As an unpredictable trade war with the U.S. drags on, some Canadians are angry, while others are anxious. But many Canadians also want to know what, if anything, they can do as individuals to exert pressure on the U.S. To that end, the Star asked five economists what actions people in Canada might take to respond to the current moment. Here’s what they said:
“Canadians are both anxious and angry with U.S. President Trump’s economic and military threats against our country. A lot of us are also psyched to do something about those threats, such as buying fewer or zero U.S.-made products if possible.
While consumer boycotts probably won’t make a big dent in U.S. corporate revenues, they can send a message and do reputational harm to their targets. That can put pressure on companies to change their actions or, in this case perhaps, to encourage Trump to reverse course on tariffs.
My advice to Canadians going the boycott route is to be strategic about it and don’t be too hard on yourself or other people who aren’t taking part, or cannot.
It is very easy to avoid U.S. alcohol, motorcycles, streaming services like Netflix and Disney+, and eCommerce sites like Amazon. Avoiding U.S. fruits and vegetables and other essential foodstuffs is more difficult. Often U.S. produce is cheaper than the alternatives on the shelf, or it is the only produce available.
We cannot let legitimate anger at Trump translate into anger at our neighbours. That goes for our neighbours south of the border, too.”
—Stuart Trew, Senior Researcher and Director of the Trade and Investment Research Project at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
“Large Canadian corporations that took advantage of the moment and increased prices and profit margins during the pandemic are liable to do exactly the same thing in the context of “buy Canadian.” A better approach that will support workers and businesses that will be hard-bit by Trump’s tariffs is to shift more of our purchasing to small local businesses wherever that’s feasible — Buy Local will have a bigger positive impact for our communities than simply moving our consumer dollars from large American companies to large Canadian ones. I think it’s also important to think about supporting local arts and culture in this moment.”
—Angella MacEwen, Senior Economist at the Canadian Union of Public Employees
“All Canadians can send a message with their dollars while contributing to a stronger domestic economy. They can choose Canadian-made goods or buy from a local retailer. Even better: they can do both at the same time. This would ship some economic pressure back to corporate interests on U.S. soil and, by extension, U.S. elected officials. It is also one of the measures that can help soften the blow of tariffs in the very short term.
Encouraging Canadians to buy local is actually one of the most helpful actions to offset the potential impacts of the trade war, according to 2,300 small business owners who answered our special CFIB survey on tariffs in February 2025.
Moreover, CFIB research shows that when a consumer makes a purchase from a small Canadian retail business, 66 cents of every dollar stay within the local provincial economy. Multinational businesses with physical locations in Canada (often U.S. businesses) recirculate only 11 cents of every dollar into local economies, and only 8 cents stay local when Canadians buy from online giants (also dominated by U.S. corporate interests).
Canadians have more economic power than they think.”
—Simon Gaudreault, Chief Economist & Vice-President Research, Canadian Federation of Independent Business
“In response to the unjustified U.S. tariffs, support is growing across the country for Canadian consumers to be conscious in their everyday purchases, and where possible, to “buy Canadian.” Consumer spending can be a powerful collective lever, allowing people a chance to vote with their wallets. Redirecting spending from U.S. goods and services can raise political pressure in the United States to end its tariffs on Canada.
Canadians can also help to raise awareness of the benefits for our two countries of economic co-operation. While most Canadians are well aware, some Americans need to be reminded that we make things together via integrated production in many sectors. As such, maintaining efficient supply chains makes both countries more competitive, benefitting workers and businesses on both sides of the border.
This means that broad-based U.S. tariffs will needlessly raise costs for American and Canadian businesses and consumers, and bring economic disruption. And if changing purchases and raising awareness aren’t enough, we’ve recently seen that booing the American national anthem at sporting events held in Canada is one way to voice your displeasure, and attract attention south of the border! ”
—Stephen Tapp, Chief Economist, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
In consumerist culture, there is often a knee-jerk assumption that the best way to effect change is to vote with your wallet. Encouraging better consumer choices is well-meaning, but ultimately limited — including in a trade war. By all means, Canadians should buy Canadian, boycott travel to the U.S. and stop patronizing Amazon or Uber. That will modestly punish U.S. corporations (who hopefully start to rein in Trump) and aid Canadian firms.
But the big action in Canada-U.S. trade is not on the shelves of Canadian Tire. are inputs to U.S. businesses: minerals, energy, agriculture, industrial materials, auto parts. Similarly, most of what we buy back is not finished products, branded “Made in America.” We buy inputs, technology, and business and digital services. Individual decisions by shoppers won’t make much of a dent in those embedded structural flows.
The best thing Canadians can do right now is be patriotic citizens. Support governments at all levels to respond with powerful actions, including a new national policy to boost domestic industry. Be ready to sacrifice for Canada’s long-term survival — rather than complaining your Netflix might become more expensive. Demand all our leaders — government, business, community, religious — rise to the challenge, ignoring partisan or regional divisiveness. Showing we’re united and determined and ready will ultimately have more impact on Trump than buying Canadian ketchup.
—Jim Stanford, Economist and Director, Centre for Future Work
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