Moosehead Breweries president and CEO Andrew Oland has spent the last few weeks preparing for the U.S. ban on Canadian alcohols including malt beer, wine, cider and whiskey. That meant sending extra shipments across the border before the ban begins at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday. “It’s almost surreal in terms of you know what, I never thought we’d be in a position where we couldn’t ship beer into the U.S.,” he said. American customers make up roughly 15 per cent of the company’s business. Oland believes they have enough stock in the U.S. to last until early November, which will maintain highly sought-after shelf space. But if the ban isn’t lifted by then, he’ll be powerless to do anything except pivot to new markets. “If this ban goes on indefinitely, we’re going to be out of business in the U.S., and that’s really unfortunate. At some point the ban has to end.” The ban includes whey powder, molasses and motorcycles. Molasses producer Crosby Foods Limited is based in Saint John, where it packages its product. Roughly three per cent of its business comes from American customers. Marketing manager Peter Davis said like Moosehead, the company has sent surplus product to the U.S. ahead of the ban. “We want to make sure that our molasses do get to them in a timely fashion,” Davis said. “It’s just uncertainty that we’re still navigating.” Asa McKercher, the Steven K. Hudson research chair in Canada-U.S. relations at Saint Francis Xavier University, said Atlantic Canada won’t be as impacted as places like Ontario, which sends more alcohol across the border. “The ban itself will have less of an impact than, say, some of the tariffs that were put in place previously by the Trump administration,” McKercher said. “This is the Trump administration signalling they’ve sort of got another economic stick to whack Canada with, if you’d like. But so far the Carney government hasn’t indicated that it’s interested in retaliating.” Not all New Brunswick alcohol producers will be hit by the ban. Waterside Winery, near the Bay of Fundy, does not ship to the U.S. But owner Linda Martell said she’s seeing more American tourists purchasing her wine. “The people that are coming in are very pleased to be here. They love Canada,” she said. And it’s not just Americans. New Brunswickers are also being more intentional about buying local. “It’s very encouraging to see that’s their primary objective, is to buy local.” The bans are the latest trade escalation and come amidst pre-existing 50 per cent tariffs on roughly $28 billion in Canadian goods. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
