Are Canadians “mean and nasty” for refusing to travel to the U.S. and pulling American booze from liquor store shelves amid tariff and annexation threats?
That’s the view of U.S. President Donald Trump, his ambassador to Canada told a Washington state audience on Monday morning — comments that drew a rebuke from B.C. Premier David Eby.
Pete Hoesktra was speaking at the PNWER summit in Bellevue, Wash., when an audience member asked him about Canadians eschewing travel south of the border in the context of the upcoming FIFA 2026 World Cup.
“That’s their business — I don’t like it, but if that’s what they want to do, that’s fine. They want to ban American alcohol; that’s fine. It doesn’t necessarily send real positive signals in terms of their treating us well,” Hokestra responded.
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“There are reasons why the president and some of his team refer to Canada as being mean and nasty to deal with, OK, because of some of those steps.”
Hoekstra then drew laughs from the crowd when he said he has no problem getting U.S. liquor into Canada, as border officers don’t check his vehicle when he crosses the border.
In a statement, Eby urged British Columbians to double down on their efforts to buy and travel within Canada in response.
“Clearly, our efforts are having an impact,” Eby said. “So, I say to my fellow Canadians: Keep it up. Keep buying Canadian. Keep your vacations Canadian. We won’t take these attacks our jobs, our economy and our sovereignty, lying down. We’ll stand strong together.”
A number of Canadian provinces, including British Columbia and Ontario, have pulled U.S. liquor from their shelves amid the trade dispute and Trump’s repeated musings about making Canada the 51st state, potentially through the use of “economic force.”
Canadian travel to the U.S. has also plummeted, with the number of visits by land and air falling for six consecutive months.
Earlier on Monday, a bipartisan delegation of U.S. senators travelled to Ottawa to plead with tourists to return to the U.S. and tell Canadians “we miss you.”
Canada remains locked in intense negotiations with the United States over a new trade and security deal, and on Sunday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick vowed that the tariffs on Canada were here to stay.
“The president understands that we need to open the markets. Canada is not open to us. They need to open their market. Unless they’re willing to open their market, they’re going to pay a tariff,” Lutnick told CBS’s Face the Nation.
Trump has threatened a new 35 per cent tariff on Canadian products that would take effect on Aug. 1, along with a new 50 per cent tariff on copper and a 200 per cent tariff on pharmaceuticals.
Canada is already dealing with 25 per cent U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum.
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