‘Not a chance in hell’: B.C. officials defiant after latest Trump tariff threat

Canada’s premiers are meeting in Prince Edward Island and Donald Trump and a new 50 per cent tariff on a variety of goods are dominating the discussion.

There is “not a chance in hell” that B.C. liquor stores will resume stocking U.S. alcohol in response to Donald Trump’s latest tariff threat, according to Premier David Eby.

The U.S. president listed the removal of American booze from liquor store shelves as part of his justification for imposing a new 50 per cent tariff on an array of Canadian goods beginning next month.

Trump’s administration lists the decision not to stock U.S. alcohol alongside things like supply management in the dairy sector and certain tariffs and quotas on cars as “unfair” Canadian trade practices.

Eby and other Canadian premiers initially removed U.S. alcohol from shelves in response to earlier Trump tariffs.

“There is not a chance in hell that U.S. alcohol is going back on the shelf in British Columbia,” the premier told reporters Tuesday from Prince Edward Island, where provincial leaders are gathering this week.

“I’m proud of that and I know British Columbians support that. And the idea of the president that he can bully us into whatever he wishes is incorrect.”

The new U.S. tariffs are scheduled to take effect on Aug. 19 and apply to a variety of Canadian goods.

• Read more: From wine to wigs: Here are all the Canadian goods included in new U.S. tariffs

Of particular interest in B.C. are tariffs on wood products, which provincial Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said would negatively impact B.C. forestry and worsen the two countries’ long-running dispute over softwood lumber duties.

“It is continuing to be disappointing to see the depths the president will go to further alienate one of his largest trading partners,” Parmar said at the start of a news conference about the provincial wildfire situation Tuesday.

“Much as we’ve seen with the tariffs and duties on softwood lumber products, this is going to increase costs for Americans and harm Canadian workers.”

Parmar also noted Trump’s threats to impose additional tariffs over smoke from Canadian wildfires that has crossed the border and settled over American cities in recent weeks.

The president has asserted that Canada is causing the problem by failing to manage its forests properly, a claim Parmar rejected.

“Recent criticism that Canada isn’t doing enough to manage its forests and wildfires—much like the decision to impose new tariffs—there is no legitimate basis for this claim against Canada,” Parmar said.

“Climate change is impacting wildfires on both sides of the border, creating real challenges that require real action, not finger pointing.”

The forests minister added that B.C. will not stop providing mutual aid for fighting wildfires in the U.S. When asked how such agreements could be affected by Trump’s rhetoric and tariffs, Parmar replied “not at all.”

“Wildfires don’t respect borders, and you don’t see me standing up here at a podium, complaining about the smoke that’s coming from down south up here to Victoria and Vancouver,” he said. “My immediate concern is the residents in those states and the impact of that smoke and those fires are having on them. And so we will always be there to help support our neighbors.”