Close X
Monday, November 25, 2024
ADVT 
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.
     
     
    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.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Mom Who Died Hours Before Daughter's Wedding Wanted Her Family To Be Happy: Twin

    Mom Who Died Hours Before Daughter's Wedding Wanted Her Family To Be Happy: Twin
    TOFINO, B.C. — A mother of three who died just hours before her daughter's wedding in Tofino, B.C., would have wanted the celebration to go ahead, says her twin brother.

    Mom Who Died Hours Before Daughter's Wedding Wanted Her Family To Be Happy: Twin

    One Of Oldest Newfoundlanders Dead At 108: 'She Lived Each Day To The Fullest'

    One Of Oldest Newfoundlanders Dead At 108: 'She Lived Each Day To The Fullest'
    An obituary says Mary Catherine Power died in Corner Brook on Wednesday.

    One Of Oldest Newfoundlanders Dead At 108: 'She Lived Each Day To The Fullest'

    Appeal Court Agrees With Sentence For Edmonton Teacher Who Had Sex With Girl

    Appeal Court Agrees With Sentence For Edmonton Teacher Who Had Sex With Girl
    Alberta's highest court has upheld a 10-year sentence for an Edmonton teacher who had a sex with a student.

    Appeal Court Agrees With Sentence For Edmonton Teacher Who Had Sex With Girl

    Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Condemns Blast At Mississauga's Indian Restaurant

    Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Condemns Blast At Mississauga's Indian Restaurant
    Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday condemned the blast in an Indian restaurant in suburban Toronto, calling it as a "cowardly act of terrorism".

    Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Condemns Blast At Mississauga's Indian Restaurant

    Saskatchewan To Allow People To Remove Gender Designation From Birth Certificate

    Saskatchewan To Allow People To Remove Gender Designation From Birth Certificate
    SASKATOON — A Saskatchewan court has ordered the province to allow gender markers to be removed from birth certificates.

    Saskatchewan To Allow People To Remove Gender Designation From Birth Certificate

    Abbotsford High School Teacher HENRY KANG Charged With Sexual Offences Involving Two Youths

    Abbotsford High School Teacher HENRY KANG Charged With Sexual Offences Involving Two Youths
    Police in Abbotsford, B.C., say sex-related charges have been laid against a man who teaches at two high schools in the Fraser Valley city.

    Abbotsford High School Teacher HENRY KANG Charged With Sexual Offences Involving Two Youths