• by Tanya Gazdik , February 28, 2025

Photo credit: Tanya Gazdik/MediaPost

It’s not just Americans who are engaging in a consumer boycott targeting major American businesses today.

The movement has spread to Canada in response to the controversial policies of U.S. President Donald Trump, which include threats to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian exports and to annex the country.

“One commenter on the r/BuyCanadian page noted: ‘I stopped shopping at Walmart. That’s almost 10K a year in groceries I will be spending at a Canadian grocery store,’” according to toronto.com. “Another added: ‘Everyone should go one step further and make ‘boycott America’ posts on other national subs because it's only a matter of time before they are hit with tariffs.’ Another commenter noted they are gradually chipping away at anything American in their life: ‘It is impossible to fully remove everything American, but I am trying.’” 

According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. exported $349.4 billion of goods to Canada in 2024, making Canada its largest export market.

“Should the boycott of American products in the country gain significant momentum, it could harm U.S. producers economically and potentially prompt a reconsideration of the new administration's aggressive approach toward its main trading partners,” per Newsweek. 

And the anti-American boycott is ongoing, not just for one day.

“Do you know how angry you have to be with the United States to intentionally go out and purchase Canadian-made toothpaste? Because I’m there,” Janel Comeau, a Canadian illustrator and writer based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, posted on X, according to The New York Times. 

“The call to rally against Mr. Trump has helped unify provinces across the political spectrum, including Quebec, which has long defended its French identity,” per The New York Times. “Recent polls have shown national pride in the province has risen. Even Americans, who rarely pay attention to matters north of the border, are taking note, with Canadian discontent becoming a regular talking point among U.S. television personalities.”

“You know it’s bad when you’ve upset the Canadians,” Seth Meyers, the host of “Late Night,” said on X.

An Angus Reid Institute poll found that since Trump revived his threat of tariffs, four in five Canadians have been buying more Canadian products.

One Toronto pizzeria has gone so far as to banish any American made products from its recipes. 

“I just decided I was done with the US. I wanted to move away from American companies,” Graham Palmateer told The Guardian. “Canadians know Americans pretty well, and we don’t always agree with the choices that they make. A lot of us are disappointed, to put it mildly.”

Making the switch can be challenging.

“The two countries’ economies have been tightly bound through a longstanding free trade agreement since the late 1980s,” according to The Guardian. “But years of cross-border trade and investment has blurred the lines on country of origin: in the car manufacturing industry, for example, a vehicle passes the border an average of seven times during the manufacturing process. Those attempting to impose a full boycott of consumer goods have been caught off-guard at grocery stores where ‘Made In Canada’ products might contain some U.S. ingredients.”

The boycott goes beyond shopping. 

Canada's largest travel agency, Flight Centre, told Forbes that it had already seen a "surge of customers" canceling vacations to the U.S.

Canada is the leading country of origin for foreign tourists to the United States, according to the U.S. Travel Association.

“Last year Canadians made more than 20 million visits to the United States and spent $20.5 billion,” according to The New York Times. “Ahead of spring break for schools across Canada, there are signs that Canadians are heeding the suggestions of Canadian officials, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to rethink their vacation plans.”

A Feb. 27 survey by the Quebec Tourism Industry Alliance found that half of travelers who planned to visit the United States this year said they had canceled their trips.