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February 11, 2025
Are Angry Canadian Consumers a Blow for US Retail?
The threat of significant U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods has sparked a “buy Canadian” movement, with U.S. brands and U.S. retail a potential casualty.
On Saturday, Feb. 1, Trump vowed to slap a 25% tariff on both Canada and Mexico, citing issues with border security. After much uproar, within two days, the proposed tariffs against both countries were postponed for a month as negotiations take place.
However, anger persists as the U.S. national anthem continues to be booed at NBA and NHL games held in Canada, Canadians have been canceling trips to the U.S., and calls to boycott American products and services are growing louder. The tariffs could push the Canadian economy into a recession and put thousands of jobs at risk.
Monika Morelli, a Montreal resident, told the BBC that she canceled her Netflix and Amazon accounts as well as a trip planned to New Orleans later this year.
“There is something that has been irrevocably broken now, after centuries of the U.S. and Canada being allies,” Morelli said. The tariff threat, as well as President Donald Trump’s remarks that Canada could become the 51st U.S. state (whether a joke or not), “have made something snap in us all.”
A survey from national pollster Angus Reid released last Wednesday found that 91% of Canadians want a reduction of the country’s reliance on the U.S., more than the 59% wanting to repair the relationship to the place it was before the near trade war.
Many Canadians continue to call for a boycott of U.S. products following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s call before the 30-day reprieve arrived to prioritize buying Canadian goods in retaliation for the tariff threat. “Now is also the time to choose Canada,” Trudeau said. “There are many ways for you to do your part, it might mean checking the labels at the supermarket and picking Canadian-made products, it might mean opting for Canadian rye over Kentucky bourbon, or forgoing Florida orange juice altogether.”
One major Facebook group, which was created years ago to promote Canadian products, has doubled its members to nearly 900,000 following the U.S. threat. The site shares suggestions on Canadian alternatives to popular American brands, including Kraft, Dawn, Lysol, Campbell’s, and Starbucks, and also sees members share photos of their grocery hauls containing zero U.S. goods.
Also feeling the pain could be any U.S. restaurant or retailer with a presence in Canada, which has a population of about 40 million. A “Buy Canadian” thread on Reddit states, “Stop eating at American fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, and Subway. Boycott Walmart, Home Depot, Starbucks. No turning back.”
The U.S. has also long been the top travel destination with Canadians, boosting tourist traffic for U.S. chains for decades. Lorn Sheehan, a professor who specializes in tourism at Dalhousie University, told Courthouse News Service that Canadians choosing to travel elsewhere “could have a significant economic effect” for states such as Maine, Florida, California, and Arizona.
The U.S. Travel Association said Canadians made 20.4 million trips to the U.S. in 2024, and a 10% reduction in Canadian travel could mean 2 million fewer visits, $2.1 billion in lost spending, and 14,000 job losses.
A New York Times article this past weekend indicated that the strained relations between the two countries could take time to heal.
“This has damaged the relationship quite significantly, and there will be a period of sorting out,” Jon Parmenter, professor of North American history at Cornell, told the Times. “It has triggered really significant and striking emotional responses. It’s very raw for people.”
Some boycotts to a lesser degree are also being heard from Mexicans over tariffs as well as deportations of undocumented people.
Discussion Questions
Will U.S. brands and retailers feel much of an impact from a potential boycott from Canadian consumers in the near term and perhaps even longer?
Are there ways to lessen or sidestep the boycott calls?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Lisa Goller
B2B Content Strategist
Dick Seesel
Principal, Retailing In Focus LLC
David Biernbaum
Founder & President, David Biernbaum & Associates LLC
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Leaving the politics of this to one side, it is certainly unhelpful for US retail to be the subject of boycotts or withheld spending from Canadians. That includes US brands in Canada, cancelled trips to the US by Canadians, or reduced commerce orders from US firms. That said, there is a massive imbalance between the US and Canada. The US retail market is 13 times bigger than Canada’s, and the collective spending power of consumers is many times greater. As such, this may have a small tangible impact, but it’s important not to overplay it. The impact of tariffs themselves will be a bigger hit to US retailers.
Your point about the disparity is (obviously) true, but I would also think the economic activity is most heavily concentrated in the northern states – New England, Great Lakes, and Washington – so the comparatives, while by no means equal, might be far closer than 13:1.
Arizona gets a huge number of Canadian ‘snowbirds’ this time of year!
Arizona has been clobbered by ICE as well. I have friends who live there. It’s way worse than Florida so far
I should also have mentioned that Canadians have huge holdings in South Florida
So much winning. /s
This is just the beginning. The tariffs are a stupid and terrible decision. Who the heck needs a trade war? It’s very hard to keep politics out of it, because no sane politician would do it this way
We haven a leader who seems intent on insulting our every ally, even implying violence. It will likely take decades to restore our standing in the world.
The problem is that that trust will not be restored. As other countries fill the voids, they will be permanent.
Welcome to the next Chinese century
Your leader threatened to invade my country and all I hear from the average Americans is how concerned they are over “egg prices” meanwhile I’m over here in Canada as young health draftable aged man wondering if I’m going to have to die to protect my family from being invaded by a country we once thought of as a brother. I worry for my girlfriend and sister and mother and what the American soldiers under Trump would do to them once Americas superior Army killed me. You are completely right Cathy that it will take decades to be able to forgive that sort of fear possibly even impossible for me. For myself I’m done with America and won’t ever forget this period and will be buying anything but American for the remainder of my life. Although I appreciate people like yourself who still view us an ally and are speaking out against his threats of invasion it’s just been far too small of a voice compared to the others I’m seeing saying the opposite or are concerned about how this is affecting their wallets.
For every action there is a reaction” is a phrase describing Newton’s Third Law of Motion, which states that when one object exerts a force on another object (an action), the second object exerts an equal and opposite force back on the first object (a reaction)
Canadians are furious about possible future tariffs, and there is much talk about boycotts, but boycotting American products won’t last.
Many Canadians rely heavily on American goods and services, making it difficult to sustain a prolonged boycott.
Additionally, the interconnected nature of the North American economy means that such actions could have unintended negative consequences for Canadian businesses and consumers.
Over time, practical needs and economic realities often outweigh initial emotional reactions.
However, it is likely that businesses will draw on this feeling to promote Canadian products at retailers such as Loblaw’s, Sobey’s, and Metro. Although retailers sell and promote Canadian products, they are not the only items that will be sold.
Despite the fact that many Canadian goods will be promoted more, they will never cover the entire range of items that Canadians want.
While Canada will continue to source from the US, retailers began looking for non-American products abroad as they prepared for the currently paused tariffs to take effect.
Though the decision to purchase Canadian products is noble, in practice it is foolish.
It hasn’t been very difficult at all for me to cut American products out of my grocery purchasing as there have been enough alternatives whether they are Canadian or Mexican or any other country that’s not America for that matter. For strawberries now I buy Mexican which have been just as easily available as california ones which I will forever refuse to buy again
The only things that are proving difficult are sodas (usually bottled here at least) and highly processed foods and treats which have been a great push to eliminate from my diet.
Also Care to elaborate on how purchasing our local products is foolish? I doubt you would tell your fellow Americans that buying made in america products is foolish. The cost difference in my grocery bill in not supporting american products has been practically negligible but it will help support our local and neighbouring economies down south like mexico and even south american countries ones while helping weaken the american economy.
Trump has forever hurt our relationship with America and I as a young man of draftable age and health will never forget his comments about invading us and the complacency of the American people in not rebuking him for it. I personally don’t think I’m foolish for wanting to increase our local economy and simultaneously weaken the economy of the country threatening to INVADE US. I may just be one person but I know that I intend to make this boycott last well beyond not just the tariffs as America clearly is not the bother we thought you were.
Consumers, workers and companies on both sides of the border will feel the effects of these tariffs for years. U.S. and Canadian supply chains are deeply entwined. It will take time to establish new trade relationships and champion domestic production as both nations strive to be more self-supporting.
Brands and retailers selling Florida citrus goods, Kentucky bourbon, California wines, and companies reliant on tourists are already concerned about the dramatic shift in trade dynamics. While many Canadians share their patriotic grocery hauls on social media, I haven’t seen many people go cold turkey with their addiction to Amazon, Walmart and Starbucks yet. I much prefer when the U.S. and Canada only go to war during Olympic hockey finals.
This whole episode was completely unnecessary and stupid, to be kind. Canadians will feel this economically. But at this point, they don’t care, and more power to them for standing up to being bullied. Unfortunately, Canada is just the opening salvo. The latest tariffs on aluminum and steel are global. When the rest of the world starts looking for ways to retaliate against the US economically, it’s not going to be good for anyone.
This is a non event. Sure, it is sucking some of the oxygen out of room from a media point of view, but it will blow over quickly if it is even really a thing. We are making a mountain out of a molehill here.
Well, as an American manufacturer of mainly printed material, I’m about to lose half my export business and two of my top ten accounts when Trump fires away. And a fair amount of the specialty paper and card stock I depend on has some percentage of Canadian fiber because the North American paper industry is so highly integrated. Keep telling my bankers this is just a molehill, though.
Like I said, it’s really hard to keep politics out of this. Read through the comments and you can easily tell who voted for who
My past retail experience tells me that Canadian shoppers “on the border” have flocked to U.S. stores for a long time — from Detroit to Grand Forks and beyond, in either direction. There’s no doubt that these consumers are going to curtail their visits, but the bigger risk to sales is the widespread boycotting of U.S.-made products. Canada may not be the most populous country in the world, but it is still America’s biggest trading partner; the tariffs (along with the taunting about the “51st state”) feel like a self-inflicted wound.
Feel like? It was absolutely unnecessary and does thing to help America.
As a Canadian myself I can attest that you are correct in respect to us boycotting your products in your stores being the far bigger concern as I have seen not just myself but my friends and family boycotting American products . I never used to check labels to see where they came from but I will for the rest of my life look for alternatives to American products and will be willing to pay extra for a local product in order to protect ourselves from you. I am a young man and trumps threats to invade us put my life in danger as I would be required to join the military. I will never forgive Americans for their complacency in allowing him to make me feel scared this way. My Girlfriend cancelled a trip to lake Tahoe where we were offered to use her parents time share for free we just had to pay for our flights but instead we used the timeshare for a ski trip here in Canada. I may just be one Canadian man but I will forever remember this when deciding where to put my money.