Saskatchewan’s Opposition called Monday on Premier Scott Moe to put his elbows up and pull U.S. liquor from shelves amid the renewed trade war with the United States.
The NDP said it’s time for Moe to back up his comments made on the weekend supporting Prime Minister Mark Carney’s promise to fire back in an escalating trade war with the United States.
“This is the time to fight back — starting with immediately removing American alcohol from Saskatchewan shelves,” NDP Leader Carla Beck said in a statement.
“It was both a mistake and act of cowardice to re-shelve it in the first place, as Scott Moe did last year.
“At every turn this premier has been the first and fastest to cave into Trump’s demands — that’s gotten us nowhere.”
Moe’s office could not be immediately reached for comment on whether it might change its policy.
The latest U.S. and Canada trade dispute kicked in over the weekend, with Americans levying 50 per cent tariffs on about US$20 billion in Canadian goods, including honey, hockey sticks and flower bulbs. Prime Minister Mark Carney promised retaliatory tariffs starting Sept. 8
On Saturday, Moe said on social media that U.S. demands, including conditions on Canada’s trade relationships with other nations, are beyond the pale and he supports Carney’s promised dollar-for-dollar tariff retaliation.
Saskatchewan and Alberta have, for the most part, left U.S. booze on their shelves amid the waxing and waning tariff battle between over the past 1 1/2 years.
Alberta Premier Danielle said Saturday on her call-in radio show that her government has been focused on diplomacy, and she urged Canada and the U.S. to strike a deal.
She noted that Alberta has the least amount of exposure to American tariffs — affecting three per cent of its exports south of the border.
“We try to take a diplomatic approach in all things that we do. And I think that the results speak for themselves — the fact that most of our products still cross the border tariff-free.”
Smith said she won’t be shifting the province’s booze policy and will leave it up to consumers.
“We believe also in choice,” she said. “We trust that Albertans can make their own decisions, so we won’t be going down that track.”
On Monday at Calgary’s Willow Park Wines and Spirits, customer Jim Campbell bought a pack of Canadian brewed Fat Tug ale.
“I wouldn’t want to be the next incoming president of the United States, because they’re going to have a hell of a mess to clean up and things will never be the same.”
He said U.S. alcohol should be pulled from Canadian store shelves.
“We should be hitting back as hard as they hit us,” he said. “Pull the energy, pull the potash, pull the electricity out of Ontario, which powers a million homes in Michigan.”
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has long urged Carney to take a hard stand with the U.S. He has also directed his government for more than a year not to order U.S. liquor.
Last week, Kinew said he would put U.S. booze back on shelves if needed for a tariff deal but that he would urge consumers to buy Canadian.
On Monday, his government said help is on the way.
Jamie Moses, minister of business, mining, trade and job creation, said Manitoba is waiting to hear from the federal government on its tariff-relief plan for businesses before announcing provincial supports.
“We have a menu of options,” Moses said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 24, 2026.
— By Dayne Patterson and Bill Graveland in Calgary, Lisa Johnson in Edmonton and Brittany Hobson in Winnipeg
The Canadian Press
