February is normally one of the slowest months for distilleries in B.C. – but this year that's changed.
Craft Distiller's Guild of BC president and CEO of Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery based in Vernon, Tyler Dyck, says many distilleries have seen an uptick in sales in response to the threat of tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump.
“People said, ‘you know what we're going to push back, we're also going to stand up to this bully by voting with our wallet.’ So we saw it start quickly,” said Dyck.
Also pushing back was the province itself. On Feb. 1, B.C. Premier David Eby announced he would be pulling liquor from so-called red states off the shelves as a counter-measure to the 25 per cent tariffs.
Eby also encouraged Crown corporations and the B.C. Government to buy local first.
The measure has since been paused and American liquor put back on the shelves as Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau negotiated a 30 day break on implementing tariffs.
According to Dyck, people are still buying local first as increased sales have continued.
Many liquor stores now have signage saying “Buy Canadian Instead" where American whiskey once sat.
“It's about time that our politicians stood up for Canadian jobs and for Canadian production,” said Dyck.
“Quite frankly, we have over the last 20 years lost the ability to produce for ourselves, which is killing our economy,” he continued.
While Canadians have started shifting towards buying homegrown goods, Dyck says that many restaurants are still using foreign alcohol.
“We've got 350 producers in Canada, 150 craft distilleries in the province alone. Most restaurants and bars serve Jack Daniels and Jim Beam, which only powers some red states and nothing else,” said Dyck.
Dyck believes sales will continue to climb during the pause – he’s hoping the trend will continue to help support Canadian producers and the economy.
