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#BuyCanadian: Pocketbook Patriotism Takes Off Amid U.S. Trade Tensions

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 14 Jun, 2018 11:42 AM

Social media users are pledging to #BuyCanadian amid a simmering trade standoff with the U.S., but experts say pocketbook patriotism may have unintended consequences on both sides of the border.

Bonnie Hallman of Winnipeg says she cancelled a long-desired trip to Alaska shortly after President Donald Trump took aim at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for pushing back against American tariffs on steel and aluminum.

The 53-year-old says she's now booked to visit P.E.I. next summer because she would rather spend her dollars towards supporting Canadian tourism.

I have always tried to buy Canadian products first & foremost, but given the current trade enviro, I will ensure I do from now on! No disrespect to my US friends, but I must stand behind & defend Canadian goods. #cdnpoli #BuyCanadian #NAFTA #TradeWar #trade #Canada #Ontario pic.twitter.com/wfaXwD5Rlm
— Quarkybirdy 🇨🇦 (@Quarkybirdy) June 13, 2018

First trump-free grocery cart. Focusing on great Canadian products and those from countries with stronger leadership. #buycanadian #trumpfree pic.twitter.com/XHgGJNtzcJ
— Scott Chamberlain (@scottawan) June 10, 2018

Want to stick it to Trump? Stop buying American...no American products. No spending at American stores (Walmart is a good start, McDonalds etc..) no cross border shopping for the summer. Show this fool his isolationism only hurts his constituents.#buycanadian #ohcanada
— Dan Gowette (@digemden) June 11, 2018

I bought local strawberries @ $6 last night instead of the California ones at half the price. I'm done playing. #BuyCanadian
— Athena (@tinsbabe) June 11, 2018

Just cancelled all plans to go to California, will be discovering our own beautiful east coast by road this fall!! :) #BoycottUSA #BuyCanadian
— Hamad E (@Realistology) June 13, 2018

Went grocery shopping. Took twice as long. Checking all labels for origin of product/produce. Put back all American produce and bought Mexican, Chilean,South African and Australian. Put back all Heinz products and replaced with French #buycanadian #fuusa
— Daniel (@minnow54) June 12, 2018

Scott Chamberlain, a father of four in Ottawa, says he's been trying to fill his grocery cart with mostly homegrown goods to bolster the Canadian producers who could be hardest hit by cross-border friction over trade.

Robert Wolfe, a professor emeritus at Queen's University's School of Policy Studies, says the #BuyCanadian movement could fan the flames of a trade war in which no side would prevail unscathed.

He says the mirror of 'buy Canadian' is 'buy American,' which could have a detrimental impact on Canadian companies trading in the U.S. market.

"If it starts to escalate the Canada-U.S. tensions so that Americans begin to think we're actually just mad at them, as opposed to mad at their president, that could be difficult for Canada-U.S. relations, and ultimately, not good for the economy."

Food economist Mike von Massow of the University of Guelph says a show of Canadian fiscal solidarity may buttress the country's position in trade negotiations, but swearing off American-made products is easier said than done.

An online poll conducted by Abacus Data between June 1 to 6 — after Trump said he would impose tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel but before trade tensions erupted at last week's G7 summit in Quebec — found that more than half of 2,200 Canadian surveyed reported that they intend to avoid buying U.S. wines and cross-border shopping.

The polling industry's professional body, the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.

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