Russian vodka pulled from B.C. liquor store shelves over Ukraine invasion

British Columbia has joined a growing list of provinces that have pulled Russian vodka and other imports from government liquor stores over the unfolding invasion of Ukraine.

Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba previously said they are ceasing sales of imported Russian alcohol as a minor rebuke of that country's unprovoked military assault, which has already left more than 100 people dead and injured hundreds more.

On Friday afternoon, B.C.'s deputy premier, Mike Farnworth, announced his government has decided to follow suit.

"As we stand with those who want to live in peace and against those who commit deplorable and illegal acts of aggression, we have put an immediate halt to the importing and sale of Russian liquor products from our BC Liquor Stores and provincial liquor distribution centres," Farnworth said in a written statement.

The province also announced a $1 million donation to the Red Cross to support Ukrainian citizens affected by the invasion.

Earlier in the day, Premier John Horgan suggested B.C. would be waiting for federal leadership before yanking Russian products from public liquor stores, saying that "for sanctions to be effective, they have to be comprehensive."

"Obviously the federal government is the lead on international relations," Horgan said during a morning news conference. "Any measures that they put forward, British Columbia will be right behind them all the way."

The premier also offered words of support to Ukrainian-Canadians living in the province, and said British Columbians would gladly "open their arms" to refugees from their besieged homeland – while acknowledging that matters of immigration are also handled federally.

"My intergovernmental officials are working with Ottawa to see what we can do with respect to sanctions, what we can do with respect to providing safe harbour for those who are fleeing the violence that's been beset upon them by a government that’s clearly lost its way," Horgan said.

Russian liquor products have faced boycotts over the actions of the Russian government before, including in 2013, when the country introduced fines for gay pride rallies and implemented a ban on "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations."

Many bars across North America stopped selling Russian Standard and Stolichnaya in protest, despite the latter being a product of Latvia.

Recently elected BC Liberal opposition leader Kevin Falcon was among the voices calling for another ban in light of this week's invasion of Ukraine, noting there are currently five such Russian imports available in government liquor stores: Russian Standard vodka, Russian Standard Platinum vodka, Beluga Noble vodka, Baikal vodka and Baltika 7 beer.

"This is a concrete step we can take right now to show our solidarity with the Ukrainian people," Falcon said in a statement.