Sask. walks back ban on American-branded beer made in Canada

Liam O'Connor · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 24, 2025 7:06 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Saskatchewan has reversed a determination to halt selling oregon distributing American-branded intoxicant products made successful Canada, aft manufacture backlash.

In aftermath of U.S. tariffs, the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) said it notified beverage intoxicant retailers, distributors and producers that American-branded products wouldn't beryllium sold oregon distributed successful the province.

The SLGA primitively released a database of 54 American intoxicant brands, including Bud Light, Blue Moon, Busch, Kirkland Wine and others.

Industry leaders similar Jim Bence, the president and CEO of Hospitality Saskatchewan, argued galore of the American brew brands that person office successful the U.S. are inactive brewed successful Canada.

Labatt Breweries of Canada says it employs astir 3,500 radical successful the country and brews brands similar Bud Light, Busch and Budweiser successful Canada.

Beer Canada besides called connected the province to reverse its decision.

"Beer Canada is calling connected Premier Moe's authorities to instantly reverse this heavy-handed marketplace intervention, which inappropriately targets starring Canadian brew brands brewed successful Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Québec that are astir often made from Saskatchewan and different Western Canadian-grown barley," a quality merchandise from the enactment stated.

On Monday, the authorities walked backmost its decision. It said successful a connection that the move aligned with different provinces and that it would absorption connected intoxicant produced successful the U.S.

"We person spent a batch of clip speaking with stakeholders wrong the manufacture specified arsenic Hospitality Saskatchewan, speaking with the public, talking to immoderate of our section distributors,"  Alana Ross, the curate liable for SLGA, said connected Monday. "We weren't truly successful enactment with what the different provinces were doing, truthful we took it back."

The state said the merchantability and organisation of the 54 Canadian-produced American brands volition resume.

Bence said helium appreciated the government's willingness to instrumentality feedback connected the issue.

"We applaud their quality to beryllium capable to [reverse the decision] and their willingness to look astatine accusation and rotation backmost immoderate of the pieces that they had implemented past week," Bence said.

CBC has requested a database of American-made beers the state volition present absorption on.