Sask. not buying American liquor, prioritizing Canadian suppliers in response to U.S. tariffs

Sask. Premier Scott Moe announces Saskatchewan’s response to American tariffs. (Gareth Dillistone / CTV News)

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says the province will stop purchasing U.S. produced alcohol effective immediately and will quit selling any American alcohol that is currently in stock to private retailers, as a response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Moe also said that the goods and services procured by provincial government ministries as well as Crown Corporations will make, “every effort to prioritize Canadian suppliers.”

There will also be a temporary pause on capital projects that are not yet in motion to reassess how they are moving through the SaskBuilds procedure, according to Moe.

“Those projects that are being constructed as we speak, the call and the ask has went out to the contractors involved to report back with respect to what level of American content they have in that construction and how they are going to drive that number down and drive the Canadian content up,” Moe said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

In a news release, the province also said that Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan has been directed to source from other suppliers the $43 million worth of VLT and slot machines that are set to be upgraded this year and are currently obtained from the U.S.

Trump’s sweeping tariff of 25 per cent on all Canadian goods imported by the U.S. took effect early Tuesday morning, along with a 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy. The U.S. president has also promised a tariff on the auto industry that he delayed Wednesday for one month, along with reciprocal tariffs on any retaliatory measures taken by Canada.

“The goal here is for us to greatly lower or even get to zero with respect to the U.S. procurement in the [publicly funded] capital projects that we have,” Moe said after reiterating again that Trump’s tariffs will result in self-inflicted price increases and job losses for the U.S. which is something he wants to avoid in Saskatchewan.

Targeted retaliatory tariffs announced by the federal government in the form of an immediate $30 billion, growing to an eventual $155 billion were praised by Moe on Wednesday. Moe called them effective but also targeted enough to minimize negative impact on Canadian people.

Moe also said that discussions with other premiers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have centered on scenarios where further countermeasures to American tariffs can be implemented without hurting Canadians and the nation’s economy.

According to Moe, the province is also encouraging Saskatchewan’s school divisions, municipalities and post-secondary institutions to adopt a similar procurement policy and stop buying U.S. products wherever possible.

Moe said that currently about $29 billion of Saskatchewan’s exports go to the United States and that around 80 per cent of imports come from the U.S.

“This is not the first and likely not the last tariff conversation that Saskatchewan has had. We are a province that exports $49 billion to over 160 countries around the world, we’re a province that has a presence in those countries,” Moe said.

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He also said that Saskatchewan is a province that engages when trade challenges surface.

Moe pointed to a situation with the first Trump administration.

“Five or six years ago we had a very similar challenge albeit not as large, significant and widespread, but a very similar challenge with the previous President Trump Administration when it came to steel and aluminum tariffs.”

Moe said they have also had to work through tariff discussions in the past with India and China.

“So, this is not our first time as a province to engage internationally on tariff or non-tariff barriers with some of our more significant trading partners around the world,” he said.

Moe also noted it is important for citizens to remember that during the trade war and after, the United States will remain Canada’s largest trading partner and most significant ally in the world.

• Click here for more coverage on the current trade war between Canada and the U.S.

“That’s not to say that our relationship isn’t changing before our very eyes,” he acknowledged.