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

B.C. Introduces Anti-SLAPP Legislation To Protect Public Interest Debates

Earlier this year, former B.C. premier Ujjal Dosanjh, attorney general Wally Oppal and numerous civil rights and environmental groups publicly called on the government to introduce anti-SLAPP legislation.

B.C. Introduces Anti-SLAPP Legislation To Protect Public Interest Debates

Small Forest Fire Breaks Out In Popular Hiking Area North Of Vancouver

PARKSVILLE, B.C. — A small wildfire has broken out on in a popular hiking destination north of Vancouver.

Small Forest Fire Breaks Out In Popular Hiking Area North Of Vancouver

Survivor Of Gun Violence In Afghanistan Says She Wants To Be 'Voice Of Women'

A bullet from a rifle she said was fired by her husband shattered her cheek bone, collapsed her eye socket and took half her nose with it.

Survivor Of Gun Violence In Afghanistan Says She Wants To Be 'Voice Of Women'

Owners Of Multimillion Dollar Vancouver Home Owners Say They Can't Stomach Tax Bump

VANCOUVER — Lynne Kent says owning a home in Vancouver that's valued at $4 million isn't the blessing it may appear to be.

Owners Of Multimillion Dollar Vancouver Home Owners Say They Can't Stomach Tax Bump

Southern B.C. Bracing For Round 2 Of Flooding As Snowpacks Melt

GRAND FORKS, B.C. — Flood weary residents in southern British Columbia are being told to brace for round two as rising temperatures accelerate the melting of high elevation snowpacks.