U.S. liquor sales net $2.6M for charities
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WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government is donating $2.6 million to charities after selling off American-made liquor pulled from shelves earlier this year.
The donation is five times what the province initially promised, as restaurants and retailers snapped up more than $1 million in products the first day the government made them available.
The government originally planned to sell off $1 million and donate half the proceeds to hamper and food programs in Manitoba.
Jessica Crang with the Manitoba Liquor Mart on 10th Street and Victoria Avenue helps stock American alcohol onto shelves at the Brandon retailer earlier this month. The province is donating $2.6 million from the proceeds of sales to charities in Winnipeg, Brandon and Thompson. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun files)
The funds will be split across charities in Winnipeg, Brandon and Thompson.
The province says $500,000 will be donated to Brandon charities, including the Brandon-Westman Christmas Cheer Registry and its regional partner organizations.
Another $600,000 will be split between the Helping Hands Centre of Brandon soup kitchen, the Boys and Girls Club of Thompson and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc. to support their donation programs.
In Winnipeg, $1 million is going to the Winnipeg Christmas Cheer Board and $500,000 to Harvest Manitoba.
The province pulled American liquor from shelves in March in response to tariffs imposed by the United States on Canadian goods.
Premier Wab Kinew says the province is glad to see the inventory used to generate holiday spirit instead of sitting in a warehouse.
“Manitobans embraced this initiative with their typical generosity of spirit, and folks can feel good knowing their money helped to make this holiday season brighter for families who need it most,” the premier said in a statement Friday.
The government also announced it would continue selling off the remaining inventory of U.S. liquor products beyond Christmas Eve and expand sales to include additional provincially run liquor stores.
Kinew said money from the sales would continue to be donated to charity.
The province’s ban on American booze only applies to products made in the U.S., not to U.S.-based brands, such as Budweiser, that are brewed in Canada.
Manitoba’s decision to temporarily allow sales followed a similar charity fundraising idea in Nova Scotia, since adopted elsewhere, and is aimed partly at selling items that might expire.
» The Canadian Press, with files from The Brandon Sun