
A customer shops for produce at Blush Lane Organic Market in Calgary, on Jan. 21. Amir Salehi/The Globe and Mail
Deb Nelson from Trail, B.C., has been spending a little extra time at the grocery store lately. When she grabs a ketchup bottle off the shelf, she will take a few seconds to turn it over in her hand, looking for the stamp that says “Made in Canada.”
She does the same with most items, though she already knows the origin of many by heart, including her tissues and paper towels (Canadian).
While Ms. Nelson has always been a conscientious shopper, she’ll be making more effort to steer clear of American-made goods in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s promises of a sweeping 25-per-cent tariff on Canadian imports.
“Canadian consumers are not voiceless, motionless witnesses to world events,” she said. “We can react to threats to our country with the choices we make as consumers.”
She’s certainly not alone in her thinking: The hashtag #BuyCanadian has been gaining momentum again on platforms such as X. Other people are advocating for a “Bye, America” approach in response to Mr. Trump promoting “Buy American.”
But the evidence that such boycotts actually achieve the desired results – to punish corporations or governments through financial pressure – remains scarce. Even when boycotts prove effective, experts question the feasibility of dodging American products in Canada, especially in the winter.
David Soberman, a Rotman School of Management professor and the Canadian National Chair of Strategic Marketing, said boycotts and their efficacy hinge in large part on the element of choice.
An enormous chunk of things we buy come from the U.S., Dr. Soberman said, specifically when it comes to fresh produce, nuts, confectionery, cosmetics and cleaning products. “It would be great if you could just buy Canadian options, but there aren’t many.” When substitutes do exist, they’re often more expensive.
Roughly 50 per cent of Canada’s total fruit, nut and vegetable imports by value come from the United States, according to 2019 Statistics Canada data. About 90 per cent of the leafy greens we toss into salads and sandwiches are imported, with most coming from the U.S.
Canada also remains dependent on California and Arizona for spinach, celery, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage.
“It’s minus 15 in Toronto right now and unfortunately fresh produce doesn’t come from this kind of weather,” Dr. Soberman said. Greenhouses help Canadians substitute some fresh veggies during the winter, but prices are usually higher.
University of Waterloo economics professor Anindya Sen said there is some evidence that consumer boycotts can affect exports from the boycotted country, but the scale of the impact and the long-term influence are unclear.
A study published in 2016 that looked at politically motivated boycotts in countries such as China, the U.S. and Turkey showed that they can have a substantial negative impact on bilateral trade, with a one-year disruption in many cases. And the biggest blowback was felt across consumer goods.
But the same study, from the University of California San Diego noted that the impact on overall exports of the boycotted country was small and that stock markets only reacted in the short term.
Some evidence suggests that boycotts can have unintended negative consequences at home.
A 2024 study from the department of economics at James Madison University in Virginia found that boycotts can harm the domestic economy when the goods are produced in the country. A 2012 Chinese boycott of Japanese cars showed that Japanese joint venture auto manufacturers within the Chinese auto industry saw a 10-per-cent to 17-per-cent drop in employment.
But there are also examples of successful Canadian boycotts. One instance occurred during the “ketchup wars“ – a battle between French’s and Heinz brands.
In 2014, Heinz, an American brand, closed its factory in Leamington, Ont., leaving hundreds of employees out of work. After Loblaws later delisted French’s ketchup, allegedly in favour of Heinz, a boycott was organized on Twitter in 2016. Loblaws soon reversed its decision.
Sylvain Charlebois, the director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, said that while a product-oriented boycott is different from a ban on all American goods, Canadians determined to buy domestic products (or at least, dodge American ones) can be more effective by focusing on specific categories.
“If you want to make a dent, I would go to the centre of the store where there are prepackaged American goods – pastas, sauces, canned goods,” he said. “That’s where you can make a clear substitute.”
Jif peanut butter from Kentucky can be subbed for Kraft peanut butter from Montreal. Clover Leaf and Raincoast Trading offer canned fish options made in Canada. For beans and legumes, Canadian options include Primo, President’s Choice and local co-op brands.
Mr. Soberman said heavier products in the grocery store are often more likely to be made locally, including baked goods, sugar, flour and meats.
While consumer-driven boycotts may not always achieve the sort of macro-level consequences many desire, Mr. Charlebois said, they can have a simpler, but still important, effect.
“Boycotts are useful to get people to think where their food is coming from,” he said. “Often, we’re zombies going to grocery stores grabbing what we need. It gets people to think about the economics of their food.”
Mariya Postelnyak
Consumer Affairs Reporter
The Globe and Mail, January 24, 2025