US spirits sales drop in Canada

Sales of US spirits in Canada have dropped by more than 66 percent, and visits by Canadians to the United States have fallen for five straight months — part of what experts say is a politically charged consumer pullback.

"The LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) and the SAQ(Societe des alcools du Quebec), and the other retail systems that are run by the provinces, took American wine and spirits off the shelves," said Rod Phillips, a wine historian and professor of history at Carleton University.

"It was very much in response to Trump's threats of tariffs, and also the talk about making Canada the 51st state," he said.