Some Canadians are boycotting U.S. products and buying local in wake of Trump tariffs | CBC News (2025)

CBC News

· Posted: Feb 02, 2025 8:44 PM EST | Last Updated: February 3

Canadianshave begun organizing efforts of their own to counteract U.S. tariffs imposed Saturday byPresidentDonald Trump, with some heeding calls by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who quickly announced retaliatory levies against the U.S., to buy Canadianand boycott U.S. goods as much as possible.

Giancarlo Trimarchi, past-chair of theCanadian Federation of Independent Grocers and president of Vince's Market in Sharon, Ont., said he has begun creating "Made in Canada" tags to be placed alongside Canadian products at supermarkets.

"There's a lot of tension, there's a lot of anxiety of how this will play out,"Trimarchisaid of the trade war.

However, he said he believes the situation has the upside of showcasing the wide variety of Canadian goods.

"As I was down on the shelf and I was putting some of these tags up ... I was pleasantlysurprised at just how many products were getting the label put in front of them,"Trimarchisaid. "That part makes me proud."

• Are tariffs causing you to change your spending habits? Tell us about it in an email toask@cbc.ca.

Trimarchi's tags could come in handy for some shoppers in Ontario who told CBC News they plan on only buying Canadian.

"Whatever is labelled Canadian, it's going to be [the] choice for me, even if it's not a preference," Don Profit, who calls the tariffs an "economic attack" by Trump, told CBC News at an Ottawa supermarket.

"While the tariffs are on, I'm going to boycott American products."

MatthiasNeill, a dual Canadian-American citizen, told CBC News in Toronto that he'sworking on a list of American products to avoid.

"I've never felt more anti-American in my life," Neill said.

With the U.S. tariffs and Canadian countermeasures set to take effect on Tuesday, experts say the falloutcould compound an already difficult cost-of-living crisis for consumers and hit Canadian businesses hard.

"This threatened tariff could very well end my business,"Pierre Oliver of St. Thomas, Ont., told CBC Radio'sCross Country Checkup.

WATCH |What is and isn't on Canada's first round of tarifftargets against the U.S.:

Oliver, who sells model train sets, said the vast majority of his customers are American, and the tariffs have caused a great deal of confusion for him.

"What I'm not clear about is how such a tariff could be levied on a business like mine. There's no mechanism in place to collect."

Despite the possible hurdles, many Canadiansthink boycotts are the way to go.

WATCH | Trudeau urges Canadians to support local:

Neill in Toronto said that before the tariffs, he only tried to buy Canadian "to the extent that it's easy," but will endeavour to do so more generally,even when it's difficult.

"The smallest first thing is to not buy Colgate toothpaste. I heard you're supposed to buySensodynetoothpaste now," he said.

In Montreal, Dan Levine told CBC News he's "conflicted" about boycotts because of his love for Californiawine,referring to the decision by Quebec and other provinces to pull American products from liquor shelves, but he saidit's worth it to support Canadian business and to send the Trump administration a message.

"I think it's worth it if we all do it together,"Levine said.

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