OLDCORN: Carney should work with premiers to put US alcohol back on Canadian shelves before US trade talks

Mark Carney says Canada will not make more concessions just to get to the table with Washington. Fair enough. No prime minister should walk into a negotiation like a supplicant. Yet there is a difference between weakness and wisdom. Putting the United States (US) alcohol back into Canadian liquor stores would not be a cave-in. It would be a practical, good-faith move that tells the Americans that Canada is serious about getting a deal done, not just striking a pose. Carney made clear that Canada wants a “mutually successful outcome” in the coming CUSMA review, while rejecting the idea that the US gets to dictate terms. That is a sound principle. It also leaves room for Canada to make smart choices of its own.This is one of those smart choices. The Americans have been signalling for months that Canadian alcohol restrictions are not some side issue. They see them as a real trade irritant. In its 2026 National Trade Estimate Report, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said barriers imposed by Canadian liquor control boards “greatly hamper” US exports. It went further, noting that, as of December 31, 2025, every Canadian market except Alberta and Saskatchewan had stopped distributing US alcohol to retailers, restaurants, and other businesses, and that Washington wants those products to “immediately and permanently return” to all markets. .That is not subtle diplomacy. It is a bright flashing sign telling Ottawa where there is one easy trade win.Carney does not have to accept every American complaint. He should not. Dairy, softwood, autos, and steel are bigger files and harder fights. That is exactly why Ottawa should clear away the smaller, more symbolic fights where it can. The liquor store ban is visible, emotional, and easy for US politicians to point to on television. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called it “outrageous” and “insulting and disrespectful to America” on Wednesday. .Whether Canadians like that language or not, it tells us this file has become politically loaded in Washington. Keeping it in place gains Canada little and gives American negotiators an easy talking point before the real bargaining even begins.The ban is also not painless for our side. Ontario’s LCBO said in April 2025 that it had stopped buying all US products, removed them from shelves, and halted wholesale sales to bars and restaurants. British Columbia issued a similar order to pull all American beer, wine, and spirits from BC LIQUOR shelves. .Those moves were sold as patriotic retaliation. In practice, they narrowed consumer choice and dragged hospitality operators into a political fight they did not start. They also handed more power to already dominant liquor monopolies. Conservatives usually say governments should not micromanage markets or use consumers as props in political theatre. That principle should apply here, too.The economic damage is real enough to notice. The Distilled Spirits Council of the US told USTR that exports to Canada plunged 85% in the second quarter of 2025 after the shelf bans and tariffs took hold. Spirits Canada said sales of US spirits in Canada fell 66.3% between March 5 and the end of April 2025, while overall spirits sales fell 12.8%. Even Brown-Forman, maker of Jack Daniel’s, said taking products off shelves was “worse than a tariff” because it wipes out sales entirely. That should get the attention of anyone who claims this is just a symbolic measure with no broader cost. It is not. It distorts the market and escalates bad blood.There is another point conservatives should appreciate. .A good negotiator knows when to trade symbolism for substance. Restoring US alcohol to shelves does not require Canada to abandon its tariff case, fold on supply management, or accept a weaker CUSMA. It simply tells Washington that Ottawa is willing to lower the temperature and remove an obvious irritant before both sides “roll up our sleeves,” as Carney put it. Alberta and Saskatchewan have already shown that this is possible without the sky falling. The rest of the country can manage it, too.If Carney wants to prove he is serious about results, not slogans, this is the place to start. He cannot personally restock every shelf, but he can call the premiers, press the liquor boards, and make a national case for a reset. Put American alcohol back in Canadian liquor stores. Then go to the CUSMA table and fight for Canada’s larger interests with a little more credibility and a little less needless baggage.If that isn’t enough to get the US back to the table, then it’s time to end dairy supply management. But that’s a whole different column.

OLDCORN: Carney should work with premiers to put US alcohol back on Canadian shelves before US trade talks

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