If U.S. booze returns to shelves, 'leave it there,' Manitoba premier says
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is resisting pressure to return U.S.-made alcohol to provincial store shelves as part of a potential trade deal. Kinew encouraged Manitobans to boycott American products to protest trade policies implemented by the U.S. administration.
Why it matters
Illustrates the intersection of international trade disputes and local consumer-level political protest.
Canadian and U.S. officials are working to finalize a deal that would avert new U.S. tariffs on nearly $30 billion in Canadian goods. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney and his negotiators discussed the prospective deal with his cabinet and the premiers.
Kinew says Carney asked the provinces to return American alcohol to store shelves, but Manitoba has yet to agree to that.
If the provinces return U.S. products to Liquor Marts as part of a potential trade deal, Kinew said Canadians still have the agency to "leave it there."
"Don't buy it. Let it sit on the shelf … and buy the Canadian stuff instead," he told reporters during a noon-hour news conference in his office Thursday.
"Let's send a message that … we don't like Donald Trump's approach to trade or his way of treating Canada."
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