Canadians have begun organizing efforts of their own to counteract U.S. tariffs imposed Saturday by President Donald Trump, with some heeding calls by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who quickly announced retaliatory levies against the U.S., to buy Canadian and boycott U.S. goods as much as possible.
Giancarlo Trimarchi, past-chair of the Canadian 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,” Trimarchi said 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 presently surprised at just how many products were getting the label put in front of them,” Trimarchi said. “That part makes me proud.”
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.”
Matthias Neill, a dual Canadian-American citizen, told CBC News in Toronto that he’s working 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 fallout could 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’s Cross Country Checkup.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada will hit back against the U.S. with tariffs on $155 billion worth of American goods in the coming days. To start, Canada will slap 25 per cent tariffs on $30 billion worth of a far-reaching list of American goods coming into Canada as of Tuesday.
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 Canadians think boycotts are the way to go.
As U.S. President Donald Trump launches a trade war against Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is urging Canadians to buy products made in this country and consider not taking vacations in the U.S.
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 buy Sensodyne toothpaste now,” he said.
In Montreal, Dan Levine told CBC News he’s “conflicted” about boycotts because of his love for California wine, referring to the decision by Quebec and other provinces to pull American products from liquor shelves, but he said it’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.