Say, have you heard, by word of mouth and other means of communication, that Canadians so proudly in the Interlake and o’er the country far are rising gallantly, yeah, in their quest to help each other find Canadian goods and services while U.S. president Donald Trump continues to rattle his manifest destiny sabre and promises to impose a trio of tariffs on Canada?
By this point in time, Canadians have probably lost count of the number of times Trump has expressed interest in making Canada his trophy wife and as they await his 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian products heading south, a 10 per cent tariff on energy and another 25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminium that the White House confirmed last week will be “stacked” on top of the first one.
In a mere month since he became president, Trump has irritated Canadians by unwelcomely pontificating on Canada, doing it down for alleged failure after alleged failure.
It’s just “nasty” for instance. It’s not “viable” as a country. It taxes stuff like digital services, which Trump just doesn’t like the sovereign, democratic nation doing. It can’t defend itself. And this is likely his most chilling comment to date: Canadians would get “better health care” if they were Americans because, after all, who wouldn’t love to live under America’s ultra-capitalist health regime in which people – even those with health insurance – grapple with exorbitant medical bills that throw them into crippling debt or deal them a hand of lawsuits and bankruptcies and premature deaths.
Trump’s multi-billionaire adviser, Elon Musk, has even been pressed into service against Canada, calling the country’s articulate, tactful and dapperly dressed prime minister Justin Trudeau (love him or hate him) a “girl” and an “insufferable tool.”
Canadians know Trump only wants to get his hands on really good Canadian stuff such as the Arctic, critical minerals, oil and gas reserves, its peaceful next-door neighbour, Greenland, and maybe some of our high-octane hockey players who fought in La Confrontation des 4 Nations last Saturday.
Given their well-rounded sense of fair play and their ability to recognize reality, Canadians have had enough: they’ve decided to speak to the American president with their wallets.
According to a Leger poll conducted between Feb. 7 and 10, a majority of Canadians (81 per cent) plan to or have already increased their purchasing of Canadian-made products, while 59 per cent will or have already stopped buying U.S. alcohol. Fifty-six per cent are avoiding travelling to the U. S.
To help her fellow Interlakers and Canadians identify Canadian products and services, RM of Gimli resident and social media influencer Brittany Isfeld is offering practical advice on how to navigate the rocky economic road ahead.
She launched a “Buy Canadian, Build Canada” campaign a few weeks ago on her personal social media sites. The campaign has a number of goals, including encouraging Canadian retailers to phase out American products, enhancing labelling on goods to help consumers easily identify what’s Canadian, lobbying governments to enact procurement policies in favour of Canadian goods and services, and educating consumers on the positive impact of buying Canadian-made goods, to name a few.
“I think it’s important to prioritize purchasing Canadian goods and services and because of everything that’s happening with the United States,” said Isfeld.
It may require a bit of effort for consumers to identify Canadian products, and Isfeld wants to make that process easier by encouraging others to share lists of Canadian products – Canadian tech innovators recently launched apps that can scan and identify items by origin – to launch websites with a database containing Canadian product alternatives, and to ramp up social media campaigns on buying Canadian.
“I’ve gathered a lot of common-sense information and put it together for people,” said Isfeld, who has years of experience in economic development and tourism, and currently works for the RM of Reynolds as its economic development officer. “We’ve never been put in a position like this where we’ve been threatened and have had to become more Canadian-minded in terms of what we buy. A lot of people like myself are prone to convenience and don’t bother checking labels. Now that we’re determined to buy Canadian products, it’s going to take some time to educate people.”
Because Canada and the U.S. are so integrated, with many companies operating in both countries, Isfeld said the first thing consumers should be aware of is the difference between a label saying Made in Canada, which means only 51 per cent of that product is Canadian content, and a label saying Product of Canada, which means 98 per cent of the product is Canadian content.
“I saw a flood of misinformation on social media and I took it upon myself to try to correct a lot of it,” said Isfeld, who has a healthy 45,000-strong following on TikTok alone, more than half of whom are Canadians.
And it’s not only the tangible products on the shelves that Canadians can make decisions about, but also the services they purchase and their tourism and travel decisions.
“People may not be thinking about Canadian content creators, for example. There’s a huge fad of hiring a content creator with lots of followers to promote your product in various social media spaces,” said Isfeld. “And Canada has notable content creators. By working with one of them and tapping into their following, you might be able help your own business flourish and get more exposure. As a Canadian creator myself, I’m adamant about utilising us because that money will go into the pockets of Canadian creators and they’ll in turn spend it locally.”
For people thinking of travelling, Canada has its fair share of stunning destinations and things to do in all kinds of weather, and Canadians can help support their local economies and businesses by spending their travel dollars here. And Isfeld said we should also be extending a welcoming hand to Americans.
“I think right now we should be playing on the fact that our dollar is low and get Americans to visit us and spend their money in Canada,” said Isfeld. “We need to promote ourselves as a destination. We’re still neighbours and there’s no reason Americans can’t come here to visit us. This potential trade war isn’t about us hating Americans and them hating us; we need to work on our relationship and stay together as neighbours. That’s super important.”
With the tariffs anticipated to start in a few weeks, Isfeld said municipalities need to be prepared to attract Canadian business to their borders to help cushion the blow of potential supply-chain interruptions.
“I did a call-out to Canadian economic development officers, saying we should have a town or municipal land inventory ready to go where we’ve identified lots with all services such as sewer, water and so forth and make them available to a Canadian company that needs to set up,” said Isfeld. “We need to be ready to hold the hand of Canadian businesses, and have them produce a product from start to finish here in Canada.”
Isfeld said she’s not buying advertising space on TikTok or on the American-owned social media platforms she uses, such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn. She’s using the platforms for her own personal use and for her buy Canadian campaign. She’s also posting content she’s created to identify certain products and/or companies that are wholly Canadian.
“All of us Canadians need to walk hand-in-hand right now and really stand up for each other,” she said.
Ontario MP Charlie Angus, who’s been strongly exhorting the Canadian government to stand up to, in his words, the “narcissist in Mar-a-Lago,” continues to encourage Canadians to boycott American goods.
“When Canadians stop buying, it sends a message,” said Angus last Friday, with reference to Canadians boycotting American products such as Kentucky whiskey.
