Description
Book SynopsisIn 2012, after Gerard Comeau had driven to Quebec to purchase cheaper beer and crossed back into New Brunswick, police officers tailed and detained him, confiscated his haul, and levied a fine. With Comeau’s story as his starting point, Ryan Manucha tells the fascinating tale of Canadian interprovincial trade.
Trade Review“With Booze, Cigarettes, and Constitutional Dust-ups, Ryan Manucha helps explain the history of the internal trade barriers that have led to … head-scratching disparities. Manucha finds a would-be ‘trade-barrier dragon-slayer’ in Gerard Comeau, who in 2013 Was fined for bringing 49 bottles of beer and three bottles of liquor into New Brunswick from Quebec.” Literary Review of Canada
“In Booze, Cigarettes, and Constitutional Dust-Ups, Ryan Manucha brilliantly and accessibly writes about the difficult and often bizarre evolution of interprovincial trade in Canada. For decades, politicians and courts have grappled with this issue, often with unsatisfactory results. This important new book gives readers the history of something that is truly (and unfortunately) Canadian — why it is sometimes easier to import something from another country than it is to “import” something from another province.” 2023 Balsillie Prize for Public Policy Jury (Samantha Nutt, Taki Sarantakis, and Scott Young)
“Canada’s economy has been hampered by interprovincial trade barriers for decades, … [Booze, Cigarettes, and Constitutional Dust-Ups] sees reasons for hope the provinces can find more common ground.” Director Journal