US spirits sales drop 66% in Canada
Sales of American spirits plummeted by double digits in Canada after stores began pulling US products in response to tariffs, with Ontario hit the hardest.
According to new data from Spirits Canada, from 5 March to the end of April, US spirits sales in Canada dropped by 66.3% while total spirits sales fell by 12.8%.
In early February, stores in Ontario, British Columbia and Nova Scotia began pulling American-made spirits from shelves in response to a 25% tariff placed on Canadian goods by US president Donald Trump.
While some countries have promised retaliatory tariffs, there are additional measures, like those taken by Canada, that have disrupted the spirits sector. As The Spirits Business covered this past May, there is a cost to such aggressive trade posturing, especially with countries where zero-for-zero tariffs or long-standing trade agreements were in place.
“The North American spirits sector is highly interconnected, and the immediate and continued removal of all US spirits products from Canadian shelves is deeply problematic for spirits producers on both sides of the border,” Cal Bricker, president and CEO of Spirits Canada, said.
“The current disruption demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining open, reciprocal trade relationships that benefit consumers, businesses and government revenues in both nations.”
In 2024, Canada imported US$221 million worth of US spirits, making it the category’s second-largest export market behind only the EU. Canada began imposing a 25% tariff on all US alcohol on 13 March with most provinces removing it from retail stores entirely. Two provinces, Alberta and Saskatchewan, have since returned US spirits to shelves.
Ontario, Canada’s largest spirits market, saw US spirits sales plunge by 80% from 5 March to 30 April according to Spirits Canada. Total spirits sales were down by 20% in Ontario, including a 12.8% decline in Canadian products and a 14.1% drop in non-US products.
While the sale of Canadian spirits rose by 3.6% across the country in the month of April, and other imported spirits sales were up by 3.7%, the products tended to be lower margin offerings, failing to make up the difference lost by fledgling US spirits sales. The overall spirits category in Canada was down by 3.3% year over year, with sales plunging by 20.6% in March compared to last year.
“It’s time to put American spirits back on the shelves throughout Canada,” Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the US, said.
“This data makes clear that the decision by Canadian provinces to pull American spirits products off their store shelves is not only harming American distillers, but it’s needlessly reducing revenues for the provinces and hurting Canadian consumers and hospitality businesses.”
Related news
Trump delays US tariffs on Mexico and Canada again
