Paul Speck had mixed feelings about Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s retaliatory move to pull American brands from LCBO shelves in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The president of Henry of Pelham, a family-owned winery in Niagara Falls, Ont., would be happy to see California wines — its biggest competitor — return to store shelves in return for the lifting of Trump’s tariffs, and Canada avoiding an expected recession.
But he also recognizes that this could be a pivotal moment for a boom in his industry.
“It’s a great opportunity for all local wineries together to get to have some Canadians take a look at all the great things we’re doing here,” Speck said.
The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) — the sole purchaser of all American alcohol across the province — said Tuesday that all U.S. products would be removed from its stores and would be replaced “with suitable alternatives.”
“At the direction of the government of Ontario, we have stopped purchasing all U.S. products and U.S. products are no longer be available for sale,” the LCBO said in an email. “Products will be stored until further notice.”
Wholesale customers, including grocery and convenience stores, bars, restaurants and other retailers, can no longer place orders from the LCBO for U.S. products but are permitted to sell any remaining inventory.
Staff at a downtown LCBO were seen Tuesday removing American whiskey, vodka and wine from the shelves, replacing them with signs that read, “For the good of Ontario. For the good of Canada.”
The LCBO’s website was back online Wednesday after briefly going down Tuesday following Ford’s directive, with U.S. products nowhere to be found. These include Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey, Maker’s Mark Kentucky Bourbon, Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from California.
“In response to U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, U.S. products are no longer available for purchase online or in-store until further notice,” a statement on the LCBO’s website said.
Michelle Wasylyshen, the president of Ontario Craft Wineries, said that when the LCBO first — and temporarily — began pulling American products in February in reaction to Trump’s then mere threats — $965 million worth annually — her organization let the LCBO know that it had additional wine available to immediately fill any gaps on the shelves.
“We’re looking to hear back from them. We’re looking to work with them and grocers as well to make sure that our wine products are available on the shelf,” Wasylyshen said.
Speck is also expecting more and larger orders from grocery stores and restaurants, which had been calling him even before the tariffs took effect Tuesday — with customers complaining that their wine lists were filled with too many California wines.
Henry of Pelham has a large stock of wine thanks to the big harvest last fall. To prepare for the spike in sales, Speck said they’ve been running their bottling lines for longer hours, hiring more salespeople, and purchasing tanks to boost production by 500,000 litres by September.
“I think it’s very exciting for Canadians in general to look at all the incredible products we make,” said Speck. “We’re smaller companies. It’s hard to compete against these big American wineries. Some of these wineries make more wine than our entire industry.”
Scott Simmons, the president of Ontario Craft Brewers, said he hopes all U.S. brands removed from LCBO store shelves will quickly be replaced with authentic, locally made craft beer.
“This would be a game changer for our sector and would help make it easier for Ontarians to find and choose craft beer from locally owned breweries,” Simmons said. He added that it would also help Ontario craft brewers withstand the impact of tariffs on key inputs, such as the aluminum used in beer cans.
The sentiment was echoed by Matt Johnston, the CEO of Collective Arts Brewing, a craft brewery in Hamilton, Ont., that sells 15 per cent of its products to the U.S.
Johnston said he is still waiting to see how long the tariffs will last and how that will impact their monthly shipments.
While he’s excited about the opportunity to grow business locally while U.S. products remain off shelves, he wants to see more of a market response before ramping up production.
“We can turn that on fairly quickly. During this challenging financial time that everyone’s going to go through, opportunistic inventory building is probably not the right move for us. So we want to see some more of those orders coming in,” Johnston said.
Wasylyshen expressed concerns about whether customers will turn to imports from other countries rather than choosing local wineries.
“This is what we view as a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to look at this ‘Buy Ontario’ sentiment and to help consumers know that they’ve got a really good option right in their backyard when it comes to Ontario,” she said.
