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Alberta’s first volley in the great trade war with B.C. is an eye-catcher for sure. Premier Rachel Notley has decreed a ban on imports of B.C. wine. She told the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission to stop buying it.

In real economic terms, this is a peashooter aimed at the B.C. cannon. The loss to B.C. wineries would be about $70 million a year. The stalled pipeline deprives the Alberta treasury of $1.5 billion.

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Hilarity on social media was inevitable. Some called it the Pinot Pipeline blockade. Others said, “Oh, no, we want Merlot.”

But this is a sharp first slap that Notley warns could lead to more action. It also instantly caught the country’s attention — what the hell’s going on out there?

The open trade warfare will certainly worry the federal Liberals, who have been trying to drift past the whole pipeline dispute by pretending it’s just a little spat between provinces, when the real issue is B.C.’s defiance of crucial federal authority over trade.