After over seven months of removing American alcohol from its inventory due to the trade war with the U.S., the NSLC does not intend to sell off any of the products, unlike its New Brunswick counterpart. New Brunswick Liquor recently started selling the remaining $3.4 million worth of American alcohol it had. The NSLC currently holds about $14 million worth of American products in storage, specifically those made, manufactured, or produced in the U.S.
Not all products perceived as American are included in this inventory, like Budweiser, which is brewed at the Oland Brewery in Halifax, part of the global beer company Anheuser-Busch InBev. Similarly, Coors has breweries in Canada, including one in Moncton, N.B. Southern Comfort, labeled as ‘The spirit of New Orleans,’ is still available at NSLC stores as it is produced and bottled in Montreal.
The province has not made a decision on what to do with the stockpiled American alcohol, but measures to keep American alcohol off the shelves will continue for now. The Finance Department spokesperson mentioned they are open to reviewing these measures to support negotiations for a long-term trade deal with the U.S.
American alcohol remains unavailable for sale across many Canadian provinces due to tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. The NSLC confirmed that none of the stored American alcohol has been discarded due to concerns about perishability.
The absence of American alcohol on NSLC shelves has benefited local and Canadian producers, with sales of Nova Scotia spirit products and wine increasing significantly compared to the previous year. Canadian wine and whisky sales have also seen substantial growth. This shift has been detrimental to U.S. alcohol producers, with a significant decline in American spirit exports to Canada and a notable drop in sales to the country for brands like Jack Daniel’s.