J’can spirits see sales bump in Ontario after US brands pulled
Published:Tuesday | January 20, 2026 | 12:09 AMKaren Madden/Gleaner Writer
Jamaican rum producers are seeing a boost in Canada after the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) – one of North America’s largest alcohol retailers – halted imports and sales of United Stats alcoholic products in early 2025 amid escalating trade tensions between Ottawa and Washington.
In response to 25 per cent tariffs imposed by the US government on Canadian goods, the Ontario government directed the LCBO to immediately stop purchasing and remove all US spirits, wine, beer, cider and ready-to-drink products from its shelves and online platforms in several provinces, including British Columbia and Nova Scotia.
The move left gaps on store shelves once filled by American brands and created opportunities for other international spirits, including Jamaican rums. The LCBO told The Gleaner that it has seen a five per cent year-over-year increase in net sales of Jamaican rums, along with a three per cent year-over-year rise in units sold, as customers explore alternatives to US products.
The LCBO’s press office noted that shifting consumer interest – with customers “increasingly open to discovering something new” – is among a number of factors that contributed to the uptick.
Ontario is home to Canada’s largest Jamaican diaspora, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area, which has supported strong demand for familiar Caribbean rum brands. A midday visit by The Gleaner to LCBO stores over the Christmas period showed brisk sales of Jamaican rum amid the conspicuous absence of many US labels.
The LCBO, a provincially owned Crown corporation responsible for importing, distributing and retailing beverage alcohol in Ontario, supplies wine, spirits and beer through hundreds of stores, while generating significant revenue for the province. Its 2025 decision to remove US products – part of a broader set of retaliatory trade measures – has reshaped the retail spirits landscape, inadvertently benefiting Jamaican producers.
Data from the Campari Group, parent of J. Wray & Nephew – the maker of Appleton Estate, White Overproof and Kingston 62 – shows global sales of those Jamaican rum brands reached €119 million in the first nine months of 2025, up from €106 million in the same period in 2024. This growth reflects strong international demand, of which Canada’s shifting market has become a meaningful part.
Last week, The New York Post said Trump was reportedly pressing Canada to lift a sweeping boycott of US-made alcohol as new data shows American distillers getting hammered by a collapse in sales north of the border.
Brown-Forman, the maker of Jack Daniel’s, told Bloomberg that its Canadian organic net sales plunged more than 60 per cent in the first half of its 2026 fiscal year, with Chief Executive Officer Lawson Whiting calling the boycott “worse than a tariff”.