HALIFAX — Canadians are remaining defiant in the face of punishing U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, promising to use their wallets to fight the trade war launched on Tuesday by President Donald Trump.
Hours after Trump imposed 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on products from Canada, and a 10 per cent levy on energy, Haligonians said their resolve was strong. Many had already stopped purchasing American products, as Trump had been threatening tariffs for months.
In downtown Halifax Tuesday, Darcy Comeau said people should find as many alternatives as possible to goods from south of the border. "I think we should really cut them off, and we should stay (buying) 100 per cent Canadian,” he said.
Christopher Hart, a Halifax resident who is a dual Canada-U.S. citizen, said he’s furious with Trump. "He’s done so many things that are just wrong," he said. "I didn’t vote for him, I did vote in the election. I think he’s sowing a lot of uncertainty and division."
Hart said he's a "wine guy" and California wines have long been a favourite, but he won’t buy any wine made with American grapes from now on. "I’m not going to buying any U.S. stuff, frankly. It’s sad, but it’s where I’m at," he said.
In Edmonton, a dual Canada-U.S. citizen interviewed outside a grocery store Tuesday said she is "mortified" by Trump's behaviour, adding that she also voted against him. "This is very scary economically," Karyn Ball said.
"Canada, along with other countries in the world, needs to start thinking of this as a very urgent threat and figure out a way of defending ourselves against the fascist U.S."
Ken Mutlow, an Edmonton resident out grocery shopping, said nothing in his cart came from the U.S. "I am extremely angry with everything to do with the U.S. these days. We've been trying to buy Canadian for a while … but if it's from the U.S., we are just not buying it."
Mutlow said he's feeling "a lot of resentment" toward Canada's southern neighbour and its president.
"I have nothing good to say about America or Trump."
Halifax-based Narrative Research released a poll Tuesday indicating three-quarters of Canadians have changed at least one purchasing behaviour since Trump began threatening Canada with tariffs. The online poll conducted from Feb. 12-14 among 1,232 Canadians over the age of 18 asked if residents had sought out Canadian products, looked at labels to avoid U.S.-made items or cancelled a trip south of the border.
Matthew Brown, who manages a restaurant in downtown Halifax, said the tariffs are a huge source of worry, and he's focused on buying local wherever possible. "I’m definitely a proud Canadian, so (I'm) going to do my part where I can to buy products that are Canadian, anything we can do for the economy. But at the end of the day, this is a scary thing," he said.
"Is this going to be enough? Is our economy going to survive without our southern friends that we thought were our allies? There’s a lot of questions."
Kevin Selch, the founder of Winnipeg-based craft brewery Little Brown Jug Brewing Co., said the national push to buy local is encouraging, but the initiative is ultimately a short-term fix.
The Manitoba government dedicated $140,000 last month to a four-week blitz ad campaign aimed at supporting Manitoba businesses that may be harmed by U.S. tariffs.
Selch said it's too soon to know how impactful the ad campaign has been for the beer industry, adding that the real test will be if people stick to buying Canadian products long-term. “It's good people are being super local, but maybe their shopping habits overall change as time goes on or as conditions change. Everybody is price sensitive,” Selch said.
Selch is anticipating the tariffs will create a “huge chill” on the business. While the brewery tries to source local products, it relies on the U.S. for machinery and the aluminum beer cans. Tariffs could work out to a five to six cent increase per can, he said.
“That doesn’t sound like a lot, but it has a big impact,” Selch said. “At the end of the day the consumer will pay for it.”
He expects bigger players in the Canadian brewing industry will better be able to absorb the eventual price increase — meaning customers who are already dealing with the high cost of living may choose to go with a cheaper product.
In response to the across-the-board tariffs, the federal government on Tuesday announced immediate 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs on $30 billion worth of American products, and will expand them to cover another $125 billion in U.S. goods in 21 days.
Across the country, provincial governments have announced measures responding to the tariffs, including barring American businesses from bidding on provincial contracts and removing U.S. alcohol from liquor store shelves.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2025.
— With files from Brittany Hobson in Winnipeg and Fakiha Baig in Edmonton.
Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press
