Canadians Are Skipping American Products to Push Back Against Trump's Tariffs

Many Canadians have stopped buying American products to protest President Donald Trump's trade policies. Since early last year, people across Canada have chosen Canadian-made goods, canceled US streaming services, and avoided trips to the United States. The movement grew after Trump placed high taxes — called tariffs — on Canadian goods. More than 3,500 Canadians shared their stories with the Guardian newspaper about how these changes have shaped their daily lives.

William McDonald, 38, is a diesel mechanic from Thunder Bay, Ontario. He says Canadian products are always his first choice now, even though it costs him more. He switched from American beer to Canadian beer, which costs about C$1,000 more per year. His grocery bill also went up by around C$50 a week, but he says he is happy to pay the extra cost.

McDonald compared Trump's behavior toward Canada to a bully on a school playground. This week, the US placed 50% tariffs on C$20 billion worth of Canadian goods. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney promised to match those tariffs 'dollar for dollar.' Trump also ordered the government to rename Lake Ontario to 'Lake America,' which upset many Canadians.

The boycott started early last year and has kept growing since then. People have stopped buying American groceries, gasoline, cars like Teslas, and whiskeys like Jack Daniel's. Many have stopped paying for US streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Disney+. Slogans like 'Elbows Up!' — a hockey term for playing tough defense — became popular symbols of the movement.

Elizabeth Lorenz, 68, is a retired teacher from Nanaimo, British Columbia. She reads every label and will not buy anything made in the United States. She even planted her own yams and sweet potatoes in her garden because only American-grown versions are sold in stores. She says her anger at US policies outweighs her environmental concerns about buying food shipped from far away.

Jane, 54, a teacher from Ontario, has not bought American groceries or alcohol in over a year. Instead of driving one hour to Detroit for sports events, she now drives four hours to Toronto. She uses apps like CanMade and Buy Beaver to find Canadian products and says that label-reading has become 'second nature' to her. She vacations in Mexico, Europe, and the Dominican Republic instead of the US.

James Buchan, 36, works in IT in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He sold all his Apple devices and switched to non-American tech alternatives. He moved to European email and mapping services and left social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. He said the switch to new technology was actually easier than he expected.

Kurt, 61, a retired engineer from Calgary, says his whiskey-tasting group once spent US$10,000 a year on American whiskeys. Since the tariffs started, they have spent nothing on American brands. They discovered Canadian whiskeys they enjoy just as much. Kurt says the group has no plans to ever go back to American brands.

Many Canadians believe the relationship between Canada and the US may never fully heal. Sarika, 61, from Vancouver, says she won't return to buying US products even if the government changes. Vikram, 51, from Toronto, finds it 'quite sad' that Canadians feel forced to protest this way but sees no other option. Many others shared the feeling that things between the two countries can never go back to the way they were.

Still, some Canadians feel hopeful about the future. Kurt believes Canada will come out stronger once this difficult time is over. William McDonald sees a bright side too, saying the boycott has brought Canadians closer together. 'After years of internal division in our country, it's nice to finally see something bind us together again,' he said.