California politicians are begging Quebec to put American wine back on SAQ shelves

Fifteen months after Quebec pulled American booze off SAQ store shelves, California is publicly pleading to get it back.

A group of California lawmakers has sent letters to Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette asking the province to lift its restrictions on U.S. wine, according to the Sacramento Bee. The first came from a bipartisan group of 14 members of the U.S. House, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. A few weeks later, Senator Adam Schiff sent his own letter echoing the request.

Schiff also took it public with an X post this week. In it, he argued that Canada's boycott of California wine is doing serious damage to growers, and urged the Canadian government to recognize that California didn't ask for these tariff fights. He says that lifting the restrictions would expand choice for consumers and strengthen both economies.

How we got here

If you're just tuning in, the SAQ pulled all U.S.-made alcohol from its shelves and website on March 4, 2025, on orders from the Quebec government, in response to the tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Wines, spirits, beer, even locally bottled American products all came off, and the province stopped importing them altogether.

More than a year later, that's largely still the case. Quebec has kept its stance even as some other provinces softened theirs, with Alberta and Saskatchewan both reversing course and putting American alcohol back on sale.

What California is up against

Canada was America's single biggest wine export market, and the Sacramento Bee reports that California's exports here fell off a cliff after the restrictions, wiping out hundreds of millions in value. One California grower described the situation to the paper as "death by a thousand cuts," with Canada being one of the deeper ones.

But Quebec hasn't shown any sign of budging. Back in April, Fréchette flatly ruled out bringing American products back before trade talks even begin. "The short answer is no," she said at the time, arguing Canada shouldn't be handing over concessions before it sits down with its American counterparts.

The one exception

There is a small asterisk. Earlier this year, the province authorized the SAQ to sell off some of the American stock still sitting in its warehouses, mostly products whose quality could start slipping before they're gone. Those items are being offered at a 15% discount, online and at SAQ Dépôt locations, with an amount equal to the cost of what's sold going to Food Banks of Quebec (potentially up to $8.6 million).

The SAQ has been clear that this is a one-off to clear perishable inventory, rather than a reopening. The ban on selling and importing American products otherwise stays firmly in place. So for now, if you're hunting for a California red at your local SAQ, you're mostly out of luck, no matter how many letters land on the Premier's desk.