The LCBO website is down while US liquor is being pulled from shelves

Ontario shoppers hoping to browse the LCBO's website are out of luck on Tuesday — and it's not just a random glitch.

The LCBO home page currently says that the site is "temporarily unavailable" as the provincial liquor store chain pulls U.S. products off its shelves in response to U.S. tariffs on Canada implemented on Tuesday.

"Our site is temporarily unavailable while we remove U.S. products in response to U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods," the LCBO home page reads.

"Our in-store customer service remains unaffected," the notice continues. "Thank you for your patience and understanding."

This comes as Premier Doug Ford has appeared to follow through on his threat to yank American alcohol from the province's liquor stores in retaliation for Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada, which officially came into effect at midnight.

The move is part of Ontario's response to Trump's 25% tariffs on Canadian goods, which have been looming for weeks. Ford initially vowed to take action back in January, warning that the LCBO — one of the world's largest buyers of alcohol — would "clear off every bit of U.S. alcohol" if Trump went ahead with the plan.

After a brief 30-day pause, the tariffs are now back on, and so is Ford's retaliation. That means American whiskey, beer, wine and seltzers are disappearing from LCBO shelves — and, based on today's website outage, it looks like they're also being scrubbed from the LCBO's online store and wholesale catalogue.

For Ontario drinkers, this could mean a serious shakeup. According to Ford, the LCBO sells nearly $1 billion worth of American alcohol every year, and all of it is now on the chopping block.

That includes popular U.S. brands of bourbon, craft beer and canned cocktails, which are about to become a lot harder — if not impossible — to find in the province.

Restaurants, bars and private retailers that rely on the LCBO to stock their shelves will also be affected, since Ford has made it clear that wholesale orders of U.S. booze are getting the axe too.

While some Ontarians may not mind swapping their usual American spirits for a homegrown alternative, others will undoubtedly feel the impact. The question now is whether the U.S. will respond — and whether Ontarians will be able to get their hands on their favourite American bottles anytime soon.

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