Don’t expect to once again enjoy a bottle of cabernet sauvignon from California’s Napa Valley or a bottle of bourbon from Kentucky anytime soon.
B.C. Premier David Eby has repeatedly made it clear his government has no intention of rescinding the ban on U.S. alcohol in government liquor stores.
“There is not a chance in hell that U.S. alcohol is going back on the shelf in British Columbia,” Eby said at last month’s premiers’ conference.
In early 2025, B.C. banned all U.S. alcohol in government-run stores in response to Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats. Other provinces, including Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces, followed suit.
The U.S. government has said Canadian imports of U.S. alcohol are down more than 80 per cent, year to year.
The B.C. Conservatives are demanding he change course and lift the ban, and the issue has emerged as yet another dividing line between that party and the ruling NDP.
A B.C. Conservative caucus news release last month called for lifting the ban.
“British Columbians are free to boycott American products,” said caucus Trade critic Lawrence Mok. “But when government imposes a ban, it invites retaliation.”
However, a recent survey suggests Eby may be on the right side of public opinion when it comes to keeping the ban in place and standing up to the Trump administration in general.
The survey by Abacus Data shows that 72 per cent of British Columbians want to keep the restrictions in place, which is higher than the national figure of 69 per cent approval (the survey of 1,363 adults was done in the provinces that have bans on U.S. alcohol. The margin of error is 2.65 percentage points).
The survey also neatly shows why the NDP feels so strongly about the issue and why it is not entirely surprising the B.C. Conservatives are advocating for scrapping the ban.
More than eight in 10 respondents who vote Liberal or NDP federally support keeping the restrictions. When it comes to Conservative voters, however, just a slim majority – 53 per cent – favour keeping them, while about a third want to lift them.
Other findings in the survey again show why Eby and the NDP are quite happy to see the B.C. Conservatives continue to call for taking a step back from confrontation to Trump’s tariff war and instead emphasize negotiations.
This goes well beyond the alcohol issue.
Almost two-thirds of respondents – 63 per cent — say Canada should stand firm against U.S. trade pressure even if that results in economic costs to this country. Just 27 per cent want to de-escalate things.
“This is not simply about wine, beer and spirits,” Abacus Data CEO David Coletto told The National Post last week. “The results reflect a broader public instinct that Canada should not reward economic pressure with immediate concessions. Most people would rather accept some risk of retaliation rather than remove a countermeasure without securing something in return.”
The NDP has made it clear it intends to portray new B.C. Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay as a “MAGA” supporter who would appease Trump at every turn.
Her party’s opposition to keeping the ban on U.S. alcohol in place will make it easier for the New Democrats to do just that.
Keith Baldrey is Global BC’s legislature bureau chief.
Keith.Baldrey@globalnews.ca
