Canada’s boycott of U.S. wines ‘causing devastating harm,’ California senator says

It’s been over a year since the ‘booze ban’ on American alcohol took effect, and U.S. lawmakers are fighting to have it reversed. Abigail Bimman reports.

A Democratic U.S. Senator has taken to social media to urge Canada to reconsider its boycott on American alcohol, specifically wine from California.

In a post on X, California Senator Adam Schiff said that the “boycott of California wine is causing devastating harm to winegrowers.”

Last month, Schiff sent a letter to Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette, asking her to reconsider the boycott in the province.

“Québec consumers have historically enjoyed access to a wide variety of American wines, and their absence limits choice in the marketplace, while cutting off a $434 million market,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, the restriction on American wine has had damaging consequences for regional consumers, businesses, and producers who have no influence over national policies.”

He added that reopening the market to American wine would “restore consumer choice and signal a commitment to restoring fair and balanced trade for Québecois consumers and American wineries who have no connection to the underlying trade disputes.”

In a statement to CTV News in response, Fréchette’s office made it clear she is standing firm on the boycott measures.

“In the context of the ongoing trade war, the Premier continues to defend Quebec’s economic interests,” reads the statement. “This measure will remain in effect as long as the United States maintains these unjustified tariffs. Our government will re-evaluate its position when the American administration reverses these measures.”

Meanwhile, New York Congresswoman Claudia Tenney announced this week she is launching legislation to investigate unfair trade practices – the Combatting Attacks on our National Alcoholic Drinks by Allies – or CANADA – Act.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford maintains his province “won’t back down.”

Canadian booze sellers thriving

At Westcott Vineyards in Ontario’s wine-rich Niagara region, owner Caroyln Hearst is glad for premiers who aren’t backing down.

As a direct result of the March 2025 booze ban, she says Westcott sales at the LCBO have increased by 600 per cent. On-site sales are up 20 per cent. She’s expanding her operations by a third, planting another 30 acres of vines and in the permitting process for an expansion building.

“Every dollar that’s been spent on an Ontario wine, and on a Westcott wine, has gone right back into the province of Ontario,” Hurst told CTV News Friday.

“Consumers voting with their wallets, in terms of buying our products, has generated all kinds of opportunity for us here.”

She says many customers who have found their vineyard for the first time tell her they’re not in a rush to buy American if the trade war calms down.

“I think the world has changed, and the relationship between Canada and the U.S. has changed, and I just don’t think that we’re going back to business as usual, whether the products come back onto the shelves or not.”

Ontario’s LCBO tells CTV News over the past year, Ontario VQA wine sales have jumped 44 per cent across the board, while Canadian alcohol sales overall were up 18 per cent.

It’s a very different story south of the border, where the Wine Institute recorded a 78 per cent drop in U.S. wine exports to Canada between 2024 and 2025.

Canada used to be the top export market for American wine, representing 36 per cent of all U.S. wine exports worldwide in 2024. In 2025, that dropped to just 12 per cent of exports, representing more than US$357 million in lost export value.

Wine Institute President & CEO Steve Gross tells CTV News in a statement the industry is “eager to rebuild our relationship.”

“Restoring access offers Canadian consumers choice, and supports retailers, restaurants, workers, wineries and farming families in both countries,” Gross wrote.

In terms of liquor, an analysis by Spirits Canada found the sale of U.S. spirits in Canada were reported to have dropped 66.3 per cent between March 5, 2025, when provinces announced they would stop carrying the products in retail stores, and the end of April 2025.

Canadian distillers are also experiencing a major spike in sales. Oakville, Ont.’s Maverick Distillery told CTV News in April that vodka sales were up 100 per cent at the LCBO, while whiskey sales were up 300 per cent.

“We’re seeing unbelievable growth and the push to buy Canadian products is a real thing,” said Maverick Distillery CEO Craig Peters.

Provinces ‘overstepping’: trade expert

Meredith Lilly, who worked as an advisor to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, believes the provinces are “overstepping their jurisdiction” with the ban.

The Carleton University professor and Simon Reisman Chair in International Economic Policy says she expects there are a number of conversations happening behind the scenes and hopes the federal government is pushing to get booze back on the shelves, and that provinces are listening.

“International trade negotiations are a federal responsibility, not a provincial responsibility, and so it’s my view that the provincial premiers should be working collaboratively with Ottawa and taking signals from Ottawa about what would be the best approach,” she told CTV News.

She says the trade irritant has “become quite a personal issue” for American officials on the file, including United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

“It seems like this is one of the measures that could be taken quite easily to move the conversation forward in a more constructive way,” Lilly said.

With files from CTV News Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Siobhan Morris