As the trade dispute with the United States has played out, most Canadian provinces pulled American-made alcohol from their liquor store shelves as a form of retaliation. Saskatchewan, however, is one of only two provinces where shoppers can still buy US-made alcohol. Even so, far fewer people are choosing to do so.
The province's liquor wholesaler says it has seen roughly a 40 percent drop in the sale of US-made alcohol over the past fiscal year. The decline has come even without an official ban, suggesting that many customers are steering away from American products on their own as tensions with Washington continue.
That slump has left retailers with a simple calculation to make about their shelf space. As one operator put it, if something sits on the shelf too long and is not moving, they will do something with it and put a product in that space that will actually sell. The result is that slower-selling American bottles are increasingly at risk of being pushed aside.
Sherwood Co-op says it still wants to give customers a choice, but it is also reacting to what those customers are asking for. Staff there noticed that wine has been the most penalized category so far. Bourbon and beer, by contrast, have been holding up better, with wine clearly the section that shoppers are avoiding most.
Keeping some American products on the shelves has had an unexpected upside. Because most other provinces did impose bans, Saskatchewan retailers say they have drawn shoppers from across provincial lines. Customers from Manitoba, for instance, have come in to buy American bourbon and thanked the store for stocking it, because they can no longer find it back home.
The provincial bans have also become a bargaining chip at the national level. Sources have told CBC News that Ottawa is open to potentially halting the booze bans as part of its trade negotiations with Washington, using the restrictions as something it could offer up in exchange for relief on the wider tariff file.
The stakes are tied directly to the broader dispute. US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose more tariffs on Canada this month, pointing in part to the fact that many provinces will not sell American-made alcohol. Yet the experience in Saskatchewan suggests that even where the products remain available, consumers are already turning away from them, blunting the leverage such bans are meant to provide.