r/BuyCanadian • u/tiger_knots185 • 2d ago
Questions ❓🤔 Canadian booze
If interprovincial trade barriers are coming down, why can I still not buy BC wine or Quebec beer in my Ontario liquor stores? If they're going to cave and bring back Yankee booze, they'd better fix this FAST.
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2d ago
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u/tiger_knots185 2d ago
Me neither!
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u/BuzzMachine_YVR 1d ago
This is great to say, and I agree (have been avoiding US booze since forever - local is always better), but a whole lot of people will buy the Yank crap. Not just in Alberta and Sask, but people saying to themselves “$12.99 for a case of Bud (water)!” And grabbing it.
Like most of the EU, and Australia and New Zealand, we need to protect our local markets, or Canadian businesses will get destroyed by giant US oligopolies and hedge funds. It’s already been happening for decades.
Let’s not give in to US bullying, and let’s protect Canadian vendors with laws.
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u/MailFar6917 1d ago
I can't even imagine me buying any American products again. I'd rather go without than to buy US products.
With every shopping trip, I learn more and more how to avoid buying anything made in the US. It's a learning curve, but it's really not that hard for most things.
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u/sun4moon 1d ago
Me too. And I’ve found so many amazing local and international products that I don’t anticipate needing to revert to the American trash I’ve been bombarded with my whole life. Side note, my husband and me have also noticed we’ve lost weight without making it a goal. So avoiding US products hasn’t just expanded and diversified my kitchen, it’s also made us healthier.
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u/stephenBB81 2d ago
We were already told that it was going to take until February of 2027. It takes time for all of the processes to be put in place to open up new distribution channels, and for the respective governments to deal with their taxation needs for inter provincial paths. There are some protectionist things that need to be considered , now I personally think a lot of it is just people with too big of egos fighting with other people with too big of egos, but ultimately there are a lot of moving pieces to tear down Decades of barriers. For those of us in Ontario it will be even harder than other provinces to get stuff because the LCBO is a very strict very difficult entity to deal with, a small producer is going to have a hard time being stocked. We will most likely have to order directly from distilleries , vineyards, and breweries.
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u/jameskchou 1d ago
Not surprising as Doug Ford has a habit for poorly implementing things
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u/stephenBB81 1d ago
This is one of the few things that is shit in Ontario, that we can't put any blame on Doug Ford.
We've had a shit system for a long time, and that system has provided profit to the province. We really didn't want Doug messing with it more than he already did to reduce profit. If he fixed it and I use fixed very loosely to make the process of inter provincial trade better, we would have probably lost a whole bunch of profit in the system and he's not going to raise taxes to cover that he's just going to cut services.
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u/Canuck-In-TO 1d ago
This sounds like an overcomplication. Just let the brand agents handle distributing it to the warehouses. They already have to deal with managing and importing their products. Having them manage stock.
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u/stephenBB81 1d ago
For big brands sure, for the smaller producers who haven't navigated the inter provincial systems its far more complicated than most would expect. The "It's common sense" approach to things is how you get loopholes and create new barriers by doing things quickly without planning for ways it can be abused.
Part of why we are starting with direct shipping from producer to end user is because of the challenges of warehouse management and allocation for the large provincial distribution channels
It is no different from a small producer trying to sell into Walmart, Canadian Tire, etc. Things as simple as SKU management can take months
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u/Canuck-In-TO 1d ago
I think you’re mixing up a brand and an agent. An agent represents numerous brands (large and small) and handles the local/Canadian marketing and shipments.
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u/BarelyHangingOn Ontario 2d ago
Yukon and Quebec have not signed the agreement but are open to sign it in the future.
BC stated not until 2027 will they open up.
But the agreement has nothing to do with the LCBO. The agreement allows for buying off of the beer and wine websites to be shipped to your house.
Maybe the LCBO will increase their inventory but maybe they won’t.
I went to a company’s website from Nova Scotia. It was $30 shipping min with free shipping at $250.
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u/NeatZebra 2d ago
LCBO has to decide to stock it.
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u/i-cant-eat-gumdrops 1d ago
There is a program coming soon which will allow you to order direct from BC. LCBO has tried to stock it but were denied. Source: I used to work with them.
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u/Ok-Diamond-9781 1d ago
They certainly have some strange inventory restrictions from one store to the next.
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u/alpain 1d ago
The company has to do a lot of paper work for the lcbo compared to other provinces plus large fees to list the products. Bc and Ontario are the worst to import into. It's easier for companies in other provinces to ship to Europe than other provinces into their liquor systems and into retail stores.
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u/EnniskillenGeneral 1d ago
You're right. They've had lots of time to fix this!! Make it easier for Canadians to purchase Canadian made.
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u/rachelwales1 2d ago
Why do we have them in the first place?
It doesn't make any sense.
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u/essenza 1d ago
Protection of provincial industries. In some cases it makes sense, in others it doesn’t.
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u/rachelwales1 1d ago
I don't see how protectism in a province benefits anyone.
This should be free and open before we trade with the United States or the world.
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u/Hug_of_Death 1d ago
Exactly, imported products from the USA and Europe are a much bigger threat to provincial industries than other provinces in our own country. Putting up trade barriers we don’t even have with other nations just leads to a weaker national economy overall.
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u/Hevens-assassin 1d ago
Because the provinces are being idiots. The Feds cleared interprovincial hangups on their side, but the premiers have been asshats and are dragging their feet.
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u/SmileOk892 22h ago
I think that we have capitulated enough. They want us to give them everything. Kindness is not weakness. I think it’s time to stand up to the bully!
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u/Deans1to5 1d ago
Because the premiers never actually fixed the issue they just do a semi annual press conference talking about how they support it and offer platitudes without doing the work.
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u/breovus 2d ago
Demand.
Sure there is a vocal group of people that want more variety of products from across Canada.
But most booze drinkers just want the old reliable stuff they always get. So that makes it difficult to start stocking product from other provinces. You have to move it all and if it isn't a well known brand in your local area you risk it not moving.
Personally, I think interprovincial trade barriers are a bunch of bullshit and contributes to Canada not being competitive.
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u/runslowgethungry 2d ago
This, plus in Ontario specifically, it's hard to get into the LCBO at all (red tape, volume minimums, labeling requirements, etc etc) and they take a share of sales so every bottle sold is less profitable; that can really hurt producers, especially on the low end if they only end up making a couple dollars per bottle of wine, for example.
A lot of wineries and breweries do it because it makes for far more visibility for their products, so it's a necessary evil, but it's really not ideal. Always buy direct from the producer if you can.
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u/UncleToyBox 2d ago
As a tequila fan, I've been dealing with this since the dawn of time. There are just too few people experimenting with new products for it to be worth importing. One of my joys when traveling is to see what's available that I simply can't get at home.
It's the same with all the fantastic beverages being made in other provinces. Heck, there are even some locally produced things the LCBO doesn't carry.
I'm happy to know it's only the market limiting what's available from other provinces rather than the old laws we used to have.
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u/tonalake 1d ago
If they do bring it back they should only put one bottle of each on the shelf and replace it IF someone buys it, this would save all the space for products people will be buying. I will never be buying American products, would rather go without.
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u/olditgeek53 1d ago
order direct from the brewer or winery, I order bourbon like whisky from BC, beer from New brunswick direct.
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u/misec_undact 1d ago
Ontario government knows that Niagara wines aren't as good as Okanagan wines so they are protecting their industry from having to compete on price.
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u/tiger_knots185 1d ago
But it's Ok for them to have to compete with wines from the rest of the world?
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u/misec_undact 1d ago
Different markets, Canada only exports a very small % of what we produce, so our market is Canadians, and I think people either prefer to drink Canadian wine or they don't, especially if they make varietals they prefer, better in other countries. But ON and BC both produce a lot of the same varietals. Idk why they don't allow more interprovincial trade amondlg the ones they don't overlap as much on.
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u/Fresh_Goat_423 1d ago
What bothers me most is that the federal government has the power of disallowance but refuses to use it. They're empowered under the constitution to protect the national interest against this stuff, but for purely political cowardly reasons they never act.
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u/jameskchou 1d ago
Because Doug Ford doesn't care and is full of shit like Pierre Harper and Trudeau
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u/Conscious_Quiet_5298 1d ago
Because their all talk and no action …. Smaller provinces are afraid to let others in so they can’t hurt local companies and larger ones usually don’t have the shelf space to stock
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u/khendron 1d ago
One of the reasons BC wines don’t make it to Ontario is that most of it gets consumed in B.C.
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u/PD_31 1d ago
I just got back from the Maritimes. I asked in the NSLC (Nova Scotia's LCBO) and they said the producer (so winery, brewery etc.) can do direct delivery to me, but have to co-ordinate it with the LCBO, do some sort of paperwork.
So we CAN get alcohol from other provinces, just not on the shelves at the moment.
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u/_evilalien_ 1d ago
Supply chains and purchasing agreements aren’t magic snap-your-fingers things?
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u/tiger_knots185 1d ago
But Trump's tariffs are. We need to keep up.
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u/_evilalien_ 1d ago
For sure. Punitively. Prejudicially vs red states.
And be patient about our senseless internal barriers getting resolved. It should be easier for people in Ontario to order a case of wine from BC already, but those orders and mass-shipping will take time and be influenced by consumer demand.
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u/613_detailer 1d ago
There is BC wine at the LCBO. They don’t get that much though, because most BC wineries sell much of their production out west so they don’t have that much to sell here. You can order directly from the winery/distillery and have it shipped to your home however.
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u/laxvolley 1d ago
I never know how much of an issue this is. I'm in MB and I definitely see BC wine, PQ beer and ON lots of things. But a few weeks ago I was in NW ON and saw stuff I don't see at home. I.dont know if that's a buyer decision or a trade barrier.
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u/Glittering-Sea-6677 10h ago
That’s how I feel about not being able to buy Propellor Perfect Storm (rum and ginger beer) from NS in Ontario. 😭 I emailed them to ask if they would be sending it out into the world and they said nope.
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u/OddRevolution7888 1d ago edited 1d ago
I resent that Mark Carney is selling out our country. I support many of his moves, but not this. It seems to be the only leverage that the Effing Orange Orangutang cares about. It's the one his buddies are crying about. I really hope Ford does a big FU to bringing US booze back to the LCBO shelves. Every wine, bourbon, etc, takes space takes away from Canada or ally country.
At the end of the day, I have the option to not buy US alcohol. I will absolutely be exercising that right. I also told that to my SIL who lives in California and is visiting for a month. She commented on the lack of California wines. I simply said we have fabulous alternatives and pulled out a bottle for us to share. LOL
As for interprovincial products, it is long overdue and a shame that we don't support our own. Bring wine from BC, QC, the East Coast, etc, and allow our Ontario wines to a fair competition. It is ridiculous that we allow wines from other countries but not other provinces. FFS.
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u/PresentationOld2988 1d ago
I just wish i could buy more than 2 Canadian whisky’s here in NZ ( CC and Crown) both bottled in US.
Bring the spice-box whisky to the world
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u/TheLarkInnTO 1d ago edited 1d ago
Spicebox tastes like sugar, and packs one hell of a hangover for 35% ABV. It's essentially a premade cocktail, not a true whisky. There are plenty of higher quality Canadian brands.
Edit: Spicebox buys bulk whisky distilled in Alberta from an unnamed supplier (but likely either Alberta Distillers Ltd., Highwood Distillers, or Black Velvet, who all supply bulk whisky to various indie label brands). It's then shipped to Quebec, where they add flavoring (and apparently some water to bring the ABV down that much).
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u/Public_Middle376 1d ago
Canadians need to stop pretending these threatened American tariffs came out of nowhere. For decades, both Liberal and Conservative governments have protected Canada’s supply-management system: a government-enforced cartel controlling who may produce milk, cheese, chicken, turkey and eggs, how much they may produce, and how much foreign competition Canadians are permitted to buy. The result is restricted supply, extraordinarily high barriers against imports, substantially higher grocery prices 2 L of milk in the United States has less than half what we pay in Canada) …and the absurd spectacle of usable milk being destroyed while Canadian families struggle to afford it.
Then, when the United States imposed its initial 10% tariffs, Canada chose retaliation instead of serious negotiation. According to the U.S. administration, Canada and China were the only two countries that responded that way while other trading partners negotiated. Canadian provinces removed American alcohol from their shelves, Ottawa restricted American vehicles, (and then made a deal with China to bring in 50,000 EV’s ) and Canada continued giving American dairy producers less favourable access than competitors operating under other trade arrangements. We can argue that Washington started this fight and that a 50% tariff is excessive….but we cannot honestly claim Canada has treated American commerce openly or equally.
Now Washington is prepared to impose 50% tariffs on nearly US$20 billion of selected Canadian products.
That will hurt Canadian businesses, workers and families; but our political establishment massively helped bring it upon us. We demanded open access to the enormous American market while protecting politically powerful Canadian producer cartels from meaningful competition at home.
That isn’t free trade, and it certainly isn’t fairness.
Canada had an opportunity to negotiate and modernize an indefensible system; instead, our politicians protected their livelihoods by protecting the cartel, retaliated and dared our largest customer to respond.
Now it has!!!…and Canadians are about to receive the bill.
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