Ten days out from a 50% American tariff, and the thing Ottawa is preparing to hand over is the thing Alberta already did fourteen months ago.
On August 19 that tariff lands on roughly US$20 billion worth of Canadian goods. Wine, whisky, cement, hockey sticks. Call it 5% of what we ship south. It applies even to goods that qualify under the trade agreement both countries already signed, which tells you exactly what that paperwork is worth this month.
Three Proclamations, Three Grievances
Washington listed its complaints and put them in writing. Provincial liquor boycotts. The retaliatory tax on American vehicles. The dairy quota system. On the alcohol file the Americans noted that all but two provinces and territories had pulled their product off the shelves, and that imports of it dropped about 81% in a single year.
That’s a real number and it got somebody’s attention. Fair enough. A boycott that works is a boycott the other side notices.
Alberta Left That Fight in June 2025
Here’s the part worth sitting with. Alberta lifted its ban in June 2025. American imports here have fully rebounded since. Fourteen months ago this province put the bourbon back on the shelf, without being asked, without a negotiation, because somebody decided a liquor boycott wasn’t a serious trade policy.
Now the reporting says Ottawa is prepared to lift those bans in exchange for tariff relief. The concession being wrapped up and carried to Washington is a thing Alberta handed over unprompted more than a year back.
No Credit, No Exemption
Alberta doesn’t set the dairy quota. Alberta didn’t levy the vehicle tax. Alberta put the bottles back before anybody thought to make them a bargaining chip, and got nothing recorded for it in the ledger that’s now being negotiated.
On the 19th the bill arrives anyway. Addressed to everybody, including the province that settled its portion of the account fourteen months early.
Should a province that dropped its retaliation early get anything for it at the negotiating table?
