Days after announcing it would stop purchasing over 50 traditional American liquor products made in Canada as a response to U.S. tariffs, the Government of Saskatchewan has reversed its decision.
“Government has since heard concerns about some of these products that are produced in Canada,” the province said in a statement released Monday afternoon.
“As a result, Saskatchewan is realigning its approach to be consistent with other provinces by focusing on US-produced alcohol and the sale and distribution of 54 Canadian-produced American brands will now resume.”
Late last week, the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) notified retailers and distributors that 54 American-branded products would no longer be sold or distributed in Saskatchewan.
The list of alcoholic products impacted by the decision included everything from Arizona Hard Iced Tea to Pabst Blue Ribbon to Twisted Tea.
The SLGA serves as the province’s alcohol wholesaler – meaning that the Crown corporation provides the products for businesses across Saskatchewan to stock their shelves.
The province’s move drew vocal criticism – with organizations such as Beer Canada arguing that it was a “misguided decision” that would result in Canadian-made beers being banned from store shelves.
While brands such as Coors Light and Budweiser may have originated and are headquartered in the United States, the brands are tied to thousands of jobs north of the border.
In a statement on Monday, Beer Canada President CJ Hélie welcomed the province’s reversal, underlining the need for a true “Team Canada” approach.
“Canadian brewers are proud to be a true Canadian industry, with 88 per cent of all beer consumed in Canada made here in Canadian breweries, by Canadian workers, using local ingredients, including Saskatchewan barley.”
The Minister Responsible for the SLGA, Alana Ross, elaborated on the province’s decision while speaking to reporters after question period Monday.
“We have spent a lot of time speaking with stakeholders within the industry, such as hospitality Saskatchewan, speaking with the public, talking to some of our local distributors,” she explained.
“We listened to them and we learned that we weren’t really in line with what the other provinces were doing. So we took it back. I promised to take it back. We took it back, and the decision was made that we needed to be in alignment with the other provinces in Canada.”
Reiterating several points she made when the decision first came to light - Ross maintained that the ban was only intended to penalize American brands and highlight the harm of tariffs overall.
“As we said, what it did was signal the harm that tariffs were doing. The original bans [are] still in place,” she said.
“We had made a decision in cabinet that we would implement the [ban on] American brands, and you know, it’s quite confusing. So that was the decision that we made, and we stand by that decision.”
“I think that’s the lesson learned from this, how tariffs can impact [the] people of Saskatchewan. Tariffs aren’t good for anyone.”
-With files from Rory MacLean.
