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Since the U.S. first imposed tariffs on Canada in early 2025, Francine Piché has made a point not to buy American products.
“The rule in our house,” said the Burlington, Ont., resident, “is Canada first, non-U.S. second, and never American, if we can avoid it.”
Piché has switched her personal care product brands, cancelled her Amazon membership and abandoned plans for a trip to New York in an effort not to give her dollars to the States, except when she can’t find another alternative.
But after the most recent round of trade talks fell through and new 50 per cent U.S. tariffs came into force, Piché says she won’t be making any more exceptions.
Her family now plans to cancel the last of their American streaming service subscriptions once those come up for renewal. And Piché plans to say goodbye to some of the gluten-free foods she enjoys that are made in the U.S., even though she hasn’t been able to find alternatives.
“My resolve is strengthened,” Piché said. “That’s the only way that I can fight back.”
After consumers first walked away from American products more than a year ago, renewed trade threats from the U.S. have sparked the Buy Canadian movement to come roaring back, as some consumers pivot even harder to Canadian products.
A renewed trade war with the U.S. has sparked a resurgence of calls for consumers to buy Canadian products, but the higher costs can be a challenge for businesses and shoppers alike.
Traffic skyrockets for Buy Canadian apps, sites
That’s meant an influx of newcomers to the Made in Canada Facebook group, where more than 1.4 million members were already sharing information about Canadian-made products or alternatives to American ones.
Their page saw about a 300 per cent increase in views so far in August compared to June 2026, and there are more than 1,000 people currently waiting to join the group, according to administrator Jayne Little, who says that’s way more than usual.
Little, from Glen Morris, Ont., says the conversations happening in the Facebook group right now seem more sophisticated and thoughtful than those she saw in 2025, when people were mostly discussing plans to switch to Canadian brands for basics like ketchup.
“They’re really looking at what … their fall shopping habits are going to be and trying to find Canadian sources for that.”
Little says others in the group seem to be digging deeper and talking about revisiting certain subscriptions or even their use of American-owned social media platforms.
Other platforms and apps that give information about Canadian products have also noticed an increase in traffic lately.
Web developer Ryan Checora says his app that allows shoppers to scan barcodes or search products and get information about their country of origin — aptly named O SCANada — was downloaded more than 4,000 times over the weekend.
“It’s continuing to go, it seems,” Checora said. “Traction really is picking up again for it.”
He says an initial boom of about 100,000 new downloads when the app first debuted had eventually slowed to a trickle about a month before this recent spike.
Checora says he’s glad to see more Canadians showing interest in where the products they buy come from.
“You can almost get complacent with, you know, the new normal of things,” Checora said. “I think it’s important that we realize that … we need to stick together and support each other.”
Price vs. Canadian pride
But for some, the price point still outweighs where products come from despite the increasing trade hostilities between Canada and the U.S.
Outside a fruit market in Vancouver, Lauren Hung says cost is still her main concern when shopping for groceries.
“I obviously want to [opt] for B.C. berries, but sometimes the price tag is just pretty high,” she said.
Traffic to Canadian e-commerce marketplace Common Goods has surged 300 per cent since Canada-U.S. trade talks broke down, according to owner Valerie Crisp. She says the response shows continued interest in buying Canadian, even as consumers navigate the complexities of the new tariffs.
David Hardisty, an associate professor of marketing at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business, says consumers might be more likely to avoid American products or purchases for discretionary items that don’t need to be bought so urgently.
Travel is a good example, he says, and could be a reason why the travel boycott to the U.S. by Canadians has held so strong for more than a year. Despite a slight uptick in travel south of the border in recent months, return trips from the U.S. by Canadians are still way down compared to pre-trade war levels.
“But for everyday staples, if you’re trying to feed your family, you’re struggling to get by,” Hardisty said, “definitely for some people that may not be realistic” to buy Canadian.
Nonetheless, some Canadian brands, like Antigonish, N.S.-based Peace by Chocolate, have instead enjoyed a bump.
Tareq Hadhad, the chocolate company’s founder and CEO says lots of Canadians have been happy to spend the extra dollars and energy to support home grown businesses like his — both in the last 18 months, and in recent days.
The company proudly displays the maple leaf on their packaging and has a line of chocolate bars featuring Canadiana-phrases like “Strong and Free” and “Elbows Up,” which have been major sellers since the Buy Canadian movement began.
Hadhad credits the movement’s resurgence for a 500 per cent increase in web traffic to their website over the last few days. And while it’s still too early to tell if that will translate to higher sales, he expects it will mean a boost for his business.
“It is a spike in the support for Canadian brands,” Hadhad said. “It is a spike for the showcasing of love for Canada from customers in every community across this country.”
He’s stopped shipping products to the U.S. amid the trade war, in part because of the uncertainty of tariffs and in part because he says it’s the “right thing to do right now.” That’s made support from non-American customers all the more important.
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And while the attention of the Buy Canadian movement never fully faded for his company, Hadhad says this round feels different.
He says consumers have learned how impactful their spending habits can be in the last 18 months, and doesn’t think Canadians are in the mood to give the administration south of the border a second chance.
“They can put a tariff on what Canada makes, but they will never be able to put a tariff on what Canada is made of.”
