Ep. 618: Ban on American Alcohol: Is it Working?
Guest: Sylvain Charlebois
On February 1, 2025, British Columbia Premier David Eby decided that you are not allowed to purchase or consume American alcohol. He was responding to U.S. tariffs and trade threats, which angered Canadians and produced a backlash against America and American products. Individuals are free to make up their own minds when it comes to what they do and do not buy. Choice is what a free market provides; a ban removes freedom of choice.
The decision by Premier Eby of BC, Premier Ford of Ontario, along with the premiers of Manitoba, Nova Scotia, PEI, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador to ban or restrict the sale of American-made alcohol can be seen as a government decision rather than a free market choice. “As a result,” says Sylvain Charlebois, “they have contravened the Canada, US, and Mexico Free Trade Agreement and ignited the introduction of the CANADA Act in Congress under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act.”
Charlebois says, “More importantly, the banning of the sales of U.S.-made alcohol poses a threat to Canadian food security because we can not feed ourselves; we will starve without food from the U.S.” Charlebois points to the fact that 60% of Canada’s fresh produce and processed foods come from the United States and they can retaliate by reducing sales to Canada.
We invited Sylvain Charlebois to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the impact of banning American-made alcohol on trade talks and the nature of our food trading relationship with the U.S.
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