Avoiding US goods and services – from tech to whisky to air travel – has forced many to find a new way of living
This week the US imposed 50% tariffs on US$20bn (£15bn) of Canadian goods, and Mark Carney, the country’s prime minister, has vowed to match them “dollar for dollar” after the collapse of trade talks between the two countries last weekend. Donald Trump retaliated on Thursday by ordering the federal government to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America.
Such actions have added fuel to a widespread boycott of US products and services by Canadians that began early last year in response to the president’s trade war and threats to annex his northern neighbour.
More than 3,500 people from across Canada shared with the Guardian via an online callout how they have made changes to their lives in response to the US administration’s political and economic stance. Many expressed deep anger and sadness, but remained resolute that this was now a new way of living.
European here. Avoiding American stuff wherever possible since a while.
Sneakers, clothing, Linux rather than Windows, tech, ketchup and so forth.
Not sure what the impact will be, if any, but hopefully it will help a bit somehow.
It’s more than that for me. Many products I bring into Canada from Europe come into the country via a warehouse or subsidiary in the US before landing in Canada.
I’ve stopped importing their products even though they’re not American.
I want to source their products direct or work with them to build out distribution here in Canada.
We need to change the worldview that America is the centre piece. Their fascists and what we’re seeing is a symptom of what America really is. Boycott them.
I find it very weird that trade between Canada and Europe is going through USA.
Isn’t it possible to have more efficient shipping route to Canada than USA?It depends on how exactly they’re doing it.
If the shipments are treated as “bonded shipments” in the US (meaning that they’re in the US only in transit to a final destination outside the US - which in this case is Canada), then they’re not considered as imported into the US and are instead treated as as imported directly into Canada, even though they travel to the US on their way to Canada. In this case it can make sense to import large consignments to, for example, a single port in the US by ship as one or more full shipping container loads and un-bundle it there into two parts, one that’s officially imported into the US and another which is a bonded shipment which travels by road to Canada and which is officially imported into Canada (so, for example, US-Canada tariffs have no bearing in that)
On the other hand, officially importing something into the US to then afterwards officially export from the US and importing into Canada wouldn’t really make sense IMHO because it would possibly pay Duty on entering the US and then again on entering Canada. I mean, maybe they did it like this because NAFTA meant there was no Duty from the US to Canada for such products, but as things stand now it’s a risky setup if not already a problem.
It’s really not weird at all. It’s the same in EU. If I order something from another continent. Chances are pretty high it’s going to go through Germany before making its way up here to Sweden.
Canada is 40 million to the US 350. So it makes more sense to have things go through the country where your biggest market is, and have it distributed out from there.
Ofc I’m just speaking very broadly. There’s a difference if you import directly yourself, or if they’re going through a Canadian vendor
The vast majority of canada’s population lives within 100km of the border, so if you already have logistics centres close-ish to the border, it may be cheaper to do so through your existing infra
I am hoping to hear from a real Canadian if this a common thing among Canadians or is it just a handful of people?
Thanks a lot everyone for your answers, you give me hope that this orange guy is not going to get away with everything he does
Another Canadian here and I’ll tell ya, buying American ain’t what it used to be. It’s not just a boycott, it’s straight up reputational ruination.
You should believe it because politicians in the affected states are whining about it.
They’re whining to us instead of to the orange shit king. But that’s a different problem.
Adding my Canadian voice to the pile: it’s very real and common. It’s common enough that our biggest grocery chain has updated their labelling to be much clearer on the source of products
Canadian here. Everyone I know is trying to avoid American products when we can. My parents switched from orange juice to apple juice for breakfast. People buy produce from Mexico to avoid American, enough that supermarkets try harder at sourcing outside the US wherever possible.
Canadian in Ontario, only if there is no alternative will I buy American.
Leaving american products and produce on the shelf is very much a thing.
Abandoning American alcohol and never looking back is a thing.
Actively replacing American products with local, European or Asian trade partners is a thing.
I think that a lot of this will be ongoing, even after the Trump regime falls.
Pretty much everyone I know avoids any American products at the grocery store, and I know a few people that have switched off products they like to Canadian alternatives (like ketchup, cheese, etc). My family bought Heinz our whole lives and now we’ve swapped to French’s, which we’ve found we like better so we won’t be switching back anyways. I think one of the biggest things is losing a lot of long time customers and brand loyalty.
There’s gotta be some people who don’t give a shit but I haven’t really met any. I don’t know anyone who’s taken a trip to the US during this admin and many who’ve cancelled trips. Even my elderly mom is using apps to avoid American products. It’s definitely not just the typical folks you’d expect to be calling for boycotts.
