Opinion: Governments want businesses like mine to diversify away from the U.S. Great. Give us a Canadian market

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeOpinionOp-Ed Opinion: Governments want businesses like mine to diversify away from the U.S. Great. Give us a Canadian market Ron Kubek: We are furious because the Americans are putting barriers in front of Canadian products. Fair enough. But we still put barriers between Canadians. Author of the article: By Ron Kubek Published Sep 17, 2026 Last updated 1 day ago 3 minute read Join the conversation We keep hearing about government programs to help businesses affected by the trade war. I'd rather see Ottawa put money behind permanently opening Canada's internal market, writes Ron Kubek. PHOTO BY DAVID SZABO /Vancouver Sun Article content I keep thinking about the ending of the 1983 movie WarGames. The computer plays tick-tack-toe against itself until it finally figures out that nobody can win: “The only winning move is not to play.” Article content That feels a little like where Canada and the U.S. are right now. President Trump puts tariffs on Canada. Canada retaliates. Trump retaliates against our retaliation. What do we do next? More tariffs? Article content Article content Article content For me, this isn’t theoretical. My wife Tracy and I own Lightning Rock Winery in Summerland. The latest U.S. action targeting Canadian alcohol has effectively shut down our American market. I’m not happy about that. But I also don’t understand why Canada’s answer is to keep escalating a tariff fight that Canadian businesses and consumers ultimately pay for. Businesses either absorb the cost or pass it along to customers. Article content Sunrise Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. Sign Up By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Article content Then Canadian exporters can become targets for the next American response. And that’s exactly what just happened. The White House specifically pointed to Canadian provincial restrictions on American alcohol when explaining its latest action. Our provincial liquor policies aren’t just an internal Canadian problem anymore. They’re being used against Canadian businesses in an international trade dispute. Article content We negotiated CUSMA for a reason. It has a dispute-settlement process. Use it. Challenge American measures where Canada has a credible case. Make Washington, D.C.,…