Here’s the written editorial (below) or watch my YouTube Channel Episode here: Is Canada’s Boycott Actually Working VIDEO

Yes, the boycott is making a difference, but perhaps not in the way many people think.

There are really three separate questions here.

1. Is the boycott hurting the United States?

Yes, but unevenly.

The evidence now suggests Canadians genuinely changed their buying and travel habits.

The Bank of Canada found that Canadians significantly shifted spending away from U.S. grocery products and travel toward Canadian alternatives. Canadian trips to the U.S. fell by roughly 25% during 2025, representing about 10 million fewer visits than the previous year.

Research has also found measurable impacts on U.S. border communities that depend heavily on Canadian visitors. Some highly exposed local businesses experienced employment declines as Canadian tourism dried up.

Certain industries have been hit particularly hard.

• Tourism
• Alcohol
• Border retail
• Some agricultural exports
• Auto exports

Those sectors absolutely notice the difference.

2. Is it changing American political policy?

This is where the answer becomes much less encouraging.

Generally speaking…

No. Not directly.

The United States has a $30 trillion-plus economy.

Canada is America’s largest individual trading partner in many sectors, but we represent only a fraction of total U.S. economic activity.

That means a Canadian boycott creates pain…

…but not enough pain by itself to change White House policy.

American presidents rarely reverse course because another country’s consumers stop buying products.

Instead, policy usually changes when:

• U.S. voters become unhappy
• American businesses lobby Washington
• Congress begins feeling pressure from employers
• Markets react
• Inflation or unemployment become political problems

Make no mistake though – The Canadian boycott contributes to that pressure.

It isn’t the deciding factor.

Think of it as one voice in a very large stadium.

3. Does continuing the boycott help Canada?

This is actually the more interesting question.

I think there are short-term costs but potentially long-term strategic benefits.

For decades Canada has relied enormously on the U.S.

That relationship worked extremely well…

…until it became clear that political change in Washington could dramatically alter trade conditions almost overnight.

Whether someone supports or opposes recent U.S. administrations isn’t really the issue.

The lesson for Canada is that dependence creates vulnerability.

And that lesson won’t just disappear in the future!

If Canadian consumers permanently become more willing to buy:

• Canadian food
• Canadian manufactured goods
• Canadian tourism
• Canadian technology
• Canadian services

then Canada becomes slightly less dependent on one customer.

That diversification has value.

It doesn’t mean replacing the U.S.

That would be impossible.

The U.S. will almost certainly remain Canada’s largest trading partner for decades.

But reducing reliance from, say, 75% of exports to something lower over many years would make Canada more resilient.

There is a danger, however.

Boycotts can become emotional instead of strategic.

Suppose a Canadian business uses American machinery because it’s objectively the best product.

Or a hospital buys American medical equipment.

Or a manufacturer depends on U.S. suppliers.

Blindly avoiding American products regardless of cost or quality can make Canadian companies less competitive.

In other words:

A strategic boycott can strengthen Canada.

A permanent ideological boycott can weaken Canada.

If I were making a five-to-ten-year prediction, I would expect:

• Canada will continue diversifying trade toward Europe and Asia.

• Interprovincial trade barriers will continue coming down because governments have finally recognized how much internal friction exists.

• More Canadians will intentionally buy Canadian products than before 2025.

• Cross-border tourism down to the United States will recover somewhat but probably not to its previous level for several years if political tensions remain.
• U.S.-Canada trade will remain enormous, but Canadians will likely be less willing to assume the relationship is permanently stable.

One final observation

I think the biggest effect of the boycott has been

psychological rather than economic.

For decades, many Canadians viewed the U.S. relationship as almost automatic.

The events of the past couple of years changed that.

Regardless of anyone’s politics, many Canadians now think differently about where they travel, what they buy, and how dependent Canada should be on any single country.

Economic habits are surprisingly sticky.

Once consumers discover a Canadian product they like, many never go back.

In that sense, the lasting legacy of the boycott may not be the dollars it cost American businesses, but the mindset it changed in Canada.

This trade war – this sovereignty threat and this psychological war constantly being thrown at Canadians from the United States and President Trump is not over though.

This is going to be a long, drawn out dispute that will take years if not decades to resolve. At least until there is a new administration at the helm in the U.S. So Canada, stay calm, stay resilient and keep your resolve to buy Canadian as your first choice.