Canadians are already fed up with the US and Trump is to blame

Donald Trump hit the ground running after being sworn into his second term as leader of the free world by quickly angering friend and foe. He started making ridiculous claims as he settled into office and took aim at America’s closest ally: Canada.

Canada has been the focus of Trump’s early ire and has seen the President question its sovereignty and threaten to levy heavy tariffs against all goods imported into the country if Ottawa doesn’t play ball and strengthen its border with the United States. 

Trump has repeatedly suggested Canada couldn’t be a viable nation without the United States not ‘subsidizing’ its economy, and he has created a surge of nationalistic fever and patriotism among Canadians that is changing behavior in the Great White North. 

“Donald Trump has stirred a wave of Canadian nationalism and pride that is rapidly changing the retail and consumer landscape,” explained the market research and public opinion polling firm Abacus Data. 

“People want to buy Canadian-made products, they want to reward companies that reflect Canadian values, and they have become more inclined to punish companies they see as tied too closely to the U.S. market or political sphere,” Abacus Data added. 

According to new poll findings from Abacus Data, Canadian anger with Trump’s policies and statements is turning into “concrete action” to buy local and sidestep US products in stores and avoid them altogether when it is possible. 

Nearly half of Canadians (42%) told Abacus Data: "I will absolutely do everything I can to not purchase anything made in the United States or from American companies." But this discovery wasn’t the most interesting the polling firm made. 

A majority of those surveyed (84%) said they were considering buying more Canadian products while 34% were planning to cancel or were seriously considering canceling a trip to the United States. Travel cancelations could become a major issue for America. 

According to the US Travel Association, Canadians are the top source of international travelers to the United States. Roughly 20.4 million Canadians visited the US states in 2024, generating some $20.5 billion in spending and supporting 140,000 jobs. 

“A 10% reduction in Canadian travel could mean 2.0 million fewer visits, $2.1 billion in lost spending, and 14,000 job losses,” a February 3rd US Travel Association press release reported. However, the drop in travel is likely to be far larger than just 10%. 

A recent survey from the public opinion polling firm Leger found that as many as 56% of Canadians will not travel to the United States or will cancel trips to US destinations. This was coupled with a growing anti-Americanism in general. 

Leger found that 81% of people in Canada plan to increase their purchase of Canadian products, 60% will stop buying American alcohol, and 28% will cancel US services. The findings also suggested Canadians were quite worried about Trump. 

“Eighty-two percent of Canadians also said they were concerned that Trump would try to force Canada into a more formal union with the United States, with 51 percent “very concerned,’” the Financial Post noted about Leger’s survey results. 

Another recent poll from Pollara found similar worries in its survey data. When it comes to concerns about Trump’s desire to make Canada the 51st US state, Pollara found that just 10% of Canadians thought Trump's annexationist rhetoric was a joke.  

Toronto Star reported Pollra found 37% of Canadians thought Trump was serious while a further 47% Trump was “doing it to threaten Canada, but isn’t actually serious about it.” The poll also found that only 11% of Canadians wanted to join the United States. 

How Trump’s actions and words could continue to disrupt the relationship between Canadian consumers and the United States isn’t clear. What is clear, however, is that Canadians aren’t happy with the US President and that’s likely going to cost Americans over the next four years. 

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