sitting in storage, with taxpayers footing the bill as well.
Alberta and Saskatchewan aren’t walking in lockstep with other provincial governments. American alcohol is free for purchase, and it’s up to consumers to decide if they want to support American companies in the midst of the present trade conflict with the United States. That’s the way it should be.
Kinew should join with the other Prairie provinces, reverse his ban on U.S. alcohol sales, and let consumers decide.
Originally published here