Jack Daniel’s Owner Takes 62% Sales Hit in Canada Amid Tariff Boycott

(Photo: Sipa via AP Images)

Brown-Forman, the Kentucky-based alcohol giant behind Jack Daniel’s, Woodford Reserve and Herradura Tequila, has reported major losses in Canada amid an ongoing boycott that’s stripped American brands from the local market.

The tit-for-tat can be traced back to March, when Canadian officials began pulling American brands from the shelf in response to the Trump administration’s tariff threats. Ontario was the first to follow through, and was soon after joined by provinces including Saskatchewan, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia.

Though Alberta and Saskatchewan have since lifted the ban, American alcohol continues to be unavailable in many of Canada’s most populous provinces.

During a conference call with investors last Thursday, Brown-Forman announced that sales to Canada decreased by 62% during the last fiscal quarter compared to the same period a year prior. CEO Lawson Whiting said that non-U.S. brands like Diplomatico and El Jimador continue to deliver growth, implying that American-based distillers like Jack Daniel’s are driving the plunge.

“While we were encouraged by recent discussions, American spirits products have been off the shelf in Canada for months,” Leanne Cunningham, CFO for Brown-Forman, remarked in the conference call. “This had a significant impact on our first quarter of fiscal 2026, which will impact our full fiscal year results.”

Brown-Forman also reported losses of 16% in the United Kingdom, 10% in Germany, 5% in France and 4% in Australia. Executives warned that tariffs, macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility may dampen its operating outlook in the months and years to come.

The future of American-owned liquor in Canada lies entirely in the hands of local officials.

Some have attempted to take a targeted approach. In early March, British Columbia halted imports from the 31 “red states” that voted for Donald Trump in 2024. The move was expected to take a particular toll on Kentucky, responsible for 95% of the world’s bourbon, as well as Brown-Forman’s home state of Tennessee. That specificity was short-lived. A week after announcing the red state ban, Premier David Eby extended the directive to all American alcohol, saying that the Trump administration’s tariff threats were “too dire for half measures.”

Ontario, led by vocal Trump critic Doug Ford, was the first to take sweeping measures. Videos circulated earlier this year showed American-owned brands like Bulleit Bourbon being pulled from the shelf en masse, replaced by red-and-white signs stamped with the words “Buy Canadian Instead.” The Liquor Control Board of Ontario is responsible for distributing alcohol to nearly 40% of Canada’s population, pulling in a gross revenue of $7.4 billion in 2023.