By Reese Rankmore
In the crazy year that 2025 was, perhaps the biggest story to come out of Canada (other than Heated Rivalry) was Donald Trump’s attempt to start a tariff war and the fallout from it. Little did Trump know, he was about to spark national pride across the very country he was trying to take over, led by the “Buy Canadian” initiative. Thanks to the power of social media and a united hatred for Trump, it wasn’t long before Canadians were hunting for all the alternatives to their American consumption. Personally, I liked the sentiment of this movement, but I feared that it would be no different from every other trend that sweeps social media; all the rage for two weeks, then never to be heard from again.
As it has been just over one year since “Buy Canadian” formalized, I was curious to know if my fellow Canadians have been keeping their elbows up. Spoiler alert: they have.
According to the Bank of Canada, the number of trips Canadians took to the US fell by 25% in 2025 from 2024 – including 30% less flying trips and 12% less land trips. Instead, they chose to spend more money on domestic travel – about 10% more, to be exact. At the end of 2025, the Bank of Canada’s Canadian Survey of Consumer Expectations indicated that 50-60% of Canadians still favour keeping their money in Canada and spending less on US-made goods and travel. Many store owners across Canada have also expressed that they have seen a surge in customers purchasing their Canadian products and supporting Canadian businesses over the past year. Finally, in September 2025 (a couple of months into the movement), the federal government of Canada announced the Buy Canadian Policy, a set of measures to strengthen and promote the use of Canadian goods, services, businesses, and suppliers. Overall, I think it’s fair to say it’s worked out pretty good for Canada!
This success was not without bumps along the way, though. One continuing concern is companies purposefully misidentifying products as Canadian to capitalize on the trend. To combat this, various regulatory agencies like the Canadian Competition Bureau, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ad Standards, and more have issued statements outlining the guidelines of products origins, and consumers were warned to not trust every little maple leaf on product labels. Various websites and apps were also designed to help Canadians check the legitimacy of product labels, as well as find alternatives to their favourite American products. Another concern is the costs and effort that comes with switching. In a time where the cost of living is insane, it would be fair for people to pay more attention to price tags instead of product labels. As well, many goods are not produced in Canada at all, and if they are, they may be limited to certain locations or seasons. However, the numbers show that many Canadians did not let these factors stop them.
Now, what made “Buy Canadian” strong enough that its impacts continue to be felt over a year later? This movement has many characteristics of a successful boycott; one of the most prominent being the mass public awareness and participation. Alternatives, shopping tips, and encouragement to join the movement were widespread across social media and in-store displays, signage, and clearly highlighted product labeling. As much as Donald Trump put the tariffs in place to try and hurt Canada, his inability to stop calling our Prime Ministers “governors” and shut up about annexing Canada were constant reminders to Canadians of what they were fighting for. Another key success factor was that there was a common value that almost all Canadians believe in at the heart of it – a love for their country. The movement was framed not only as a way to fight back against the United States and Trump’s tariffs, but as a way to protect our sovereignty and everything Canada stands for.
In conclusion, I’m happy to say that my expectations for the “Buy Canadian” movement were proven false, and I’m glad to know I’m not the only one still buying Canadian when I can. It’ll be interesting to see if any success can be sustained in the coming years. For now, Canadians have once again done an incredible job of proving that while we’re nice, we’re not afraid to put our elbows up and our money where our mouths are.