This boycott occurs in the context of polling finding that 91% of Canadians want Canada to rely less on the US, an option preferred over repairing the relationship with the US.[1] The shift in attitude towards the United States has been described as unprecedented by many; The Guardian cites one Canadian woman in her 40s as saying, "This is a shift unlike any I have seen in my lifetime, and unlike anything my parents have seen either. Canada is turning away from the US – if not forever, at least for a long time."[2] In February, 90% of Canadians claimed to follow the issue of the trade war closely, the highest level of engagement with a news item since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]
Boycott of US products
Product of Canada Label Logo (Unoffcial)Made in Canada Label Logo (Unofficial)
Boycott of American products has become widespread. In late February 2025, an Angus Reid Institute poll found that 98% of respondents said they were "looking for 'Made in Canada' when they peruse the aisles."[3] "Half (48%) say they’re replacing as many as they can find substitutes for, while 37 per cent say they are replacing those where they can find a similar price and quality," for a total of 85% of respondents saying they are replacing at least some American products.[3] Some Canadians have joined "Buy Canadian" groups on social media like Facebook, with one group being reported to have 1.2 million members (as of early March 2025).[2]
Canadian businesses have been reported to put up signs encouraging customers to buy Canadian products,[4] or simply tags identifying made-in-Canada products.[5]The Guardian cites Kenneth Wong, an associate professor at Queen's University, as saying "he had been surprised by an apparently organic response among Canadian consumers: on a visit to his local grocery store, homegrown apples were sold out, while next to them, a bin of US apples appeared to be untouched."[6] Some Canadians have voiced willingness to pay more to avoid American products.[2]
The boycott also includes travel to the United States. Canadian tourists spent $20.5 billion USD in the United States in 2024, with 20.4 million Canadians visiting the country.[9][10]
In mid February, an Angus Reid survey found that 48% of respondents had already "or [were] seriously likely to" cancel or delay plans to travel to the US.[3] In late February, another survey found that, of the 20% of Quebecers who had plans to travel to the US in 2025, 45% had either already cancelled or intended to cancel their trip.[11] This represents an estimated $3 billion CAD economic loss for the US.[11] Leisure travel to the US by flight was 40% lower in February 2025 than February 2024.[12]
Travel agencies have reported drops in travel to the United States, with increases in travel to Mexico or Europe.[13] The Kingston-based tour company Maple Leaf Tours reported their US package took a 30% hit via cancellations.[9] A Quebec-based travel agent specializing in travel to Disney and Universal destinations claims that her reservations dropped by 60% from February to March 2025.[14] In March 2025, the Surrey-based owner of a duty-free shop at the US-Canada border said that as a result of decreased Canadian travel to the United States, "Our business has dropped over 80 per cent and now we have reduced our staff and reduced our working hours. This morning, we are now operating on a skeleton staff of only three to four people when usually we have about 20 people working."[15]
There is anectodal evidence of some Canadian travellers cancelling trips even at the loss of their deposit. For example, one Florida motel owner said that "I've seen a customer dropping a $1,000 deposit to choose to go to Cuba instead";[16] a woman from British Columbia even let go of a $5,000 CAD deposit to cancel a five-week vacation to Palm Springs, California.[2] However, some travel agents have described such cancellations as being rare.[14]
Some Canadian snowbirds have sold their properties; CBC News writes of Fort Lauderdale, Florida real estate agent Alexandra DuPont that "She's currently listing 35 properties, she said, and about 30 of those are owned by Canadians. Meanwhile, she has zero Canadian buyers. It's unprecedented in her 12 years of selling real estate."[16]Bob Ezrin, who has dual Canadian and American citizenship, not only moved back to Canada from the United States, but also announced he planned to renounce his American citizenship.[17]
Official support for the boycott
The boycott has received support from Canadian politicians, notably with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on February 1, 2025 calling on Canadians to "choose Canadian products and services rather than American ones" wherever possible.[18][19] Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, on a February 3rd appearance on Tout le monde en parle, also suggested to cancel or avoid travel to the US.[14] On March 5th, Alberta announced plans for a "substantial" advertising campaign to help Albertans identify Albertan products.[20]
Canadians' views on the target of the boycott
Widespread anger towards the Donald Trump and/or the United States is fuelling the boycott, but different Canadians apparently have different views in terms of the target of their boycott and the culprit behind the situation Canada finds itself in. Indeed, summarising comments it had received from Canadians, The Guardian writes, "While some people said they were differentiating between the Trump administration and their American neighbours, others shared feelings of personal hostility towards the American population, saying they wanted to 'stick it to' their 'poorly educated neighbours to the south,' as one woman from British Columbia put it, echoing the remarks of many."[2] Likewise, a woman from New Brunswick said, "The relationship is broken. A great many Canadians hate the USA now. How can you remain on good terms with a neighbour who threatens your economy and jokes about bringing you to your knees?"[2]
In contrast, many Canadians put the blame on Donald Trump alone. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, for example, said this repeatedly in his March 4th news conference responding to the enactment of tariffs by Trump. "It's not the people of America, it's not the elected officials, it's one person that has caused this issue, and that was President Trump."[21] He went on to state that in his view, Ontario's retaliations against the US tariffs were "the last thing I want to do. I want to put more alcohol on the shelves. I want to give you more electricity. I want to do everything I can to have a great relationship with our closest friends that we absolutely love."[21]
American culture
For the most part, the boycott has not extended to American culture, although there are some counter-examples to this. For example, some cafes have been reported to be re-branding the americano coffee as the 'canadiano'.[22][23]
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