The analysis shows that since March 5, when Canadian provinces announced they would no longer carry U.S. spirits products on their store shelves, through the end of April, sales of U.S. spirits in Canada fell by more than 66 per cent and total spirits sales in Canada declined by more than 12 per cent.

“The North American spirits sector is highly interconnected, and the immediate and continued removal of all U.S. spirits products from Canadian shelves is deeply problematic for spirits producers on both sides of the border,” said Cal Bricker, president and CEO of Spirits Canada. “The current disruption demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining open, reciprocal trade relationships that benefit consumers, businesses and government revenues in both nations.”

Several Canadian provinces pulled U.S. spirits from liquor stores following U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of a 25 per cent American tariff on certain Canadian imports. Though designed as a diplomatic rebuke, the policy triggered significant economic repercussions across Canada’s spirits sector. The analysis cited several key impacts since removing U.S. spirits products. From early March through the end of April:

• U.S. spirits sales declined 66.3 per cent
• Canadian spirits sales declined 6.3 per cent
• Other imported spirits sales declined 8.2 per cent
• Total spirits sales declined 12.8 per cent

In March, total spirits fell sharply by 20.6 per cent year-over-year following the immediate delisting of U.S. products. In April, Canadian spirits sales increased 3.6 per cent and other imported spirits sales rose 3.7 per cent, but the gains did not compensate for the significant losses from the U.S. product removal.

The overall spirits category remained down 3.3 per cent year-over-year in April, a decline of $13.9 million from $419.4 million to $405.5 million, demonstrating that substitute products cannot fully replace the market demand previously filled by U.S. spirits. Additionally, the replacement products tended to be lower-margin offerings, significantly impacting the profitability of the Canadian spirits sector.

Ontario, Canada’s largest spirits market, bore a disproportionate share of the impact with U.S. spirits sales plunging 80 per cent since removing the products in the province. Total spirits sales in Ontario were down 20 per cent, including a 12.8 per cent decline in Canadian products and 14.1 per cent decline in non-U.S. products.

“For decades, Canada and the U.S. have been the model of fair and reciprocal trade for spirits, and both the U.S. and Canadian hospitality industries have flourished as a result,” said Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. “It’s time to put American spirits back on the shelves throughout Canada. 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.”

Spirits Canada and the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. are working together to urge their respective governments to negotiate an agreement that continues to foster a thriving spirits industry between the two countries through permanent zero-for-zero tariffs on spirits products.

Spirits Canada’s corporate sponsorship of 86 Harassment signals to industry professionals and customers alike that sexual violence and harassment have no place in the beverage alcohol and hospitality industries.

86 Harassment is one of the first industry-wide initiatives specifically designed for the beverage alcohol and hospitality industries to co-create an action plan aimed at reducing incidents of harassment and violence. A key initiative of Women of the Vine & Spirits, 86 Harassment aims to create a model that can be duplicated by other industries worldwide emphasizing a collective commitment to fostering safer environments for employers, employees and customers.

“We can’t thank Spirits Canada enough for their support of 86 Harassment. This commitment signals to the industry at-large that sexual violence and harassment have no place in beverage alcohol and hospitality,” said Deborah Brenner, founder and CEO of Women of the Vine & Spirits and 86 Harassment council member.

Representing Spirits Canada on the 86 Harassment Council is Catherine Eaton, vice president, finance and operations at Spirits Canada.

We can’t thank Spirits Canada enough for their support of 86 Harassment. This commitment signals to the industry at-large that sexual violence and harassment have no place in beverage alcohol and hospitality.

Deborah Brenner, Women of the Vine & Spirits

“There is no place for sexual harassment and gender-based violence in our industry or society at large, and Spirits Canada’s support for this initiative reflects our deep commitment to fostering a safe, inclusive and equitable environment, where every individual is treated with dignity and respect,” said Eaton. “It is an honour to serve on this council and to contribute to meaningful change, ensuring that every person can be proud to work in this sector.”

Spirits Canada joins fellow sponsors Brown-Forman, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, Pernod Ricard North America, Republic National Distributing Company, and Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America.

Thanks to the generous financial funding of 86 Harassment sponsors, 86 Harassment will support employers and employees with the following free resources:

• Customized training for the beverage alcohol and hospitality industries on setting boundaries and bystander intervention, including “Creating A Safer Community,” developed and conducted by RAINN, and “Active Bystander Intervention” and “De-Escalation Training” for hospitality staff developed and conducted by Safe Bars. Additional trainings to be announced.
• Industry-specific Dedicated Confidential Crisis Intervention Hotline operated by staff at RAINN. Telephone Crisis Intervention Services available in English and Spanish. The hotline staff are available 24/7 to support communities with industry-specific crisis intervention, empathetic listening and warm handoffs to designated local service providers. The hotline provides quality, anonymous and confidential crisis intervention services in English and Spanish to support survivors within the industry.
• Centralized Resource Hub including glossary key terms and phrases, articles, reports, newsletters and educational resources for anyone in the beverage alcohol and hospitality industries. Handouts, toolkits, postcards, flyers, stickers, posters, available to download, print and post on walls on-premise, off-premise, offices and use at conferences and events.