Trump is threatening an economic war on Canada – to weaken us and degrade our sovereignty. Counter tariffs, new trade deals, new infrastructure, dismantling provincial trade barriers, and military investment: These are all things we need to do as a country. But what can we do immediately, as individuals?
The best way to fight back immediately is with our dollars. Canada imports almost one trillion dollars per year in goods and services. More than 60% of those imports come from the United States (US). If we can substitute even a small percentage for Canadian goods and services, we can reduce the tariff impact on our economy.
In 2023, Canada imported $978 billion in goods and services. This is equivalent to 33% of Canada’s entire Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The majority of these imports, $607 billion, were from the United States. Millions of US jobs depend on those exports to Canada.
Our government will respond with reciprocal tariffs. But we can do more as consumers. Make a choice to not buy American, and we punch back at the US. At the same time if we replace those purchases with Canadian products, we support our Canadian businesses. Canada has a huge advantage in this respect, because Trump has united Canadians. Americans have so many other battles to fight: Mass deportations, building a wall around Mexico, tariffs on China, and invading Panama and Greenland. Meanwhile Canadians can unite around the US tariff issue and hit them hard.
So put down that shitty bottle of California chardonnay and pick up a Niagara VQA or an Okanagan Pinot Noir. Your taste buds will thank you.
Don’t buy the tasteless, bloated, Florida strawberries, get Ontario or Quebec greenhouse grown winter berries.
Consider services as well. Cancel Netflix and spend that $20 per month on other local entertainment. Your brain will thank you.
Cancel US travel and vacation in Canada instead. Meet some Canadians from different provinces and talk about how to fight back.
If each of the over 15 million Canadian households substituted only $25 per week of imports with Canadian products and services, that would give a $20 billion annual boost to our economy. And that is just one small step we can all take now. There is much more we can do in the long run to put us in a stronger position to deal with American bullying. But those things take time, we can act now – Buy True North
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