The U.S. boycott remains strong. Why many Canadians are digging in their heels 

It’s shaping up to be a record sales year at Maker House, an Ottawa gift shop where almost everything in the store — from furniture to food to greeting cards — is entirely made in Canada. 

Hot sellers these days include a T-shirt with the newly iconic “elbows up” slogan, and chocolate bars wrapped in quintessential Canadian expressions such as “eh.”

Founder Gareth Davies says year-over-year sales surged by 150 per cent in February, when U.S. President Donald Trump first announced plans to impose tariffs on Canadian goods, and ramped up his threats to make Canada the 51st state.

At the time, many Canadians pledged to boycott U.S. travel and goods, and support the Buy Canadian movement as a way to express their anger. 

Davies says sales since then have continued to stay strong: they’re currently up by 80 per cent, and almost doubled during the week leading up to Canada Day.

“It’s like a big hug from your neighbours across the country saying, ‘You know, we’re in this together and we’re going to protect our country and our economy,'” he said. “I, in my gut, believe it will last as long as the vitriol lasts from the south.”

Boycotts often wane over time as people lose interest and return to old habits. But many Canadians’ resolve to boycott the U.S. and focus on Canadian products has remained strong, and shows no signs of dissipating.

A majority of Canadians polled in a new survey said they’re actively supporting the Buy Canadian movement, and support stores removing U.S. products. Plus, Canadian travel to the U.S. has steadily declined since Trump took office in January. 

Trump can take much of the credit, as he continues to muse about Canada becoming the 51st state and threaten new tariffs; just this week he announced plans to impose a 50 per cent tariff on copper.

“He’s actually keeping it top of mind. He’s keeping the boycott going,” said June Cotte, a professor of marketing at Western University’s Ivey Business School in London. 

She added the media helps fuel the boycott by giving Trump airtime every time he takes pot shots at Canada. 

Rather than wane, the Canadian boycott of U.S. continues to grow. 

In May, the number of return trips among Canadians travelling to the U.S. dropped by 24 per cent for air travel and by a whopping 38 per cent for land travel.

Cotte says another reason for the boycott’s staying power is it’s not a big challenge for many Canadians, because they can often find domestic replacements for American products like food, and they can travel to other countries or explore their own. 

However, boycotting U.S. travel is problematic for Ottawa resident Emily Olmstead, who has family in the U.S. Fortunately, her parents, Diane and Don, who live in Ohio, are happy to trek to Canada.

“They’re here visiting me, and not the other way around,” said Olmstead, while browsing Maker House with her parents.

Like many Canadians, Olmstead says she’s shopping local as much as she can, and avoiding U.S. travel for political reasons. 

“I am pretty displeased with the turn in American politics and the status of the relationship between Canada and the United States,” she said. “I think I’ve just got to do the best that I can to support Canada right now.” 

It’s harder to pinpoint the success of the Buy Canadian movement, as no hard data exists. 

But an online survey conducted last month on behalf of Lightspeed, an e-commerce software provider, found that of the 1,000 Canadians polled from June 5 to 10, more than three-quarters said they support Canadian retailers removing U.S. goods from store shelves.

On top of that, two-thirds said they’re currently shopping for, or focusing on buying Canadian goods, according to the survey conducted by Censuswide.

“It’s a pretty high priority,” said Aaron Clark of Ottawa who came to Maker House to buy a birthday present. “I’m very much a supporter of keeping things Canadian, supporting our economy.”

And rather than losing interest, Clark said he plans to ramp up his commitment. 

“I’d say it’s going to become more of a habit, at least for the next few years.”

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A Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) survey also suggests the future is bright for the Canadian-made industry. 

Of the 2,190 businesses the CFIB polled in May, 40 per cent reported increased sales of Canadian made products since the start of the trade war.

“It’s been a very pleasant surprise to see it keep going,” said Ryan Mallough, CFIB’s vice-president of legislative affairs and communications.  

“And there doesn’t seem to be, at least so far, much of an appetite to return to the U.S. products.”

The survey also found that many businesses noted a decline in sales of American goods. 

Even if Trump continues to treat Canada as an adversary rather than an ally, the rationale for the boycott would logically expire when he completes his four-year term. 

“Most boycotts eventually start to peter out, so that will happen,” said Cotte. 

But Mallough suggests that, for some Canadians, the U.S. boycott may become habit. 

He compares it to the recent postal strike where many small businesses switched to private carriers out of necessity, and chose not to return to Canada Post after the strike ended. 

“One of the things that the trade war has done is afforded a lot of us as consumers … the opportunity to look at Canadian products in a new light,” said Mallough.