{"id":107575,"date":"2025-07-31T12:53:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T12:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/107575\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T12:53:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T12:53:11","slug":"i-wont-back-down-how-and-why-canadians-are-boycotting-the-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/107575\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I won’t back down’: How and why Canadians are boycotting the U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"

As a\u00a0trade deadline with the U.S. hangs over Canada<\/a>, we have been hearing about Canadians taking the ongoing trade war into their own hands. So we asked you to email ask@cbc.ca<\/a> to tell us how and why you have been boycotting U.S. goods and travel. Dozens of you answered the call and told us what you’re doing.<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, most mentioned searching out more Canadian products and adopting an “anything but American” mentality\u00a0when Canadian alternatives aren’t available. You also told us about skipping out on travel to the U.S. and becoming more mindful about where you are spending your money.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Rabid label readers’<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the most common things we heard from Canadians is that they have become more vigilant when it comes to reading labels in the grocery store to see where a product has been made.<\/p>\n

“I’m still checking labels to make sure everything I buy is made in Canada or a trade-friendly country,” Rita Bailey told us.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Why it might be harder than you think to buy Canadian<\/p>\n

With the threat of U.S. tariffs looming, many are encouraging shoppers to buy Canadian \u2014 but CBC\u2019s Lyndsay Duncombe breaks down why it might be harder than you think to buy Canadian. <\/p>\n

Bailey also said\u00a0she’s willing to take the time to research where a product comes from before buying it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Shopping this way makes me stop and think, ‘Do I really need this?’ It has encouraged me to take a step outside the consumer culture, and that is good for my bank account and for my mental\/spiritual well-being.”<\/p>\n

This week Cross Country\u00a0Checkup\u00a0is asking:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>How much longer can you keep buying Canadian? Is <\/strong>boycott on U.S. goods and travel helping or hurting us at this point?\u00a0<\/strong>L<\/strong>eave your comment\u00a0<\/strong>here<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0we\u00a0may read it or\u00a0<\/strong>call<\/strong>\u00a0you back for our show on Sunday!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Larry Sharpe told us that he and his wife have been boycotting U.S. goods since the day Donald Trump was sworn into office and that the U.S. president’s latest tariff policies have only reinforced his position.<\/p>\n

“My wife and I are fervent buyers of Canadian products, almost since day one.” Sharpe wrote.<\/p>\n

“We became rabid label readers.”<\/p>\n

Refusing to cross the border<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sharpe told us that his boycott extends beyond reading labels and buying Canadian. He says he won’t cross the border despite living about a 20-minute drive away.<\/p>\n

“We refuse to cross the border although we frequently did so in the pre-Trump era.”<\/p>\n

Gino Paolone\u00a0also says he\u00a0won’t be travelling to the U.S., despite living close to the border in Thorold, Ont., and being a frequent traveller there in the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I would go to the States two times every month either for shopping, gas, dinner and an annual golf trip,” Paolone told CBC News. “Now I refuse to go over and support their economy while they try to destroy ours.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Buy Canadian boycott still strong 6 months into U.S. trade war<\/p>\n

Six months after U.S. President Donald Trump launched a trade war with Canada, the boycott of American goods and travel is still going strong.Local alternatives<\/strong><\/p>\n

We also heard from people who are moving personal property or investments from the U.S. to Canada, cancelling streaming services, halting their snowbird migration patterns and finding alternatives in their communities.<\/p>\n

“[I] try to buy all my produce at the local farmers market,” Karen Mount wrote.<\/p>\n

When she can’t find a good Canadian option she told us she looks for a non-American substitute.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I was buying produce from Mexico during the winter, which I did not do prior to January 2025. I check to see where things are made and put them back if made in the U.S.”<\/p>\n

Mount says she’s only relented for one product during her boycott.<\/p>\n

“The only item I have caved on is Smartwool socks. They are really good.”<\/p>\n

A lifetime boycott<\/strong><\/p>\n

Others wrote to us to say they can’t ever see themselves ever going back to buying U.S. goods or travelling to the country again.<\/p>\n

“I may never shop again without making sure it’s a Canadian product,” Garry Semple told CBC News.<\/p>\n

“I get angrier the more this goes on.”<\/p>\n

Rita Bailey told us something similar.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I am 75 and I can’t see this changing for the duration of my life. I won’t back down and I pray that our leaders won’t either,” she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As a\u00a0trade deadline with the U.S. hangs over Canada, we have been hearing about Canadians taking the ongoing…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":107576,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2147,50],"class_list":{"0":"post-107575","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-canada","9":"tag-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114947948749874770","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}