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Wineries
Imagine for a moment that provincial governments controlled grocery stores and decided to stock mostly imported beef because it generated higher margins than beef raised by Canadian ranchers.
Most Canadians would probably be outraged.
After all, we grow cattle here. We have farmers, processors, distributors, and rural communities that depend on that industry. While consumers should always have choice, most of us would expect Canadian beef to have a fair opportunity to compete on Canadian shelves.
Yet something very similar happens with wine.
Across Canada, growers farm thousands of acres of vineyards. Wineries employ people in agriculture, manufacturing, hospitality, tourism, transportation and retail. Wine regions attract visitors who stay in local hotels, dine in local restaurants and support local businesses. One could argue that if the wineries in Prince Edward County were not here, neither would many of the hospitality opportunities.
Despite all of that, provincially controlled liquor systems continue to devote the majority of shelf space and sales to imported wines.
The reason is not difficult to understand. Imported wines often generate stronger direct returns for the retailer.
The challenge is that direct margins tell only part of the story.
When a bottle of Canadian wine is sold, the economic impact extends well beyond the cash register. The grapes were grown here. The wine was made here. The jobs are here. The tourism activity is here.
The taxes are paid here.
In fact, Canadian wine is estimated to generate roughly five times the economic impact of imported wine.
Yet in five provinces, premium Canadian VQA wines account for less than five per cent of total wine sales. In Quebec—Canada’s largest wineconsuming province—domestic wine represents only a tiny fraction of the market.
This is not an argument against imported wine.
I have spent much of my career studying, selling, and enjoying wines from around the world. Consumer choice is important. Imported wines deserve their place on our shelves and at our tables.
The question is whether Canadian wine has been given the same opportunity.
Canada’s wine industry has largely been forced to be divided by provincial borders. British Columbia focuses on British Columbia. Ontario focuses on Ontario. Nova Scotia focuses on Nova Scotia. This is not a choice, this is law. Ask any winery owner if they sell their wines across provincial borders and you’ll hear about how difficult it is to do so.
Perhaps it is time to think differently.
Canadian wine is no longer an emerging industry. It is a mature agricultural sector producing wines that compete in quality with many of the world’s leading regions.
What we need is a Team Canada approach. #WineriesUp!
One that recognizes Canadian wine as a national success story rather than a collection of provincial industries. One that allows Canadian wineries to compete fairly across the country. And one that recognizes the value created when Canadians choose products grown and made in their own backyard.
Because if Canadian farmers can grow the grapes, Canadian wineries can make the wine, and Canadian consumers are willing to buy it, then Canadian wine deserves a fair opportunity to succeed in Canada.
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