The British Columbia government will remove some American products from provincial liquor stores and will prioritize domestic producers in all areas of government procurement in response to new U.S. tariffs imposed on Canadian goods.
Premier David Eby announced the protectionist measures at a hastily assembled news conference in Victoria on Tuesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump followed through on his threat to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods and a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy.
The premier addressed reporters just hours before his government was scheduled to release its 2025 budget, which Eby said will land in the “context of a changing world” that now includes a Canada-U.S. trade war.
“The president wants to hurt Canadians, he wants to hurt British Columbians,” Eby said. “We have no choice but to respond in kind to the United States.”
The response will include B.C. liquor stores pulling products that are made in Republican-controlled jurisdictions, or so-called “red states,” from their shelves.
“This is a deliberate decision to target red state liquor products,” Eby said.
“We understand who’s attacking us. We understand where this is coming from, and we want to send a message, particularly to those governors, to those Congresspeople, when they hear from their constituents about this, they have a chance to stand up to the president and to point out that jobs in their communities are dependent on a good relationship with Canada.”
‘All bets are off’
Eby’s comments followed remarks earlier Tuesday from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who accused the U.S. president of engaging in economic warfare.
“What he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy because that will make it easier to annex us,” Trudeau said from Ottawa.
Both leaders said Trump’s prior justification for imposing the tariffs – that Canada is not doing enough to prevent fentanyl from crossing the border into the U.S. – was a false rationale.
“If that was really what this was about, I would say that without a doubt the president’s demands were met and yet it did not matter,” Eby said.
The B.C. government’s plan to prioritize domestic suppliers for everything that provincial Crown corporations purchase is not something the province is typically empowered to do under existing trade agreements with the U.S., the premier said.
“Well, obviously, all bets are off,” Eby said.
‘We’re going to win’
The province will work with business and labour leaders to fast-track major projects and to support businesses seeking to diversify away from reliance on the American market, Eby said.
He urged British Columbians to buy local or Canadian products and avoid travelling to the U.S., if possible
“Choose to visit somewhere in Canada or somewhere else in the world,” the premier advised.
“Today, is our chance as Canadians, as British Columbians, to send a message as well.”
The message to Americans is that everything – from groceries to gasoline to electricity – is going to cost more “in a way that is noticeable and significant for American families,” Eby warned.
Trudeau confirmed the federal government will immediately impose retaliatory tariffs on $30 billion worth of American goods, with another $125 billion in tariffs set to take effect in 21 days.
“This is a moment for us to take an attack and turn it into a source of strength for ourselves as a province and as a country,” Eby said.
“We’re going to pull together,” the premier said, concluding his remarks. “We’re going to fight. We’re going to win.”
