A sign in a BC Liquor Store Feb. 3, 2025.

(BEN BULMER / iNFOnews.ca)

The owner of an Okanagan distillery says he's seen a "significant" bump in sales since retaliatory rhetoric ramped up against buying U.S. booze but still has stern words for our own provincial government.

Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery owner Tyler Dyck says he's seen a bump in sales as British Columbians support local, but points out that while BC Liquor stores pulled American spirits off their shelves he's still shut out from his distillery's products being sold in government liquor stores.

"It really is a shame that B.C. government stores do a better job and prioritize supporting foreign low-cost liquor with no value-added local production benefits for British Columbians," Dyck told iNFOnews.ca via text from overseas.

On Sunday, Premier David Eby announced BC Liquor stores would be pulling liquor from US Republican states off store shelves. After a 30-day reprieve was negotiated today between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump, Eby said the province would pause its response to threatened American tariffs.

Anyone who now walks into a BC Liquor Store will still see a "Buy Canadian Instead" sign where rows of American whiskey once sat.

Dyck, who is also the president of both the Craft Distillers Guild of BC and the Canadian Craft Distillers Alliance, said while the tariff dispute with the U.S. has increased sales "significantly" he points out that this is the quietest time of year for distilleries so a few extra sales can skew the numbers.

While he praised Eby's move he said if the premier really wants to get behind B.C. distilleries he'd remove the roadblocks his government have in place.

He took aim at the provincial government's treatment of craft distilleries overall. He'd like to see B.C. craft distillers get the same support B.C. wineries do and allow sales in government liquor stores. He'd also like to see the cap of 50,000 litres per year lifted.

"This terrible policy simply robs British Columbians from much-needed value-added local economic development and jobs and if not corrected ensures that B.C. distilleries can never truly power BC’s economy by exporting," Dyck said.

Both policies date back to the previous BC Liberal government and the BC NDP has not changed them after eight years in office.

It does seem odd that craft distilleries can't sell their top-shelf spirits in government liquor stores.

"Could you imagine going into a liquor store in France and seeing no French wine, only foreign-made wine," he said. "It would never fly with the French public and honestly the BC public shouldn’t stand for this... either."

While government liquor stores pulled American spirits off the shelves, Dyck said they were replaced with 100% B.C.-made spirits.

"With one 'Support BC' government order, Premier Eby and the NDP could change all this and finally let British Columbians have the ability to support local when shopping at their government liquor stores," Dyck said. "All he has to do is to simply fix the two longstanding inequities that were poorly written government policy put into motion by the liberals back in 2013."

While U.S. liquor will be going back on shelves of government-run stores, Eby said diversification of B.C. export markets will be an ongoing goal.

Eby said alcohol made in U.S. Republican states will be going back on the shelves of government-run liquor stores, but that doesn't mean the province will abandon its plans, and it will be prepared for a possible social media post from Trump saying the tariffs are back on.

— With files from The Canadian Press.

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