Bob at the LCBO: A Pre-Tariff Saturday Frenzy

Bob at the LCBO: A Pre-Tariff Saturday Frenzy

Bob stood near the California wine section of the LCBO, camera in hand, watching the shoppers with quiet amusement. It was the Saturday before the now-cancelled tariffs were supposed to take effect on Tuesday, and the panic had already set in.

People rushed through the aisles, grabbing bottles with a sense of urgency usually reserved for blizzards and power outages. Some had carts filled to the brim, others clutched prized vintages like lifelines. A couple near the Bordeaux shelf debated whether to splurge on one last case before the "all the American stock was removed from the store." Meanwhile, a man in a Raptors hoodie muttered to himself about stocking up on bourbon, "just in case."

Bob snapped a few candid shots, the chaos making for perfect street-style photography—except this wasn’t the street, it was the heart of a Canadian consumer panic. He overheard a store clerk trying to explain that the tariffs might be scrapped, but the customers weren’t listening. "Better safe than sorry," one woman said, cradling a bottle of Napa Valley red like a newborn.

As Bob left, he chuckled to himself. The tariffs might have been cancelled, but the spirit of last-minute Canadian preparedness was alive and well. Maybe next Saturday, when things calmed down, he’d return and pick up a bottle himself—assuming there was anything left.