Four in five Canadians believe boycotting U.S.-made goods or avoiding travel to the United States could help strengthen Canada’s bargaining position with its southern neighbour.
Well. Vegas is empty. Florida is empty. Kentucky lost a massive part of its Bourbon market. All American produce in Canadian grocery stores is being replaced with produce from other countries.
It is absolutely having an impact. To say otherwise is to ignore reality.
That’s not delinking from the USA. That is changing consumption habits. I’m not going to reiterate yet again the financial relationship between Canada and the US. You have to actually acquire and wield political power. You cannot just ask your government to delink.
This article is paywalled, so I assume you have not read it and are going off the headlines, like you have with everything else you said to me. It’s a shame you’re giving up, but then again you never had political goals to begin with.
It’s not paywalled for me - I’ve read it. If you read my comments only, I have merely agreed that for Canadians, boycotting the US is now commonplace, and we think it’s a good idea. You seem to want to argue about something else.
Like I’m sorry to be terse, but you are presumably adults if you are taking interest in this, and you view the economy like a literal baby looking at a Richard Scarry Busytown book. There is a lot more going on than the consumption of first world citizens. It’s not your consumption that needs to be cut off - and you can’t, only minimize to essentials or seek alternatives that may very well be shipped by companies owned by US financiers (you won’t even check as long as it doesn’t say “made in USA”, which NOTHING is. America CONSUMES, like you!) - it’s your willing participation in reproducing the bourgeois democracy that enables people like Trump and Obama to ruin or end the lives of millions.
This is harder than anything you have ever even considered doing in your entire lives, so no wonder you can’t even figure out what I mean.
I’m not the one trying to take the ball and go home. I much prefer talking to the Chinese over this app at this point. You guys should really restore proper trade relations with them. They actually know how the economy works. Didn’t I already mention that you need to affect political institutions, finance, Canada’s collaboration with the US on foreign policy and institutions like the World Bank etc that enable Canada to extract from poor nations? It may have been in some other thread I don’t really care who any of you are sorry, boilerplate liberalism following the typical nonviolent capitalist activism framework. The US doesn’t manufacture much important stuff, neither does Canada. That’s why it’s much more important to prepare to deal with the collapse of the imperialist financial system, which is clearly coming within years. Think 2008 without any cushioning. I’m serious. Hopefully people wake up under Trump lol but we could always get another Obama type after this and sleepwalk into it if he doesn’t instigate a huge® economic crisis.
There is an organizing stage before effective political pressure can be applied. This is not “nothing”, it is the most important part, very hard, which is why the message of “we don’t need to educate, organize, and strike, we can just go to a different store/nude bike ride” is actively counterrevolutionary. Whole playbook of mass nonviolent activism was literally invented by Gene Sharpe a guy who was handpicked by Henry Kissinger. It’s basically designed to make people engage in symbolic actions that may or may not be met by movements from the real power structures. In foreign countries attempting this protest playbook, you need a hard fist of CIA mercenaries and whatnot to shove through the real political transition, then the protests are used to grant it legitimacy. Here in the US you get minor concessions from elected officials and corporations, often made to nonprofit organizations, all of which reinforces their authority.
Yes, of course I am arguing about more than what brand of socks Canadians buy. That’s why I keep mentioning the global financial system run by the US. You seem to be under the impression you can “opt out”. You’re hiding under a blanket from the monster and hoping it goes away. Sorry but the monster is your own father
Dude - I don’t want to argue with you. I am certain if we sat down and had a beer together, we would get along. We know that most trade in Canada is dependant on the US, and that boycotts aren’t super effective.
That being said, when Trump threatened Canadian sovereignty, he immediately made about 40 million people FURIOUS. Every single one of us is doing everything we can to hit the US back. If threats to our sovereignty are because we are perceived as being dependant on the US, we will strive to reduce that dependence. Like most, all I can do is “vote with my wallet”, so that’s what we, as a nation, are doing.
No Canadian thinks it will topple the US economy - we’re not stupid. I personally think the sovereignty threat is the only problem - I don’t care about the tarrifs. Every dollar we remove from the US economy protects our sovereignty. And we are removing BILLIONS.
Remember, no politician told us to do this, and no politician would be able to stop it. Official actions like removing US liquor only started way after citizens had already started boycotting.
I’ve lived in the US and I know many are raised thinking that everyone wants to be American and I’ve heard people say that that Canada should be “flattered” at idea of becoming the 51st state. Most Americans would be gobsmacked to learn how fiercely proud we are to be Canadian. We will never be American. Interpret that however you choose.
So honestly - I have zero beefs with you or your comments. I’m sure we’d enjoy sitting down for a drink. And when we go for that drink, we would go to an establishment that we like, right? We wouldn’t spend our money at a place that threatens us, right?
We can and should vote with our wallets, and most of us Canadians are doing so. If you don’t agree with that last sentence, I see no purpose for any further discussion.
That’s correct I am actually very gregarious and I am interested in Canadian affairs particularly because of my proximity to Toronto + folks I know there so we would get that beer. The strategies being used to pressure the US here deserve scathing criticism tho
What has the boycott accomplished? This question seems to make you a might testy, doesn’t it?
Well. Vegas is empty. Florida is empty. Kentucky lost a massive part of its Bourbon market. All American produce in Canadian grocery stores is being replaced with produce from other countries.
It is absolutely having an impact. To say otherwise is to ignore reality.
Vegas is empty because it’s unaffordable. Even Americans avoid it. Canadians cannot afford US healthcare in Florida.
Kentucky lost 8% of its bourbon sales, hardly massive, and people need to stop drinking carcinogenic liquids anyway.
Glad you have it all figured out.
That’s not delinking from the USA. That is changing consumption habits. I’m not going to reiterate yet again the financial relationship between Canada and the US. You have to actually acquire and wield political power. You cannot just ask your government to delink.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/13/business/canada-trump-tariffs-trade
Have a nice life, arguing with strangers.
This article is paywalled, so I assume you have not read it and are going off the headlines, like you have with everything else you said to me. It’s a shame you’re giving up, but then again you never had political goals to begin with.
It’s not paywalled for me - I’ve read it. If you read my comments only, I have merely agreed that for Canadians, boycotting the US is now commonplace, and we think it’s a good idea. You seem to want to argue about something else.
Like I’m sorry to be terse, but you are presumably adults if you are taking interest in this, and you view the economy like a literal baby looking at a Richard Scarry Busytown book. There is a lot more going on than the consumption of first world citizens. It’s not your consumption that needs to be cut off - and you can’t, only minimize to essentials or seek alternatives that may very well be shipped by companies owned by US financiers (you won’t even check as long as it doesn’t say “made in USA”, which NOTHING is. America CONSUMES, like you!) - it’s your willing participation in reproducing the bourgeois democracy that enables people like Trump and Obama to ruin or end the lives of millions.
This is harder than anything you have ever even considered doing in your entire lives, so no wonder you can’t even figure out what I mean.
So, if I personally can’t change global trade, I should just do nothing. Got it. Thank you.
I’m not the one trying to take the ball and go home. I much prefer talking to the Chinese over this app at this point. You guys should really restore proper trade relations with them. They actually know how the economy works. Didn’t I already mention that you need to affect political institutions, finance, Canada’s collaboration with the US on foreign policy and institutions like the World Bank etc that enable Canada to extract from poor nations? It may have been in some other thread I don’t really care who any of you are sorry, boilerplate liberalism following the typical nonviolent capitalist activism framework. The US doesn’t manufacture much important stuff, neither does Canada. That’s why it’s much more important to prepare to deal with the collapse of the imperialist financial system, which is clearly coming within years. Think 2008 without any cushioning. I’m serious. Hopefully people wake up under Trump lol but we could always get another Obama type after this and sleepwalk into it if he doesn’t instigate a huge® economic crisis.
There is an organizing stage before effective political pressure can be applied. This is not “nothing”, it is the most important part, very hard, which is why the message of “we don’t need to educate, organize, and strike, we can just go to a different store/nude bike ride” is actively counterrevolutionary. Whole playbook of mass nonviolent activism was literally invented by Gene Sharpe a guy who was handpicked by Henry Kissinger. It’s basically designed to make people engage in symbolic actions that may or may not be met by movements from the real power structures. In foreign countries attempting this protest playbook, you need a hard fist of CIA mercenaries and whatnot to shove through the real political transition, then the protests are used to grant it legitimacy. Here in the US you get minor concessions from elected officials and corporations, often made to nonprofit organizations, all of which reinforces their authority.
Yes, of course I am arguing about more than what brand of socks Canadians buy. That’s why I keep mentioning the global financial system run by the US. You seem to be under the impression you can “opt out”. You’re hiding under a blanket from the monster and hoping it goes away. Sorry but the monster is your own father
Dude - I don’t want to argue with you. I am certain if we sat down and had a beer together, we would get along. We know that most trade in Canada is dependant on the US, and that boycotts aren’t super effective. That being said, when Trump threatened Canadian sovereignty, he immediately made about 40 million people FURIOUS. Every single one of us is doing everything we can to hit the US back. If threats to our sovereignty are because we are perceived as being dependant on the US, we will strive to reduce that dependence. Like most, all I can do is “vote with my wallet”, so that’s what we, as a nation, are doing.
No Canadian thinks it will topple the US economy - we’re not stupid. I personally think the sovereignty threat is the only problem - I don’t care about the tarrifs. Every dollar we remove from the US economy protects our sovereignty. And we are removing BILLIONS. Remember, no politician told us to do this, and no politician would be able to stop it. Official actions like removing US liquor only started way after citizens had already started boycotting. I’ve lived in the US and I know many are raised thinking that everyone wants to be American and I’ve heard people say that that Canada should be “flattered” at idea of becoming the 51st state. Most Americans would be gobsmacked to learn how fiercely proud we are to be Canadian. We will never be American. Interpret that however you choose. So honestly - I have zero beefs with you or your comments. I’m sure we’d enjoy sitting down for a drink. And when we go for that drink, we would go to an establishment that we like, right? We wouldn’t spend our money at a place that threatens us, right? We can and should vote with our wallets, and most of us Canadians are doing so. If you don’t agree with that last sentence, I see no purpose for any further discussion.
That’s correct I am actually very gregarious and I am interested in Canadian affairs particularly because of my proximity to Toronto + folks I know there so we would get that beer. The strategies being used to pressure the US here deserve scathing criticism tho