Sales of U.S. spirits in Canada plunge 66%, industry groups say

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TORONTO — Sales of spirits from the United States have plunged in Canada as provinces and consumers push back against U.S. trade hostility, but industry groups found overall sales are down too.

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Spirits sales from the U.S. were down 66.3 per cent in the March 5 to April 30 stretch compared with a year earlier, said Spirits Canada and and the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States in a joint release Tuesday.

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The drop came as provinces removed U.S. products from store shelves as a protest against U.S. tariffs and threats of annexation, but the two groups note that sales of domestic spirits in Canada also saw a 6.3 per cent decline and total sales in Canada were down 12.8 per cent over the two-month period.

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March saw the biggest disruptions as the U.S. imposed 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods, leading Canada to impose billions of dollars in counter-tariffs along with making a show of removing U.S. alcohol from store shelves.

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Total spirits sales were down 20.6 per cent in March from a year earlier, and fell 3.3 per cent in April year-over-year, though sales of Canadian spirits did edge 3.6 per cent higher in April.

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The removal of U.S. products from shelves is deeply problematic for spirits producers on both sides of the border, said Cal Bricker, head of Spirits Canada in a statement.

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“The current disruption demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining open, reciprocal trade relationships that benefit consumers, businesses and government revenues in both nations.”

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The overall decline in April sales to $405.5 million, down from $419.4 million a year earlier, shows substitute products can’t fully replace demand previously filled by U.S. spirits, the group said.

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Chris Swonger, head of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, said it was time to put American spirits products back on Canadian store shelves.

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But premiers of provinces that have maintained blocks on U.S. products voiced their continued support for the policy this week as a way to keep the pressure up in negotiations.

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Ontario Premier Doug Ford called for all provinces to push harder on buy Canadian as premiers gathered in Huntsville, Ont.

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“We’re encouraging all provinces and territories, start buying Canadian-made vehicles. Start buying Canadian-made everything, that will hurt them more than anything at all.”

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On Monday, U.S. ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra told a conference in Washington State that U.S. President Donald Trump thinks Canada is “nasty” to deal with, in part because of bans on American alcohol.

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B.C. Premier David Eby said those comments show Canadians’ efforts to stand up to Trump are “having an impact,” and he encouraged people to “keep it up.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2025.

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