Mary holds a cauliflower in her hand in Guelph, Ontario. She reads the label and, upon seeing that it is from California, she puts it back. In her cart, she already has Moroccan oranges and Mexican onions, and she continues to look for a Canadian alternative to Heinz ketchup. Over 2,600 kilometers away in Regina, Saskatchewan, a young woman named Serena puts a pre-packaged salad in her basket. Not even five minutes pass before she realizes that the shelf from which she took it did not have the maple leaf symbol and was actually a product from the United States. She returns to the aisle and exchanges it for the Alberta-grown option. "This is how most Canadians shop nowadays", says Annik from Quebec to her TikTok followers.
A rebellion is brewing in Canada, and it starts in supermarket aisles. Cereal boxes and soup cans are placed upside down. Milk cartons are turned the wrong way. Shelves overflowing with Coca-Cola and Pepsi are stacked next to empty spaces where the Canadian alternative, Cove Soda, used to be. Labels with the Canadian flag or a "T" in a black triangle, indicating products subject to tariffs, serve as a visual guide for customers. And signs with the message "Buy Canadian" occupy the space that used to be filled with bottles of Jack Daniel's or Maker's Mark. The goal is simple: stop buying products from the United States and opt for local ones or, if necessary, those from third countries.
These are discreet yet determined acts of resistance against the trade war unleashed by the U.S. president, Donald Trump, against its northern neighbors, threatening punitive tariffs on Canadian products to force the country to become the 51st state of the union, under the pretext of combating fentanyl trafficking to the United States. However, beneath that bravado simmers a sense of betrayal: that of a partner country and, more importantly, a friend.
"The idea that someone would come and call us the 51st state and refer to our prime minister [the outgoing Justin Trudeau] as 'governor', beyond being rude, is simply not Canadian," asserts Moshe Lander, Associate Professor of Economics at Concordia University in Montreal, in conversation with EL MUNDO. "We are sending a message to the United States: 'You have no right to put us in this position. We are different, we are independent, and above all, we are not you'."
And they are indeed doing so. From Vancouver to Halifax, passing through Calgary or Toronto, Canadians have taken to social media to help their compatriots find local alternatives to imported products. In just the Reddit forum r/buycanadian, over 330,000 users share lists of brands made in Canada and recommendations for protein powders, potato chips, and even underwear. Images shared by foreign consumers who have decided to follow the Canadian example and boycott American products are also circulating.
According to the latest data from the Angus Reid Institute, 85% of Canadians have already changed -or plan to change- their consumption habits to buy domestic products. Among those planning to modify their buying behavior, 98% say they look for the Made in Canada label at the supermarket. Breaking down the numbers, the potential magnitude of the change is evident: four out of five (78%) commit to buying more Canadian products in general, while three out of five (59%) say they will boycott American products. Additionally, a survey published this Thursday by Leger, Canada's largest market research company, reveals that two-thirds of consumers have reduced their purchases of American products, both in physical stores (68%) and online platforms (65%).
But how easy is it really to "buy Canadian"? "Buying exclusively Canadian products is more challenging than many people think, and this is largely due to the integration of the food supply chains between Canada and the United States," explains Mike von Massow, Professor of Food, Agricultural, and Resource Economics at the University of Guelph. In short, Canada does not produce all its food due to its climatic conditions and limitations in production capacities, so it often depends on its neighbor or other countries to fill those gaps.
"We are a country that exports many agri-food products, but there are also foods that we cannot produce year-round, or part of it, and that we historically depend on imports for, mainly from the United States," Von Massow points out, using leafy greens as an example. "At this time of year, we are barely producing them, as there is still snow in some parts of the country, so around 80 or 90% comes from the United States. It is a perishable product, so it is difficult to transport over long distances and, therefore, find an alternative," he continues.
Let's consider another example: Canada does not produce sugar, but sugar beets. However, there are hardly any sugar refineries left in the country, so they are sent to the United States for processing. The question is: when they return, is it Canadian sugar or not?
"It is a question that Canadians are increasingly asking themselves," admits the economist. "We are seeing more and more people examining boxes and packages in the supermarket, looking for one of two labels: Product of Canada or Made in Canada, although not fully understanding the difference," he continues. The former means that at least 98% of the direct production costs -cultivation, preparation, and packaging- of the item were produced in Canada; the latter, that at least 51%, but less than 98%. And then there is the use of the Canadian flag to indicate whether the products are domestic or not, a phenomenon that has had varying degrees of success.
"The problem lies in the lack of standardization among stores and chains, leading to confusion among consumers", criticizes Von Massow. "In some stores, the flag indicates that the product was made in Canada; in others, it only means that it belongs to a Canadian company, regardless of its place of production. These subtleties make it difficult to exclusively buy domestic products. So, in the absence of clear rules for consumers, each person must define their own priorities," he points out.
Nevertheless, this silent battle against Trump's onslaught is already making an impact. Per Bank, CEO of Canada's largest supermarket chain, Loblaw -the creator of the "T" label to indicate products subject to tariffs- celebrated last month on LinkedIn that sales of products, whether made in or products of Canada -it is not clear- had increased by 7.5% in the first week of February and that the company was experiencing double-digit growth in the seven days leading up to that post.
On the other side of the border, however, spirits are not as high. Following the removal of American spirits from Canadian shelves in response to Trump's tariffs, Brown-Forman CEO, the maker of Jack Daniel's whiskey and other spirits, criticized the measure as "disproportionate." "That is worse than a tariff because it is literally taking away our sales", complained Lawson Whiting earlier this month, although Canada only represents 1% of the company's total operations.
"We are not going to cripple the U.S. economy simply by buying Canadian products instead of American ones or by placing cans, boxes, or shampoo bottles upside down, but we are affecting businesses," summarizes Von Massow. "And Canadians feel good about taking action, speaking out about this situation, and voting with their dollars."
The most striking aspect of this resurgence of patriotism and national pride in the face of a threat to Canadian sovereignty has perhaps been the reclaiming of the flag and the maple leaf. Symbols that, just a few years ago, were tainted by division during the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa in 2022, a protest against mandatory Covid-19 vaccination measures. "Canadian flags on vehicles became a symbol of right-wing support for those truckers, and for many of us, it was offensive how they appropriated it," explains Von Massow. "But now we have seen Canadians reclaim it, whether by flying it on their cars or in their yards, thus reaffirming their identity in the face of American pressure." However, with that reserved and sober character that defines them.
It is not without irony that this phenomenon occurs amidst political change in the country, just when liberals and conservatives are more divided than ever. But the real issue here is not Mark Carney or Pierre Poilievre, and that is something almost all Canadians seem to agree on: 79% of the population views Donald Trump unfavorably, a historic high, according to an analysis by Angus Reid.
"It has been years since I saw the country so united for a common goal, regardless of their political ideology", acknowledges Von Massow, to which Lander adds: "Even Quebec has joined team Canada, something we never would have imagined." Although the outcome of the upcoming federal elections, to be held before October 20, remains uncertain, Trudeau and now Carney have managed to unite the country under a new rallying cry, paying homage to ice hockey, as expected: "Elbows up!".
This exclamation calls for defense and counterattack by raising the elbow and placing the arm over the opponent, a tactic popularized by Gordie Howe, known for his rough play on the ice and gentle and generous character off it. A metaphor reflecting how Canadians perceive themselves in this back-and-forth of tariffs and retaliatory tariffs: "We are kind when not provoked, but we will fight when challenged".