Manitoba Pulls Remaining US Alcohol From Liquor Stores; Some Bottles Could Be Destroyed

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew talks to media as he arrives for a first ministers meeting Jan. 15, 2025, in Ottawa. (Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

Manitoba has pulled the remaining U.S. alcohol from its provincially run liquor stores, with some of the products potentially headed for destruction if they expire before they can be sold, CBC reported Friday.

The province removed the remaining American beer, wine and spirits from Liquor Mart shelves this week, according to Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, the Crown corporation responsible for operating the stores and distributing alcohol across the province.

The products have been moved back into storage after months of being available as part of a clearance effort.

Premier Wab Kinew defended the decision Thursday, saying Manitoba should use its publicly owned liquor stores to promote Canadian products while the Trump administration continues to impose tariffs on Canadian goods.

“So long as the Trump administration is trying to harm our economy, I don’t see why a publicly owned Liquor Mart should give shelf space to American products, when we could be using that to highlight great Canadian products instead,” Kinew said, according to CBC.

The move comes shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Canadian steel after trade negotiations broke down Aug. 22. Canada responded by announcing dollar-for-dollar countermeasures covering $27.6 billion worth of U.S. goods, scheduled to take effect Sept. 8.

Kinew pointed to Canada’s earlier decision to remove U.S. alcohol as one of the country’s most effective retaliatory measures.

“Prime Minister Carney was very clear that we were attacked. I think part of our response that’s been very effective has been to take the U.S. booze off the shelf,” Kinew said.

Manitoba first removed American alcohol from Liquor Mart stores in February 2025 following the Trump administration’s initial round of tariffs.

The province went further the following month, directing Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries to stop purchasing and distributing U.S.-made alcohol.

Some American products eventually returned to shelves in December as Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries attempted to clear its remaining inventory through a “last-chance” sale.

That inventory has now been removed again.

According to Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, the American products that returned to stores were largely ignored by consumers, CBC reported. The Crown corporation said Manitobans had developed a preference for local and Canadian products during the period when American alcohol was unavailable.

Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries said there was a “clear desire to support” beer, wine and spirits produced in Manitoba and elsewhere in Canada.

The corporation did not disclose the value of the U.S. alcohol that was pulled from stores.

With the remaining products now back in storage, their ultimate fate is uncertain. Some of the alcohol could expire before it can be sold, raising the possibility that products could ultimately be destroyed rather than returned to store shelves, according to CBC.