Last call for U.S. booze on Island liquor store shelves
Province targets American wine, beer, spirits in response to Trump's tariffs
Premier Dennis King pushed back at Donald Trump's tariffs on Sunday evening.
In a news release, the province said all American wines, beer and spirits will be pulled from provincial liquor store shelves by Tuesday. There will also be measures put in place to prevent restaurants from ordering any more U.S. alcohol.
The P.E.I. Liquor Control Commission's total gross sales of America products totalled over $7 million last year.
The province added it will "limit" business with U.S. companies if possible moving forward, and possibly cancel existing contracts.
"Our government is taking these initial, but important steps in reaction to the U.S. government's unfair and unnecessary tariffs," said King. "Additional measures will be implemented in the coming days working with the Government of Canada and our local business community."
In the release, the province stressed the importance of buying local, and that the moves are a big step to supporting Island suppliers. Exporters on Prince Edward Island say no good will come on either side of the border as Canada and the U.S. embark on a trade war set to begin Tuesday.
Prior to King's announcement of counter-measures, he said the province would "take the necessary steps to protect jobs, support businesses, and ensure our industries remain competitive."
"Our province, like our country, has always relied on strong, fair-trade relationships," he said after a meeting of first ministers on Saturday night. "We will work closely with the federal government and our provincial and territorial partners to push back against these tariffs and make it clear that Canadian businesses and workers cannot be treated unfairly."
In a news release early Sunday, interim P.E.I. Liberal Leader Hal Perry asked King's government to reconvene the legislative assembly to discuss what it planned to do.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa will levy tariffs on a host of American products in retaliation to Trump's tariffs.
To start, Canada will slap 25 per cent tariffs on $30-billion worth of U.S. goods coming into Canada as of Tuesday. The tariffs will then be applied to another $125-billion worth of American imports toward the end of the month.
But for industries on P.E.I., the U.S. tariffs will have "negative implications," said Russ Mallard, president of Atlantic Beef Products and chair of the Canadian Meat Council.
"If that market is suddenly closed or unavailable … that means that beef could conceivably stay here in Canada, and it's going to take a while to find new markets," Mallard said. "That means that prices to producers … as well as processors will likely fall.
"Short-term implications, it might be good for consumers, but the long-term implications, it'll likely be negative for the industry."
Mallard said 35 per cent of all Canadian beef products are shipped to the U.S. He said closing off or limiting the American market could open market opportunities in new countries, but that would only happen in the long term.
This will not bring food prices down to the American consumer, nor to the Canadian.— Ray Keenan, Rollo Bay Holdings
About half of the 50 companies that make up the P.E.I. BioAlliance, which represents the province's bioscience sector, are exporters to the United States, said the alliance's CEO Rory Francis.
He said there's "no question" companies with direct sales to the U.S. will feel the impact of the tariffs, but to what extent remains.
"The tariffs may well mean that the expansion plans that some of the companies have, who are depending on a U.S. market, they may put those expansion plans on pause," Francis said.
"It's going to affect their calculations in terms of the business case for expansion in Canada, expansion in Prince Edward Island, versus perhaps some other place in the world where they would be able to manufacture their product."
Ray Keenan, co-owner of potato processor Rollo Bay Holdings in Souris, said the tariffs will have an adverse effect for consumers in both countries.
He said the company's equipment, chemicals and fertilizer are all based on U.S. pricing, and importers and exporters will ultimately have to pass those extra costs on to customers in grocery stores.
'Wrap ourselves in the flag'
"This will cost the American consumer and it will add to their already high grocery bill that the president campaigned on and said he would bring food prices down," Keenan told CBC News on Friday.
"This will not bring food prices down to the American consumer, nor to the Canadian."
Blueberry producers in the province are coming off two years of barely breaking even and were looking forward to a better 2025, said Benny Nabuurs, a grower in Cardigan and president of the P.E.I. Wild Blueberry Growers Association.
He said he's less optimistic about the year ahead with the looming tariffs. An estimated half of their frozen blueberry product is shipped to the U.S.
"If our blueberries become that much more expensive than the competing products, we're going to lose market share," Nabuurs said. "When the people that are selling the blueberries have to pay the extra tariff, they're going to pay [growers] less for the blueberries that we sell to them."
On Saturday, Trudeau urged people to choose Canadian products wherever possible to support embattled businesses. He asked shoppers to check labels before buying anything at the grocery store.
Mallard said that support is more important than ever for industries in P.E.I. and across the country.
"Consumer support will be important for Canadian products," he said. "We're going to have to wrap ourselves in the flag here and do our best to support Canadian wherever we can."
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With files from Julien Lecacheur and Josefa Cameron