‘Buy Canadian’ social media trend gains traction amid tariffs talks

President Trump's threat to impose tariffs has pushed many north of the border to buy Canadian.

The social media trend “Buy Canadian” has gained a fair bit of traction online and offline in recent days.

“Whenever possible, I buy local,“ says Peter Secord, who lives in Halifax.

Retail analyst Bruce Winder says buying local is easier said than done, especially with the cost of certain goods.

“It’s a really tough economy where people are literally picking every penny and if Canadian goods are the same price or lower, it’s an easy decision. If they are a little more expensive, I don’t think its going to happen,” says Winder.

The Atlantic Chamber of Chamber has encouraged local shopping for years.

“We have always been thinking about it and supporting our neighbors, but I don’t think it’s the only thing that we can do. Look at our population; we are 2.41 million, Canada is 40 million, the U.S is 330 million, like we just can’t compete if we just try to buy and sell amongst ourselves,” says Rhonda Tulk-Lane, Atlantic Chamber of Commerce CEO.

Winder says some companies are internationally intertwined, which only complicates things.

“Look at a lot of Canadian companies that could be owned by or in part by Americans, so where do you draw the line? You know it’s very difficult to say I am only going to shop Canadian; you can do it in a few categories,” says Winder.

Winder adds there may be some options that seem straightforward, but they are more complex than many realize.

“Maybe there are a few categories that are pure cut and dry where you can say, ‘Well, those are American brands,’ but even then, you look at Heinz, it isn’t really owned by Americans, it’s owned by 3G capital of Brazil so you would be punishing the Brazilians,” says Winder.

Tulk-Lane says there are a number of products Canada and the United States produce together.

“I’ll go back to the automobile, it crosses the border like eight times before it’s done, so we are buying and selling from our neighbours in the south all the time, so it’s a complex issue,” says Tulk-Lane

Regardless, looming tariffs have many Maritimers trying a bit harder to buy close to home.

“Promoting and buying local is something we do anyways but we need other measures in place for the everyday citizen to figure this out,” says Tulk-Lane.