Nova Scotia is prepared to put American alcohol back on store shelves if a trade deal is reached with the U.S., but it won’t happen overnight.
“I would think that it would take a month, month-and-a-half to put that product back on the shelf,” said Nova Scotia’s Finance Minister John Lohr.
Nova Scotia, like some other provinces, pulled American booze from its provincial liquor store shelves last year in retaliation for U.S. tariffs placed on certain goods.
The trade rift with the U.S. pushed many consumers to buy local instead. The province’s finance minister believes some consumers may never turn back.
“It’ll take time for them to revert back,” said Lohr. “Or maybe they never will. We expect they’ll continue to use local products.”
Even if the country reaches a deal and the immediate tariff threat is diminished, Premier Tim Houston says his government won’t abandon its efforts to find new trading partners and export markets.
“We’re moving forward with growing our Nova Scotia economy, so that we are more self-sufficient, producing more energy, producing more of the things we need to survive,” said Houston.
Premier Houston said the prime minister asked provinces to make changes to their procurement policies as well, by asking provincial leaders to no longer exclude U.S. bids in government tendering.
Despite all the trade turmoil, America is by far Nova Scotia’s largest trading partner.
In 2024, the province sent $4.6 billion in goods to the U.S., and that was roughly the same dollar figure last year.
It’s a back-and-forth relationship, with imports from the U.S. to Nova Scotia topping $682 million in 2023.
The province says more than 29,000 Nova Scotian jobs depend on exports to the U.S., which works out to close to one in every 16 jobs.
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