After Trump’s sovereignty threats, Canadians keep ‘elbows up’

For Lisa McBain, buying American-made snacks and traveling to the United States was like second nature. That has changed for an Ontario resident starting in early 2025.

The 54-year-old has since checked to see if products are made in Canada before purchasing at the grocery store. McBain canceled several trips to the United States she had planned for concerts. Once common cross-border trips to shop are out of the picture.

The reason: the American president Donald TrumpRepeated invitations to Canada To become the 51st American state. His Definitions She added that the country’s exports added salt to the wound.

“That’s enough,” McBain told CNBC. “Why do we have to make you great again at our expense?”

Extensive boycott

McBain’s rejection is part of a broader province By Canadians angry about Trump’s tariffs and claims of sovereignty. What was in the beginning An extraordinary swelling of Canadian patriotism A year ago it developed into a new social and economic system for the country of 41 million people.

This shift has affected everything from the brands Canadians buy to where they vacation and even how they vote. There are economic impacts on both sides of the border that policymakers take into account. The survey indicates that changing behavior will not change any time soon.

“Canadians have remained resilient,” said Steve Mossop, executive vice president of Léger, a Montreal-based polling service. “The biggest surprise is how adamant Canadians are about not supporting the United States in any way, shape or form.”

Data shows Canadians are continuing to spend with their families “elbows” – The hockey term that became a slogan for resistance to American pressures.

Thin ice

Canada was the second largest trading partner of the United States in 2025 Census Bureau I mentioned. But economists warn that the old relationship is skating on thin ice. Excluding the pandemic, the proportion of Canada’s imports coming from the United States reached record levels last year.

“We have always viewed the United States as a very strong and reliable ally,” said Michael Devereux, an economics professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. “That has really been undermined in the last year.”

Canadians will begin moving their food purchases away from the United States starting in early 2025, a Data analysis Released last month from Bank of Canada Found. Local brands gained share of wallet as retailers and liquor stores encouraged shoppers to buy Canadian products instead.

Central bank researchers described this as a structural change in the national economy that stems directly from rising trade tensions. This shift could have implications for Canada’s inflation and the composition of its gross domestic product, they said.

Indeed, the Bank of Canada began asking consumers last year about purchases of U.S. goods and U.S. travel spending in its flagship consumer survey.

More than three in five Canadians said they have avoided purchasing alcoholic beverages or products manufactured in the United States, according to a report January survey of more than 2,600 consumers By Leger, the largest Canadian-owned market research and analysis firm. More than half said they tried not to buy from US retailers or websites.

Leger found that most Canadians said they would continue to avoid U.S. goods and services over the next six months.

Change name

At Great American Backrub locations in Toronto, president Nadir Lalani has put up signs emphasizing the chain’s Canadian ownership. After using the name for a quarter of a century, Lalani is considering dropping his affiliation with the United States.

At the turn of the last century, “anything American was very popular in Canada. There was a lot of power behind it,” Lalani said. “Now, it’s very different.”

Canadian anger stems from Trump’s boasting about the possibility of pushing the country where it is Part of America Through “economic power”. Trump has repeatedly referred to the Canadian Prime Minister as A “governor“And Tariffs imposed on its exports.

“The administration will continue to protect American interests by leveraging American economic strength,” a White House official said in a written statement to CNBC. The official noted that more than a fifth of the Canadian economy depends on exports to the United States, and the majority of the population lives within 100 miles of the border.

Prime Minister Mark Carney Electoral victory last year It was widely seen as a referendum on Trump’s threat over Canadian sovereignty. Carney, former Governor of the Bank of England, said Speech at the World Economic Forum The Davos conference in Switzerland in January was widely interpreted as a rebuke of US policy. In the same month, it arrived in Canada and China Initial commercial agreement.

And most recently, this week’s Carney World tour concluded He met with international leaders and strengthened trade alliances. It is worth noting that Skip us

“Goodbye America”

The people of the Great White North aren’t just aiming to “buy Canada.” They also say “Goodbye to America.”

Canadian return flights from the United States by air decreased about 18% In the year to January, the Canadian government found. Airlines plan to fly 11% fewer seats from Canada to popular snowbird destinations Arizona and Florida this year, according to flight data from aviation data provider Cirium.

Vehicle crossings of Canadians from the United States fell nearly 27% year over year in January. Canadians are spending more on domestic travel, said Nathan Janzen, assistant chief economist at the Royal Bank of Canada.

in las vegas, Caesar and MGM Executives acknowledged fewer visits from Canada based on calls with analysts last year. The decline in tourism traffic has hurt the sales of some retailers in the country who and North DakotaUS Federal Reserve He said in it Beige book.

Canadian bookings at U.S. mountain destinations tracked by Inntopia Business Intelligence fell more than 45% in January 2026 compared to the same month last year.

At Jay Peak in northern Vermont, there’s a noticeable absence of the Canadian school trips that once helped fill the 3,800-foot mountain and its associated water park, said general manager Steve Wright. Canadian hockey teams skipped tournaments held at the resort’s indoor rink.

Canadians made up nearly 5 per cent of attendees at an industry conference organized by Folk Alliance International in New Orleans in January, down from more than 17 per cent in other years. Several Canadian companies chose not to sponsor the popular music-focused conference this year.

“We completely understand why they chose not to come to the United States,” said Jennifer Rowe, executive director of the Kansas City-based nonprofit.

Until recently, Canadians were among The largest foreign buyers of real estate in the United States, according to the National Association of Realtors. But nearly 18% more Canadian users viewed U.S. real estate listings in February compared to the same month last year, according to Redfin.

‘time out’

Deborah Marling, an office manager in Ontario, sold her second home in Sarasota, Florida, last year. Since then, she has increased her domestic travel and vacationed in Costa Rica rather than heading to the American sunbelt. While Marling visits her brother in Atlanta every spring, she expects him to head north this year instead.

“People have always thought that the relationship with the United States is one of kinship or friendship,” Marling said. “It feels like we’re in a ‘time out’ now.”

Canadians are closely monitoring the outcome of the renegotiated Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). Free Trade Agreement It takes place this year, and will be observed in November US midterm elections To see if a change in congressional leadership might limit Trump’s power.

Canadians told CNBC that their anger is aimed at the US federal government, not the average American citizen. However, their anger is palpable: the proportion of Canadians in 2025 who have an “unfavorable” view of the United States will reach its highest level since World War II. Pew Research Center The question began to be asked in 2002.

However, Canadians have reason to hope for a return to warmer economic relations. Canadian companies are still seeking access to deep American financial markets and trying to attract its enormous consumer market. Canada has the ninth largest economy in the world; America is number 1.

“We need each other,” said Chris Agro, a 46-year-old Canadian who works in manufacturing. “We are still our closest neighbors. That will never change.”

But others, like Ontario’s McBain, don’t see the relationship going back to what it once was.

“The damage is already done,” McBain said. “This is no longer a boycott. It’s a change. It’s a divorce.”

— CNBC’s Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.