Since the U.S. first imposed tariffs on Canada in early 2025, Francine Piché has made a point not to buy American products.
"The rule in our house," said the Burlington, Ont., resident, "is Canada first, non-U.S. second, and never American, if we can avoid it."
Piché has switched her personal care product brands, cancelled her Amazon membership and abandoned plans for a trip to New York in an effort not to give her dollars to the States, except when she can't find another alternative.
But after the most recent round of trade talks fell through and new 50 per cent U.S. tariffs came into force, Piché says she won't be making any more exceptions.
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Her family now plans to cancel the last of their American streaming service subscriptions once those come up for renewal. And Piché plans to say goodbye to some of the gluten-free foods she enjoys that are made in the U.S., even though she hasn't been able to find alternatives.
"My resolve is strengthened," Piché said. "That's the only way that I can fight back."
After consumers first walked away from American products more than a year ago, renewed trade threats from the U.S. have sparked the Buy Canadian movement to come roaring back, as some consumers pivot even harder to Canadian products.
That's meant an influx of newcomers to the Made in Canada Facebook group, where more than 1.4 million members were already sharing information about Canadian-made products or alternatives to American ones.
Their page saw about a 300 per cent increase in views so far in August compared to June 2026, and there are more than 1,000 people currently waiting to join the group, according to administrator Jayne Little, who says that's way more than usual.
Little, from Glen Morris, Ont., says the conversations happening in the Facebook group right now seem more sophisticated and thoughtful than those she saw in 2025, when people were mostly discussing plans to switch to Canadian brands for basics like ketchup.
"They're really looking at what … their fall shopping habits are going to be and trying to find Canadian sources for that."
Little says others in the group seem to be digging deeper and talking about revisiting certain subscriptions or even their use of American-owned social media platforms.
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