One of the most popular U.S. products, Jack Daniel’s whiskey, didn’t last long on NLC shelves (VOCM News)
In recent years, the NLC has been used as an instrument to support policy set by the provincial government.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, sparking a deadly war, Russian vodkas were pulled from liquor store shelves in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Last February, U.S. President Donald Trump shocked Canadians with punishing tariffs and economic threats, spurring provinces, including Newfoundland and Labrador to pull American products from NLC stores.
Those products were restored before Christmas and weren’t long flying off the shelves, with the proceeds donated to the Community Food Sharing Association.
NLC CEO Bruce Keating says it’s not unusual to see the corporation used in exercising provincial policy.
“I think one of the real values that the NLC brings to the table,” says Keating, “is its ability to perform that sort of role. I think in this case, and similarly with Russian vodkas, but in this case, it’s been very effective because it’s very visible, it’s tangible. We do, I think, over the course of a year, probably somewhere over 4 million transactions in our stores. So there’s a lot of traffic going through…and people are very aware of any decisions like that that are taken.”
