Saskatchewan to end U.S. alcohol sales, procurement in response to tariffs

Saskatchewan’s premier unveiled the province’s response to tariffs from the United States on Wednesday afternoon.

Speaking in Regina, Premier Scott Moe said he has directed the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority to end its purchasing of U.S. alcohol, and has ordered that goods and services procured by the provincial government must prioritize Canadian suppliers “with the goal of reducing or eliminating US procurement.”

Any future capital projects have been paused, the government noted, and contractors working on projects currently in progress will be asked to report on American products being used, and reduce that amount.

The provincial government said it expects school divisions, municipalities and post-secondary institutions to adopt similar policies around procurement, in order to prioritize Canadian products and services.

“These extraordinary measures are a direct response to President Trump’s unjustified tariffs and a direct attack on the Canadian economy,” Moe said in a statement.

Moe says the Sask gov supports the national counter tariffs response pic.twitter.com/WLrBpnFqHY

— Lisa Schick (@LMSchickler) March 5, 2025

“This decision was not made lightly, but the Government of Saskatchewan has always and will always stand up for Saskatchewan’s interests and protect our jobs, our economy and our residents.”

Liquor retailers will no longer be able to order alcohol produced in the U.S., the government noted, but may sell their remaining inventory if they choose to do so.

“This approach defends the interests of Saskatchewan’s economy while avoiding negative impacts on Saskatchewan’s liquor retailers who have already purchased U.S. products,” the provincial government explained in a release.

Premier Moe said he “begrudgingly” supports the federal government’s suite of counter-tariffs, but noted that the situation is likely to change on a daily basis as the trade war progresses. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

Additionally, Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan has been ordered to source the $43 million in VLT and slot machines that are set to be upgraded this year from non-American suppliers.

“The United States has always been Saskatchewan’s largest and most important trading partner, but when they attack our economy, we have to push back,” the premier added.

“Our exports lower the cost of living for millions of Americans and support jobs on both sides of the border. Our goal is to end these tariffs and retaliatory measures as soon as possible so that we can resume our long standing, mutually beneficial relationship.”

Moe noted that the provinces seem closely aligned in their responses, and said he “begrudgingly” supports the federal government’s suite of counter-tariffs.

“All tariffs are going to have an impact on you and I and every other family that lives in North America,” said Moe.

The premier said he understood the necessity of the targeted tariff package, and he appreciated the federal government had been careful to not impact Canadian families to a large degree.

“Those are targeted tariffs to maximize the impact on American companies, but minimize the impact on Canadian families, so credit to he federal government for not going (with) dollar-for-dollar tariffs,” he said.

Moe also said he would not support any export tariffs or export stoppages. Premier Doug Ford in Ontario had suggested Saskatchewan stop potash shipments into the U.S. but Moe wasn’t interested in that, saying it would result in immediate job losses in Saskatchewan.

The tariffs went into effect on Tuesday, adding a 25 per cent tax on Canadian goods imported by the U.S., with a lower, 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a suite of counter-tariffs that same morning, saying that President Donald Trump’s decision to ignite a trade war between the two countries was “a very dumb thing to do.”

Canada’s counter-tariffs apply to roughly $30 billion worth of American products, and the prime minister said that will expand to cover another $125 billion in goods in the next 21 days.

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The premier made multiple trips to Washington, D.C. ahead of the imposition of the tariffs in an effort to tout the importance of cross-border trade, and announced measures like the Saskatchewan Border Plan in an effort to assuage the concerns about fentanyl smuggling which Trump used as justification for the levies.

In the meantime, Moe said, the provincial government will work to expand its trade to other areas.

“As we have always done, our government will continue working to expand trade to other countries and expand trade within Canada by reducing interprovincial barriers and promoting the construction of necessary infrastructure, like pipelines,” Moe’s statement read.

Many of the other premiers in the country came out to speak about tariffs and their provinces’ response on Tuesday. When Moe was asked about it, he dismissed the idea that the delay was important, given that this situation could go on for months.

“Twenty-four hours … may change some of the decisions that are coming out of the White House, but we need to understand that this is going to be the new normal for the foreseeable future, is to have this changing environment coming from south of the border, coming out of the white house, and we’re going to have to manage ourselves through this,” said Moe, arguing his government’s response was significant.

Moe said, going forward, there may be lots of emotion around when decisions are made and which decisions are made, but he said the Government of Saskatchewan needs to make calm and sensible decisions in the best interests of the people in the province.

Finance Minister Jim Reiter said the impact on the province, if the tariffs were to extend through one year, would be a $4.9 billion and 5.8 per cent hit to the province’s GDP, meaning a $1.4 billion reduction of provincial revenue.

“Hopefully, that would be a worst-case scenario, that would be the tariffs as they were announced – 25 and 10 – and annualized, so obviously we’re hoping it would be significantly better than that,” said Reiter, explaining he hoped cooler heads would prevail.

Sask. NDP Leader Carla Beck says it’s not good enough for Saskatchewan to be last in the pack on announcing a tariff response. Mar. 5, 2025 (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

Sask. Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck called Moe’s response a day late and a dollar short.

“At a time when people in this province are scared, when they’re angry, when they’re waiting for a response from elected leaders it is not good enough to have Saskatchewan the last of the pack again,” said Beck.

She said the tariff situation is a crisis for the province and should be treated with urgency.

“Scott Moe’s weak leadership, and the fact that it took him so long to come out and speak to Saskatchewan people is being noted, as it should,” said Beck.

Earlier that morning, the NDP criticized Moe’s government for not announcing its response sooner.

In recent weeks, the NDP has called on the provincial government to take American liquor and beer off SLGA shelves, to strike an emergency sitting of the legislature, and to propose a four-point plan to expand trade and economic opportunity across the country. Young also said the province should reassess whether there should be a ban on bids from U.S. companies on government contracts.

–with files from 980 CJME’s Lisa Schick