‘We Have to Match Tariff With Tariff’: Ontario Premier Doug Ford Stands Firm on US Booze Ban As Negotiations Drag Into Eleventh Hour

(Photo: Dax Melmer/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he’s willing to reintroduce US alcohol to liquor store shelves if the Trump administration agrees to key trade concessions.

“If we get a fair deal that will protect our steel sector, our auto sector, our forestry sector, agriculture sector, manufacturing sector, then we’d be more than happy to bring booze back on the shelves, only if we have a deal that’s going to protect those sectors,” Ford remarked at a press conference on Thursday.

“We have to match tariff for tariff,” Ford added. “We can’t negotiate through weakness.”

Ford’s remarks are nearly identical to those made by Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette earlier this week, who said she was “ready to consider” returning US alcohol if the Trump administration reduced the tariff barriers for forestry, aluminum and manufacturing. Fréchette noted that some of the White House’s demands — those targeting the province’s language policies and dairy management systems — are not up for negotiation.

Canadian and American officials are currently in rapid-fire trade negotiations to prevent a 50% tariff on certain Canadian goods soon to be implemented by the Trump administration. The President signed three proclamations at the end of last month targeting autos, dairy, booze and hockey sticks, arguing that the move was necessary to counter what he described as unfair treatment of American alcohol. Trump invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which allows presidents to impose additional duties on foreign countries that discriminate against US commerce.

If a deal is not agreed upon before Aug 19, the tariffs would affect an estimated $20 billion to $29 billion worth of Canadian imports.

Negotiators have been meeting daily in Washington, D.C. ahead of the deadline. An anonymous inside source interviewed by Reuters said the talks are going “quite well,” adding that both Canadian and American officials want to reach a mutually beneficial agreement before the middle of next week.

Items on the table include eliminating Canada’s retaliatory auto tariffs, reworking dairy quotas and removing provincial restrictions on US alcohol sales.

While some of those topics fall under the purview of the federal government, others fall squarely into the laps of provincial leaders like Doug Ford.

Ford was the first premier to implement a boycott of American-made alcohol in March 2025 after the Trump administration imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. His ban was the first of many to come. Eight of Canada’s 10 provinces currently have full or partial boycotts of US-made wine, spirits and beer, a move that at least 69% of Canadians supported in a recent Nanos Research poll.