Nova Scotia to sell off remaining $14M worth of American booze

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Nova Scotians who have been missing their favourite California Cabernet or Tennessee whisky will soon have a chance to stock up.

The provincial government has announced it will sell off its remaining inventory of U.S. alcohol — roughly $14 million worth.

The net profits — about $4 million — will be given to Feed Nova Scotia and other community food groups, a news release said.

Nova Scotia pulled all U.S. alcohol products from NSLC shelves on March 4 in response to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

Premier Tim Houston said the province will not be ordering any more from the U.S. once the inventory is sold off.

Last month, the province told CBC News it would not be selling off its stockpile of U.S. liquor.

Following a cabinet meeting Thursday, Houston said his government has been maintaining contact with those at the negotiation table for the ongoing trade dispute.

He said the removal of U.S. alcohol from shelves across Canada is a “thorny issue” at that table, and up until recently, the province had gleaned from discussions with the negotiation team that it was helpful to keep the booze warehoused “to have in the back pocket.”

“Recently, things have been happening, and we asked again and they said to kind of make the best decision for your province,” said Houston.

“We’ve just been trying to be good members of Team Canada on that issue.”

Wine, whisky

The inventory consists mainly of wine and spirits such as whisky. It will be available at NSLC locations across the province starting Monday, and will likely take several months to sell, the release said.

It said $4 million is the estimated amount the NSLC would return to the province once the product is sold and expenses are calculated. That amount will be given in the coming weeks to Feed Nova Scotia and groups that provide community food access.

Some provinces and territories, including New Brunswick, British Columbia and the Yukon, have sold their remaining American alcohol, the release said.