More than half of Canadians are actively avoiding American products as ongoing trade disputes and import bans continue to reshape cross-border shopping habits, according to new national survey data from Abacus Data.
The September poll found that 51 percent of Canadian shoppers avoid U.S. goods when possible. That figure is up from 38 percent recorded in February 2025, when initial U.S. tariff threats first emerged.
Broader tracking by Abacus Data shows that 77 percent of Canadians currently intend to buy as few American products as possible or avoid them entirely, a level of consumer resistance that has held steady over the past 19 months.
The Canadian consumer pushback follows deepening trade friction between Washington and Ottawa. The U.S. recently enacted an import ban targeting roughly $1 billion in Canadian goods, including dairy items, motorcycles and alcoholic beverages. The move came in response to 50 percent tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump earlier this summer, which led Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to hit back with matching counter-tariffs.
“There is now a price to be paid for access to the United States market,” Carney stated, outlining a broader target to double non-U.S. commerce within ten years while seeking deeper trade links with the European Union, India and China.
The trade measures are also affecting American consumers. An upcoming U.S. Customs and Border Protection rule suspending the $800 duty-free de minimis exemption threatens to disrupt how an estimated 2.3 million Americans buy lower-cost prescription drugs through Canadian pharmacies.
Critics and patients warn that added fees, bond requirements and existing tariffs will push prices up on vital medications.
“The issue is a matter of life and death for me,” said Susan Hooper, a 75-year-old Ohio resident who relies on imported Canadian prescriptions for asthma and airway management. Hooper said that tariffs have already pushed her monthly cost for one medication from $85 to $141.
For Canadian grocery retailers, the shift in domestic consumer sentiment is driving operational demands. Seven in 10 survey respondents want stores to remove American goods from their shelves entirely. In contrast, 89 percent want clear labeling on domestic items, and 87 percent want grocers to expand their stock of Canadian and non-U.S. alternatives.
However, price and brand recognition remain hurdles for domestic shoppers. According to Abacus Data, 61 percent of Canadians still assume that domestic alternatives cost more than similar American items, and fewer than half can reliably identify whether specific brands on supermarket shelves are Canadian-owned.
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