Nova Scotia to sell last of U.S. booze pulled from shelves, giving profits to charity

Nova Scotia is selling off its remaining stock of American alcohol that was pulled off shelves nearly nine months ago in response to the ongoing Canada-U.S. trade war.

The province said Thursday that about $14 million of inventory remains in storage, consisting mostly of wine and spirits, such as whisky.

The product will be sold at Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. (NSLC) outlets beginning next Monday and “will likely take months to sell.”

Meanwhile, the net profit from the sales, which the province estimates will be $4 million, will be given to Feed Nova Scotia and community groups in the next few weeks.

“We remain committed to a Team Canada approach to tariffs and trade. We will not be ordering any more from the United States once this inventory is gone,” said Premier Tim Houston in a statement.

“But Nova Scotians have already paid for this product. We don’t want it to go to waste. That’s why we’re selling it and using the proceeds to help those in need.”

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The provincial government directed the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. to remove all U.S. alcohol from store shelves on March 4 as part of Nova Scotia’s response to sweeping tariffs brought in by U.S. President Donald Trump.

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At the time, Houston called Trump a “short-sighted man” who had no consideration for the “destructive impact of his decisions on both Canadians and Americans.”

Other provinces, including New Brunswick, Ontario and British Columbia also stopped selling U.S. alcohol products.

In October, New Brunswick announced it was selling off its remaining $3.4 million worth of alcohol in storage. NB Liquor decided to sell the products at discounted prices at its Salisbury depot store in order to recoup a portion of its investment.

Over the summer, Quebec set off a firestorm when it said its liquor board may have to destroy $300,000 worth of American products in storage that were set to expire. The province’s finance minister later said the products would be donated instead.

In August, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States called for the return of American products to Canadian stores. The mid-year report from the same council found U.S. booze exports to Canada were down a staggering 85 per cent in the second quarter compared to the year before, falling below US$10 million.

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