American liquor to be pulled off Manitoba Liquor Mart shelves Tuesday, premier says

Premier Wab Kinew has announced Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation will stop selling products imported from the United States in response to a 25 per cent tariff imposed by the U.S. President Donald Trump on Canadian goods that will kick in on Tuesday.

Starting Feb. 4, staff at the province's Liquor Marts will be directed to pull American products off the shelves and will stop ordering alcohol from the U.S., the premier told reporters at a news conference Sunday.

Kinew said the halt of American alcohol sales in Manitoba alone will pull $80 million annually from the U.S. economy.

"This is a trade dispute, this is an economic threat, but we should also be very clear-eyed about the threat this poses to our sovereignty as an independent country," Kinew said.

Kinew added Manitoba has taken action in regards to security in the U.S.-Manitoba border and has brought "the hammer down to drug traffickers" in response to demands from Trump that he says also align with the province's values.

But "if we bow down at this current moment, what is the next edict that we will be told to respond to as Manitobans and Canadians?" he said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced late Saturday the federal government will fight back against Trump by slapping 25 per cent tariffs on $30 billion worth of American goods coming into Canada as of Tuesday.

The tariffs will then be applied to another $125 billion worth of American imports in three weeks' time, Trudeau said.

Kinew said Mantioba fully supports the measures taken by the federal government in response to the U.S. levy.

Paired with the restriction of alcohol, the province said support for businesses and workers will be announced throughout next week, Kinew said.