SASKATOON - As the Canada-U.S. trade war escalates, a resurgence in the buy Canadian movement is reshaping consumer habits and trade tactics across the country. Saskatchewan set the latest example this week when Premier Scott Moe announced that the province will add a 50 per cent reciprocal tax on American alcohol, beginning Sept. 8. Adam Slobodzian, assistant marketing professor at the University of Saskatchewan, said the tax could be enough for consumers to switch to Canadian liquor, if they have not already. “Especially right now with the increased cost of living, an added cost on something like alcohol is going to be felt,” he said. “It is going to influence how people spend their money.” Saskatchewan and Alberta continue to sell U.S. booze. However, over the last year, store manager Alex Wasylenko has noticed a shift in consumer habits at Sutherland Beer and Wine Store in Saskatoon. “We have definitely seen more people asking questions about where their products come from,” he told CTV News. Customers are buying more local and Canadian products – spirits, beer and wine – despite U.S. booze still being sold, Wasylenko said. Some customers continue to stick to their favourite brands for Kentucky bourbon and Tennessee whiskey. But Wasylenko believes Canadian sales will continue to rise after the tax takes effect. “I think consumers are ultimately voting with their wallet at this point,” he said. Saskatchewan’s liquor tax is the latest tactic driving consumers to buy Canadian. Canadian businesses are also doing their part to support the maple leaf. “Producers are getting on board with adjusting their practices and making it easier for consumers to make decisions and showcasing that they are operating in a Canadian way,” Slobodzian said. The sentiment is surging across the country from alcohol sales to ice cream. This week, Chapman’s, one of the country’s largest ice cream brands, pledged to source more than 70 per cent of its American ingredients from elsewhere by mid-2027. “Since the first round of unjustified tariffs from the Trump administration, Chapman’s has been working to re-source our components to Canadian companies, or non-U.S. companies, without increasing the costs for our consumers,” CEO Ashley Champman said in a post on Facebook. “We stand with the Canadian government, and all provinces, in our outright rejection of these unjustified tariffs.” Made-in-Canada resources Canadians are stepping up to help others search for made-in-Canada products. Brydon Parker founded the website MadeInCanada.dev two months ago. Users can look up common items and the site will generate results from verified Canadian brands and Canadian made products. “There are a lot of great Canadian companies that Canadians do not even know about,” Parker told CTV News. “If they did know about them, they would be excited to be shopping for those rather than other alternatives.” Parker first started developing the website as a way to serve his own purchasing interests. The website includes items from several categories. Clothing, shoes, food and drink, home and living, and tech gadgets are the top five most searched. “In the last couple of days, there has been a surge in traffic,” he said. The site gets anywhere from 10 to 100 visitors on the average day, according to Parker. But this week, the number of daily visitors has peaked around 1,000. He believes the increase is related to both the escalating tariffs and his promotion of the website on social media. “I think the (buy Canadian sentiment) will stick around,” he said. “We all want to band together in times of challenge, try to support each other and figure out how we prosper through it all.”
