Retailers toast Manitoba’s plan to sell $1M in stored U.S. booze for charity By: Carol Sanders Posted: 6:40 PM CST Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025

A plan to liquidate U.S. booze, which has been stored since the U.S. began a trade war with Canada, drew cheers from Manitoba liquor vendors and charities that will share the proceeds.

“There’s been a lot of people missing out on these items and I think they’re quite eager to purchase what they like to purchase,” said Kris Faires, co-owner of Lockport Grocery, General Store and Liquor Vendor.

“They will, I think, bring a big draw to the store for these products,” Faires said Thursday after Premier Wab Kinew announced that some of the U.S. alcohol products he ordered pulled from store shelves in February will be offered for sale to the public starting next week. The proceeds will be donated to local charities.

Kinew said $1 million worth of the estimated $3.4 million in U.S. alcohol bought and paid for by Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, which was put into storage in response to U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, will be up for sale. in total, $500,000 from the sell-off will be given to the Christmas Cheer Board in Winnipeg and charities in Brandon and Thompson.

“This is sort of a trial run, if you will, to see how it goes,” the premier said in an interview late Thursday.

“If we’re able to do what we have planned and still see local brewers, Canadian brewers, selling their products then, yeah, we’ll probably extend it in the new year,” Kinew said.

“We just started with a smaller run and, hopefully, it’s really well-received, because I think people are excited to give to charity.”

The head of the Christmas Cheer Board said she was excited to learn that it will be one of the beneficiaries.

“It’s incredible,” executive director Shawna Bell said. “It’s going to help so very many people in the city.”

Last year, the holiday charity handed out 21,000 hampers. This year, Bell said she’s expecting more than 22,000 will be needed owing to the rising cost of living. “It’ll be a very, very busy holiday season,” Bell said.

Manitoba liquor sellers expect to be busy, too.

From Monday to Dec. 19, the American alcohol products will be available for order by private retailers and liquor service businesses across Manitoba, including rural liquor vendors, beer vendors, specialty wine stores, and restaurants and lounges.

On Wednesday, U.S. liquor products will begin to be available for customers in 12 Liquor Marts across the province.

“It’s going to help so very many people in the city.”

“It will take a few days to get our systems and stores ready to sell these products,” a spokesperson for Liquor and Lotteries said in an email. By Saturday, a full selection will be available and remain on sale until Dec. 24.

“We’re asking customers to be patient as the products will arrive in stores at different times of day while we work to get everything out as quickly as possible,” the spokesperson for the Crown corporation said.

The U.S. booze will be in saleable condition, with none of it expired, the province said in a news release.

Faires said some of his customers are really attached to U.S. brands and will welcome the return of their favourite tipples.

“Jack Daniels and those kinds of American whiskeys and bourbons — it’s just the way they’re made,” he said. “They drank this most of their life — that’s what they like,” Faires said. “People get quite particular on their brands. For Jack Daniels, I think most people understand that’s the Tennessee whiskey. The consumer knew it is American. It didn’t really become a problem until March.”

That’s when it disappeared from liquor store shelves in the province after Kinew ordered a U.S. booze boycott. American liquor purchased by the Crown corporation was put in storage. It was the right response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats, the premier said.

“This has created a headache for the Trump administration,” he said Thursday. “We’ve got to put the country first. But in this case, instead of having a stranded asset, we’re putting a few bucks out the door to help the cheer board,” he said.

“I think that’s something we can all get behind.”

“I think we would support liquidating the entire U.S. stock of liquor that we have.”

Progressive Conservative house leader Derek Johnson applauded the move, noting it follows the lead of Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, who announced last week his province would sell its stored U.S. liquor and donate the proceeds to charity.

“It’s great that the premier of Manitoba is getting his ideas from PC premiers around the country,” said Johnson. He said Kinew should sell all of the U.S. booze in storage, not just a portion.

“As a PC caucus, I think we would support liquidating the entire U.S. stock of liquor that we have… and donating that so everybody can have a nice warm meal for Christmas Eve.”

One industry representative who spoke on the condition of anonymity said she was “super excited” to find out the American products would be available for sale.

“I don’t have the list yet, but I can probably guesstimate that based on the success of what happened in Nova Scotia, you’re going to see things like bourbon and other products that people are crazy about, will probably be available.”

She questioned why the province wouldn’t allow private retailers to sell the U.S. stock until now.

Faires said his store in Lockport was in “tough spot.”

“We want to be on the good (side) with Canadians and not sell the American stuff, but we have customers who are really wanting those American products… We’re kind of stuck in the middle.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca