B.C. premier announces countermeasures against U.S. tariffs, including ban on 'red-state' liquor
U.S. President Donald Trump will impose 25% tariff on most Canadian imports beginning Tuesday
B.C. Premier David Eby has announced immediate countermeasures in response to incoming U.S. tariffs, saying the province will take action to protect B.C. workers and businesses.
Speaking at a news conference Saturday, Eby criticized the tariffs as a betrayal of the long-standing relationship between Canada and the U.S. He said the province would stand firm in the face of what he called an "unprecedented attack."
As an initial response, Eby said he has directed the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch to immediately stop purchasing American liquor from Republican-led "red states" and remove the top-selling brands from public liquor store shelves.
He also directed the B.C. government and Crown corporations to prioritize Canadian goods and services in procurement decisions.
"The Americans are bigger, but if we don't stand up for ourselves, they will just keep coming back for more," he said.
This comes on the same day U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders confirming he will impose a 25 per cent tariff on most Canadian imports beginning Tuesday, with a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy products.
The long-promised tariffs could completely upend B.C.'s economy, with the premier previously saying the tariffs would hit harder than the 2008 financial crisis.
A government analysis released in January showed that the tariffs, if they lasted for the entirety of Trump's term until 2028, would lead to the province losing about $69 billion.
An estimated 54 per cent of B.C.'s exports go to the U.S., according to provincial figures, making it British Columbia's biggest trading partner. About 14 per cent of B.C.'s exports go to China, 11 per cent to Japan and 10 per cent go to other jurisdictions in Asia.
The analysis projected the tariffs would also result in 124,000 fewer jobs in B.C. over the next three years, causing the unemployment rate to increase to 6.7 per cent in 2025, and 7.1 per cent in 2026.
Eby had previously pushed for retaliatory tariffs and export bans if the tariffs went through, including an import ban on U.S. alcohol.
He also hinted at an export ban on critical minerals manufactured in the province. Metallic minerals and metallurgical coal, taken together, are B.C.'s largest source of export value, according to B.C. Stats.
The premier had also announced a "war room" composed of government ministers and stakeholders to take on the tariff threat.
Eby is part of a contingent of premiers set to visit Washington, D.C., later this month to make the case against the tariffs, which the premier has said would harm Americans and Canadians alike.
"This is like family members fighting. This is long-time friends refusing to talk to each other. It is bizarre," he said at a Jan. 28 news conference.
"We have so many shared priorities and interests and shared prosperity, but we will not back down just because the bully is more powerful and bigger than us."
In the executive order signed Saturday, Trump made specific mention of British Columbia and its role in the "heightened domestic production of fentanyl".
Trump had cited the smuggling of the illegal opioid as the initial impetus for the punishing tariffs, along with the flow of illegal migrants across the Canada-U.S. border.
A report from Canada's financial intelligence agency last week said several domestic groups were suspected in playing a role in the Canadian fentanyl market, "with the majority operating in British Columbia as producers and distributors."
Figures from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show the agency seized 19.5 kilograms of fentanyl at the Canadian border last year, compared to a whopping 9,592 kilograms at the Mexican one.
With files from Akshay Kulkarni and Shaurya Kshatri