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Winnipeg Free Press
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Booze protest costs small price to pay to send Trump a message
Opinion Apparently, this is the cost of sticking to our collective guns. A freedom of information request filed by a former leader of the Manitoba Green party found out Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries is in possession of $3.4 million in unsold wine, spirits and beer from the United States. The booze — which includes product pulled from Liquor Mart shelves and product that was ordered and on the way here — marks the front line in Manitoba's war with U.S. President Donald Trump. Canadian whisky is advertised at a Liquor Mart in March while black plastic covers the U.S. whiskey section. The Manitoba government ordered American products removed from Liquor Marts in response to tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. (Tim Smith / The Brandon Sun files) Most government-owned liquor stores and some private wine and spirit companies across the country rushed to pull U.S. alcohol off its shelves in February after Trump threatened us with crippling tariffs and mused one too many times about bringing Canada into the union as the 51st state. The cost of this protest was never discussed with the public. The premiers who ordered the alcohol to be removed — including Manitoba's Wab Kinew and Ontario's Doug Ford — hardly stopped to discuss the fiscal implications while they were gleefully ordering government liquor commission workers to strip the shelves of Jack Daniel's bourbon and Napa Valley wines. But we all had to know there was a cost. In Manitoba, the up-front cost is $3.4 million. That is, of course, just a fraction of the retail value. For example, Manitoba marks up wine by 95 per cent. So, $1 million in wine represents nearly $2 million in lost sales, and significant tax revenue. Remember, all net profits from the Manitoba Liquor and Lottery Corporation go directly into the province's general revenue. In the 2023-24 fiscal year, that added up to a whopping $732 million. Based on the total transfer — which also includes profits from lottery and gaming — you could easily dismiss the loss of $3 million as chump change. But it's still lost revenue. The only remaining question is — is $3.4 million a fair price to pay for the political dividends derived from hauling U.S. alcohol off Manitoba shelves? To date, the answer is absoposilutely. The fact is that Canadians started looking for ways to avoid buying American products well before Canadian politicians got in on the action. The militant Shop Canadian campaign was organic and extremely effective. So much so that just about every good and service in this country that can lay tenuous claim to being Canadian has engaged in concerted red washing, draping their offerings with Canadian flags and slogans. How committed are we to continuing the various boycotts? Depends on which boycott you're talking about. Government liquor stores are boycotting U.S. booze, it appears that private stores never started. A quick and totally unscientific survey of Winnipeg wine stores shows that most are still selling a wide variety of U.S. wines online. And if they're selling it, it's likely because many of us are still buying it. That suggests that the longer it goes on, the more we will find a way of sneaking a bottle of American Pinot Noir now and again. Other aspects of the Canadian 'elbows up' protest movement seem to show no signs of weakening. A Manitoba Liquor Mart shelf encouraging Canadian alternatives to U.S. liquor. (Chris Kitching / Free Press files) On the travel front, Canadians have sent Trump a very strong message. More than a quarter of all tourist visits to the U.S. come from Canada, and last year, we spent more than $20 billion south of the border. Trump's new-age manifest destiny and his tariff threats have driven down road-trip visits by nearly 40 per cent, and air travel by about a quarter. The industry estimates that every 10 per cent loss in visits by Canadians translates into $2 billion less revenue for hospitality businesses. What does the future hold for the channels of the boycott? Boycotts of food and alcohol will eventually lose their bite. The bigger concern for U.S. producers is whether Canadians learn to drink wine from other regions of the world and simply do not want or need to go back to American products. The food boycott seems headed in the same direction. Don't be surprised if, come December, we drop our elbows long enough to stuff some California strawberries into our berry holes. Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. On travel, there are signs the boycott will continue longer, and have longer-lasting impacts. Discovering new places and new ways of getting there could very easily curb our appetite for U.S. visits. At least, until the U.S. industry starts offering travel deals that Canadians simply cannot refuse. (Are you listening Walt Disney Co.?) Which brings us back to $3.4 million in unsold alcohol in Manitoba. In the midst of a still-simmering trade war with the U.S., should we be fretting the government's decision to pull that much booze from Manitoba shelves? The quick answer is 'no.' Very little of this product will go bad. Which means, like good wine and whiskey, it's a protest that will only get better with age. Dan LettColumnist Dan Lett is a columnist for the Free Press, providing opinion and commentary on politics in Winnipeg and beyond. Born and raised in Toronto, Dan joined the Free Press in 1986. Read more about Dan. Dan's columns are built on facts and reactions, but offer his personal views through arguments and analysis. The Free Press' editing team reviews Dan's columns before they are posted online or published in print — part of the our tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
19-06-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Secure ties now or risk being left behind
Premier Wab Kinew is expected to announce the appointment of a provincial trade representative based out of Washington, D.C., next week, to fulfil a promise he made early this year. Experts say the trade rep shouldn't be a politician or a diplomat, but someone who knows Manitoba industry and trade and can build long-term relationships while finding ways to navigate the rocky shoals of U.S. protectionism and President Donald Trump's tariffs. Since December, Kinew has said Manitoba must have its own full-time trade officer working in the heart of the U.S. capital — preferably at the Canadian Embassy — where a few other provinces have someone working on their behalf to strengthen trade ties. BORIS MINKEVICH / free press files Former Manitoba premier Gary Doer, Canada's ambassador to the U.S. from 2009 to 2016, said provincial trade representatives during his time in Washington did 'excellent work' and were based out of the embassy on Pennsylvania Avenue, not far from the White House. After Trump was sworn in for his second term as U.S. president in January, he launched a trade war against Canada and other trading partners, imposed punishing tariffs, and threatened to annex Canada. In March, Manitoba pulled U.S. booze from Liquor Mart shelves in retaliation. On April 28, the Liberals were elected and Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada's 'old relationship' based on integration with the U.S. 'is over.' It's more important than ever for Manitoba to have a voice in Washington and the ear of Canada's ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, say Winnipeg business and trade experts and a former top politician and diplomat. 'This is a necessary step,' said Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce president Loren Remillard. Manitoba must start building relationships in Washington now or get left behind, he said. 'It's a strategic step, and it goes beyond just the current relationship with the Trump administration, it extends to future administrations,' said Remillard, who will host U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra at a chamber event in Winnipeg on July 29. 'Relate first, negotiate second,' said Gary Doer, who was Manitoba's premier from 1999 to 2009, and Canada's ambassador to the U.S. from 2009 to 2016. Doer said provincial trade representatives conducted 'excellent work' out of the Canadian Embassy at that time, fostering trade and cross-border relationships. They benefited from having their office in the embassy on Pennsylvania Avenue — which gave them access to the Canadian government and put them in proximity to U.S. power, he said. 'You're working with federal bureaucracy, but not being completely dependent upon it, by having your own set of people with skills and connections when you're dealing with Washington,' Doer said. Some question the value of Manitoba setting up shop in the U.S. capital, where there are so many competing interests and while the president has ditched trade deals and rules. 'What are we going to get out of that?' asked Prof. Barry Prentice at the University of Manitoba's Asper School of Business. Trade deals, such as the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement signed by Trump in 2018 during his first term, have since been undone by Trump, whose tariffs in 2025 are being challenged for violating the North American free trade pact. 'How many lobbyists are there in Washington, D.C. and how loud would our voice be to try and get anything done?' Prentice asked. Manitoba's time and money may be better spent focusing on states with which it does the most trade, in the U.S. Midwest and those to the south along the mid-continental corridor, he said. 'If I were going to invest money to expand trade, I might be more interested in Mexico than trying to talk to Washington,' Prentice said. Meantime, Canada is paying the price for taking U.S. trade for granted, said supply chain management expert Robert Parsons. 'We were so lulled into being dependent upon the Americans, we have not done enough to address how we as a country can remain independent with different trading partners,' he said. 'We have been putting it off and kicking it down the road for such a long time,' said Parsons, who has a doctorate in engineering and teaches at the Asper School of Business. Manitoba needs a U.S. trade rep to be strategic and in place for the long haul to know 'the devil of the details of everything going on, so that we know how to appropriately react.' It shouldn't be a political patronage appointment, Parsons said. Wednesdays A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom. The trade rep should be someone with business experience, 'who understands trade and the implications of that trade to companies in our province — a senior person who's had broad-based involvement with industries across and within Manitoba,' he said. Remillard, who was part of a provincial trade delegation to the U.S. capital last year, said Manitoba needs to be there so it's not left behind as other provinces forge connections on Capitol Hill, and 'connect with and help shape the Canadian voice that our ambassador and her team are bringing to their meetings in Washington.' Other provinces with a presence in D.C. 'have the ear' of Canada's ambassador on a regular basis, he said. '(She) is very aware of what's going on in Quebec, Ontario, B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, because those provinces make it a point of keeping the ambassador apprised of very specific issues and opportunities in their jurisdictions,' Remillard said. 'That's the opportunity we're losing without a representative in Washington and one that we're correcting by having this person.' Carol SandersLegislature reporter Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol. Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
11-06-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
It's not the time to cave on booze boycotts
Opinion A good measure of the true strength of your intentions is how much you're willing to sacrifice to stand up for what you believe. That should be the case even more when what you're sacrificing is essentially a luxury. You should, after all, be able to hold out a good long time without compromising your principles when what you're giving up is not even a necessity. Well, two Canadian premiers have demonstrated that the strength of their convictions is as shallow as a shot glass. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESs fileS Shelves emptied of American alcohol at a Liquor Mart. Remember when many provinces halted their sales of U.S. alcohol products in response to trade action by the American government? You should — it was, after all, only a little over three months ago that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was saying this about U.S. tariffs: 'This economic attack on our country, combined with Mr. Trump's continued talk of using economic force to facilitate the annexation of our country, has broken trust between our two countries in a profound way… It is a betrayal of a deep and abiding friendship.' A deep betrayal, all right. As of this week, both Alberta and Saskatchewan began purchasing U.S. alcohol products again. The halt in sales had been a clear and decisive multimillion-dollar message to American producers that Canadians weren't going to put up with the endless tariff follies of U.S. President Donald Trump. With plenty of other domestic and global options, we could no doubt put up with the absence of American wine, beer and bourbon. The boycott threatened US$1.1 billion in American wine sales alone, and U.S. spirits producers have said the boycotts were worse than tariffs. It was a strong message to the U.S. that trade is a two-way street. But a boycott — even of a luxury item that will still face a retaliatory tariff of 25 per cent by the Canadian government — is only as strong as its weakest link. And the governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan, always proud chest-thumpers of the innate toughness of good western folk, have proven to be that weakest link. Heaven forbid the Jack Daniels or Maker's Mark bourbon wouldn't be there to flow for the Calgary Stampede. Meanwhile, Alberta's move was swiftly welcomed by the United States' ambassador to Canada, Peter Hoekstra, who couldn't resist taking a social media victory lap, saying on X/Twitter: 'Very glad to see that Albertans can once again enjoy a cold U.S. beer or glass of wine. Thanks to Premier @ABDanielleSmith for your leadership in removing this barrier to fair and reciprocal trade.' Hoekstra's comments have to be read as a bitter little joke: the fact is that the capricious introduction of tariffs across a broad range of Canadian products by Trump is what built the current barriers 'to fair and reciprocal trade.' (If Hoekstra couldn't see the backhander he was delivering for the insult it truly was, then perhaps the carefully wrought world of diplomacy should not be his trade.) Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. Alberta seems quite willing to be the butt of that joke: last Friday, Alberta's Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally said the sales were being restarted to show a 'renewed commitment to open and fair trade' with the U.S. The United States has shown, of course, not one single iota of renewed commitment to anything like open and fair trade. Let's hope that customers in Alberta and Saskatchewan will continue to make the point that their governments don't have the strength to deliver, and continue to boycott American products until American producers can make their own case to their politicians about the damage done by trade wars. If not? Raise a glass to capitulation. And just wait for the next Trumpian punishment to be dealt out to America's former closest neighbour. Because it will come.
