Abacus Data's deep dive into people’s attitudes when it comes to buying Canadian found that it has become a regular decision for many of us, Gary Mason writes.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
My wife was an early adopter of the Buy Canadian movement.
It began around the time U.S. President Donald Trump decided to start insulting us last year, referring to former prime minister Justin Trudeau as “Governor” and Canada as America’s “51st state.” Then there were the tariffs Mr. Trump was hitting Canada with that would hurt our economy.
It all boiled over – for her and many others - during the infamous ambush of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Feb. 28. It prompted us to cut short an American holiday by several weeks.
Things haven’t been the same since.
My wife became single-minded in her determination to not see a cent of our money spent on an American product. Some things have snuck past her detection techniques. But mostly she has been an unabashed patriot, determined to keep as much of our money in this country as she can, with travel dollars spent in destinations not marked with an American flag.
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Then came last week when she went to our local grocery store to buy apples.
Our local Thrifty’s, it needs to be said, has done an admirable job sourcing fruits and vegetables, in particular, from countries other than the U.S. We have seen Asian pears from China, Valencia oranges from Egypt and tangerines from South Africa. It’s not uncommon to see food in the produce aisles from countries such as Vietnam, Ecuador and Brazil. And those are just some examples. But recently she went to buy apples and there were tons of them – almost entirely from Washington State.
She was shocked.
The Okanagan region of B.C. used to be known for its apple crop. But years ago, many orchard growers decided there was more money to be made in wine than fruit, so the great conversion took place. Apples are still grown, but not nearly to the same extent. And today, much larger orchards in Washington State are squeezing out the much smaller Okanagan growers. Even when local apples soon arrive in B.C. stores they won’t be able to compete with the price of the Washington State apples. Therein lies the dilemma for many.
For my wife, buying Canadian is as much about helping to protect Canadian jobs as it is punishing U.S. producers. She understands her choices may not be other people’s. She doesn’t believe in shaming those who don’t share her Buy Canadian enthusiasm. She also understands people have limits: many want to help workers in this country out, but not at any price.
And this would seem to describe a prevailing ethic in the country.
Abacus Data recently did a deep dive into people’s attitudes when it comes to Buy Canadian. Its research, conducted in late June and early July, found that buying Canadian has become a regular decision for many of us. And a majority said they go out of their way to choose a Canadian product over a non-Canadian one. But the findings revealed something else: this behaviour isn’t purely about patriotism.
It’s about agency.
“When asked how choosing Canadian makes them feel, the largest single response is that it makes them feel ‘more in control, like I have some say in what happens to the country.’” David Coletto, CEO of Abacus, wrote in a report last month.
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Here are some numbers I found interesting:
Fifty-three per cent of those surveyed said they go out of their way to choose a Canadian product often or almost always. Somewhat surprisingly – make that a lot surprisingly – that number shoots to 59 per cent in Quebec – the highest percentage of any region in the country on that question. The closest is Saskatchewan/Manitoba at 57 per cent. The lowest? Alberta at 42 per cent. (The province also has the highest share of those who say they “rarely or never go out of their way” to buy Canadian – 20 per cent.)
I agree with Mr. Coletto’s assessment that Buy Canadian does give people a sense they are having some input in this trade war. And that’s important, given the utter lack of control we have over any number of other things affecting our lives: inflation, housing costs, tariffs, climate change, war and the overwhelming feeling that the world seems to be spinning out of control.
Sure, putting down an orange you discover is from California and picking up one that says Mexico isn’t going to change the trajectory of trade talks with the U.S. But it’s something.
And let’s face it, it feels good to take a stand. Especially when you know you’re on the right side of the issue.