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By Rich Percival
Associate News Editor
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A Canadian government minister has been accused of taking a taxpayer-funded “booze cruise” around 11 Kentucky bourbon distilleries, with his chief of staff's husband joining the trip.
Alberta minister Dale Nally and his delegation visited some of Kentucky's best-known bourbon producers, including Jim Beam, Maker's Mark and Woodford Reserve, in September 2025, amid President Donald Trump's escalating trade war with Canada.
The trip cost taxpayers approximately $14,000, according to government expense records obtained by the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP), which has raised questions about who paid for an additional guest.
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The guest was Dr. Gary Davidson, a former candidate for Alberta's governing United Conservative Party (UCP) and husband of Nally's chief of staff, Pam Davidson.
The NDP alleges taxpayers may have covered approximately $1,405 in transportation costs attributable to Davidson, despite his having no publicly identified official role on the trip.
Opposition politicians are also demanding repayment of approximately $3,790 in disputed expenses associated with the distillery tours.
Gurinder Brar, the NDP's shadow minister for Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, said: “This was a booze cruise, plain and simple, and it is unacceptable that the government charged taxpayers for the travel of the spouse of a political staffer.”
What Do the Records Show?
The allegations emerged after the opposition obtained internal government correspondence and expense records through an access-to-information request.
According to the documents, Davidson was identified in the minister's pre-trip briefing materials only as an unnamed “additional guest.”
The records show that Nally, his chief of staff, his deputy minister and Davidson traveled together in a chauffeured vehicle between distilleries.
However, booking instructions directed that transportation costs be divided among just three people, despite four passengers being present.
An invoice from Kentucky tour operator Sip Tours, which advertises itself with the slogan “You Sip. We Drive,” did not identify a separate payment from Gary Davidson.
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A September 9 email from a ministry official also raised questions about how to account for charges associated with the additional guest.
The opposition says the disclosed records contain no evidence that Davidson reimbursed the government for his share of the transportation costs.
The opposition also says the records show that a pre-booked vehicle was canceled during the trip, resulting in a $200 cancellation charge, while Pam Davidson subsequently claimed rideshare expenses.
The NDP is demanding repayment of approximately $3,790 in expenses claimed by Nally and his chief of staff in connection with the distillery tours.
Who Is Gary Davidson?
Davidson is a physician who previously served as chief of emergency medicine at Red Deer Regional Hospital in Alberta.
He unsuccessfully sought a UCP nomination in 2019 and was appointed by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in 2023 to lead a provincial review of COVID-19 data.
His political background has drawn attention as opposition politicians question why he accompanied the official delegation.
The minister's office has not publicly explained his participation, although it maintains that he paid his own expenses.
Trump Trade War Connection
The trip took place against the backdrop of Trump's trade war with Canada, which had seen Kentucky bourbon and other American spirits hit with Canadian retaliatory tariffs and removed from liquor distribution channels across much of the country.
Canadian provinces began restricting American alcohol imports and removing U.S. products from government-controlled liquor stores in 2025 in retaliation for Trump's tariffs.
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Alberta initially restricted American liquor but lifted its provincial restrictions in June 2025, approximately three months before Nally traveled to Kentucky.
Canada also removed its 25 percent retaliatory tariff on American spirits on September 1, just as the Kentucky trip began.
However, several other provinces continued restricting American alcohol, leaving bourbon caught up in the wider trade dispute.
What Has the Alberta Government Said?
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has defended the mission, arguing that Kentucky's established bourbon industry offers a model for developing Alberta's own whisky production and tourism sector.
“We want to also have an Alberta whisky tour here. We need to understand those who are doing it well in Kentucky,” she told the provincial legislature.
Nally has maintained that international missions are an important part of his job and that the visit was intended to support economic development.
His office says meetings during the trip helped inform Alberta's Whisky Act, legislation establishing standards for products marketed as Alberta whisky.
Alberta Finance Minister Jason Nixon has also defended the expenses, saying officials reviewed the receipts and found that no alcohol had been charged to taxpayers.
“The company was hired exclusively to do transportation,” he said of the tour operator.
The government maintains that Gary Davidson paid his own expenses, although the opposition says the disclosed records do not establish whether he reimbursed his share of the group transportation costs.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Ben Kelly and Emma Lee-Sang
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