Shopping has become a political act for many consumers worried and angry about the looming trade war between Canada and the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump gave Canada a one-month reprieve from his proposed 25 per cent tariffs on Monday, but the threat is still a very real possibility.
Armed with her shopping trolley and braving the snow along Vancouver’s Fourth Avenue this week, 80-year-old Jude Gilroy is indignant and apprehensive on how the looming trade war between the two countries will play out for Canadian consumers.
For her part, Gilroy plans to shop for Canadian products as best she can and worries about a potential economic recession.
“I think it’s outrageous what Trump is doing. I think he’s a monster,” she said.
In response to Trump’s decision, Justin Trudeau also pushed pause on Canada’s counter tariffs of 25 per cent worth $155 billion against a range of U.S. goods such as produce, juices, alcohol, clothing, shoes, lumber and plastics.
Gilroy said there’s some sense of helplessness at facing the possibility of such sweeping tariffs.
“For the most part, just regular people like me, we feel we’re powerless, right?”
Canadians aren’t going to suffer alone, she noted; Trump’s actions are going to hurt the U.S. economy and jobs.
“Trudeau’s going to tax a lot of stuff, and it's going to be ugly for everybody.”
For many products, buying local won’t be a simple matter. An informal scan of Vancouver grocery stores in Vancouver suggests the bulk of organic products are sourced from the U.S. as are many citrus fruits.
Canadian basics like meat, dairy products and eggs are readily available. However, the selection for staples like onions, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, pears, and apples varies from store to store. Many Mexican products including some citrus, avocados, juices and greens provide alternative options for consumers.
Vancouver shopper Jude Gilroy is indignant and apprehensive about how a potential trade war with the U.S. might play out for Canadian consumers. She'll take on any extra costs that come with buying Canadian goods.
Judith Wishart, pushing her shopping cart to her car, was surprised at the number of Canadian items she was able to find along with alternatives from other countries.
“It wasn’t that hard,” Wishart said.
“My dishwashing detergent and my oat milk, they’re made in Canada, and my olive oil is from Italy and the avocados, from Mexico.”
Her shopping choices weren’t more expensive than normal, she added, noting she even got some items on sale.
Wishart resolved to avoid buying U.S. goods after watching Trudeau’s speech on the weekend highlighting the potential trade war was contrary to the long history of good relations between Canada and the States.
“I’m not assuming that Americans are our enemies, and they're not,” she said.
“A lot of us have family from the United States,” she added, noting her son-in-law is from south of the border.
“But I think it’s poor judgement by Trump, and hopefully he’ll change his opinion.”
Ranchers apprehensive about tariff impacts
Tariffs and a trade war would hit Canadian food producers especially hard, said Alberta cattle rancher Laura Laing, who was visiting her daughter in Vancouver.
“The bottom line is this will devastate us,” Laing said.
Projections suggest Canadian ranchers are set to lose $1,000 per head of cattle, erasing the razor-thin profit margins producers are already facing, Laing said. The Alberta government estimates more than 70 per cent of the beef produced in Alberta heads south of the border.
Laing worries about a food production industry already experiencing an exodus of ranchers and farmers from a host of stressors like drought or risk of environmental degradation from industry like coal extraction.
“There's so much uncertainty and volatility in the industry already, so this is another tipping point.”
Beef is Alberta’s leading agricultural export to the U.S. worth about $3.1 billion in 2023, followed by crude canola oil at $1.2 billion and live cattle (excluding purebreds) at $980.2 million.
It’s not clear producers will be able to pivot markets and stickhandle disrupted supply chains quickly enough — even if people intend to buy Canadian products — to buffer the hits expected in the U.S. market, Laing said.
If a trade war unfolds then retailers, consumers and producers are all going to have a rocky road, especially at the start, she added.
Many shoppers already take pride in buying Canadian products, but new polling shows the tariff threat might well spur more consumers to be conscious of who produces their food.
Corrina Floyd said as a young person in her twenties living in Vancouver, high food prices are already a concern.
“I definitely want to shop Canadian, but it’s challenging,” she said.
“It will be something I have to think about every time I’m in a store.”
Anyone on a lower or fixed income is likely going to be pinched, she added.
“It’s going to disproportionately impact the lower income people in our communities, so I think it is something that's upsetting for everyone.”
Exiting a local bakery, shopper Gena Kay said she was torn at the moment about the effect of not buying U.S. products already on the shelves of local retailers.
“These shop owners paid to bring that in,” Kay said.
“I think the stuff that came in before tariffs we keep buying, and after that they shouldn’t restock or buy American food or whatever.”
She’s willing to bear possible cost increases to avoid U.S. products, Kay said.
“If that means I can’t go out for lattes or happy hour because buying food from our Canadian brothers and sisters is more expensive, that's fine by me.”
Gilroy agreed, though she has concerns that the high price of food will be aggravated by a potential tariff war she aims to do what she can to avoid U.S. products.
“What I tell myself is that even with all this going on, we in Canada are still better off than a good portion of the world.”
“It's just been put on us, and we're just going to have to suck it up.”
Rochelle Baker / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada’s National Observer
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