At least four Canadian provinces say that they've decided to sell their stockpiles of American liquor that had been pulled from shelves months ago.

Several Canadian provinces halted all sales of U.S. liquor early in March 2025, in protest of President Donald Trump's announced tariffs against the country, as well as his frequent mentions of Canada as the 51st state. Although Saskatchewan and Alberta have since resumed buying American alcohol, many other provinces are planning to stop selling it altogether once their remaining stockpiles are gone, The New York Times reports.

Nova Scotia reported $3 million CAD ($2.2 million) in sales of American spirits after it announced in early December that it was selling off its remaining stockpiles. Prince Edward Island put its own stockpile of U.S. liquor back on shelves on December 11, and has plans to donate the net profits to food banks. Manitoba announced on December 4 that it would resume U.S. alcohol sales through Christmas Eve, and donate the proceeds to local charities. Newfoundland started selling off its inventory of American liquor on December 10, and says that it plans to donate up to $1 million in profits to the Community Food Sharing Association.

U.S. exports of spirits to Canada fell by 85% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2025. The Spirits Canada coalition — which represents distilled spirits stakeholders across the country — also reported a 12.8% dip in total spirit sales between March and the end of April, representing what it called "a stark illustration of the ripple effects when cross-border trade breaks down."

“The North American spirits sector is highly interconnected, and the immediate and continued removal of all U.S. spirits products from Canadian shelves is deeply problematic for spirits producers on both sides of the border," Spirits Canada CEO Cal Bricker said in a July news release.