National

#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.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Nick Geer, Businessman And Former Head Of ICBC, Dies In California Car Crash

VANCOUVER — Prominent British Columbia business leader Nick Geer has been killed in a car crash in California.

Nick Geer, Businessman And Former Head Of ICBC, Dies In California Car Crash

B.C. Coroner To Release 2017 Figures Today On Overdose Deaths

VANCOUVER — Health officials and the Coroners Service of British Columbia are expected to release the total number of overdose fatalities in 2017 today, while the current death toll already exceeds records.

B.C. Coroner To Release 2017 Figures Today On Overdose Deaths

Police Set Up Tip Line To Find Source Of B.C.'s Largest Forest Fire In 2017

CLINTON, B.C. — RCMP say they're looking for help in finding the source of a human caused wildfire that burned nearly 2,000 square kilometres of forest, brush and buildings in British Columbia last year.

Police Set Up Tip Line To Find Source Of B.C.'s Largest Forest Fire In 2017

ICBC In 'Financial Dumpster Fire,' Major Reforms Needed: David Eby

VANCOUVER — Major reforms are on the way to extinguish a "financial dumpster fire" at British Columbia's public auto insurer, which projects a $1.3-billion net loss this fiscal year, the province's attorney general said Monday.

ICBC In 'Financial Dumpster Fire,' Major Reforms Needed: David Eby

Lawyer: Expel 'Dirty Dancing' Foreigners From Cambodia

Two Canadian women — Eden Kazoleas, 20, and Jessica Drolet, 25 — are among the foreigners detained. Global Affairs Canada said it was providing consular services to the Canadians in Cambodia.

Lawyer: Expel 'Dirty Dancing' Foreigners From Cambodia

Lawyers File Class-action Lawsuit For Former Patients At Indian Hospitals

A statement of claim filed in Toronto says Indigenous patients suffered consistent physical and sexual assaults at the 29 hospitals from 1945 until the last one closed in 1981.