Canada’s push to buy less American has become more than a trade-war slogan. It is increasingly showing up in everyday consumer decisions—and those decisions differ sharply depending on political affiliation. New Research Co. polling finds that 71% of Canadians who voted Liberal in the 2025 federal election say they are avoiding U.S.-origin goods when a non-American alternative is available. Among Conservative voters, the figure falls to 46%.
The 25-point gap is striking, but it sits inside a broader national shift. Overall, 58% of Canadians report avoiding American goods, while NDP voters register an even higher 76%. Other research suggests the behaviour has persisted well beyond the opening months of Canada-U.S. tensions, turning country of origin into another factor Canadians increasingly weigh alongside price, quality and convenience.
The Partisan Gap Is Too Large to Ignore
The difference between Liberal and Conservative voters is one of the clearest findings in Research Co.’s latest polling. Among people who said they voted Liberal in the 2025 federal election, 71% reported avoiding goods originating in the United States when another option was available. The corresponding figure among Conservative voters was 46%, creating a 25-percentage-point divide. NDP voters registered the highest avoidance rate of the three major national parties at 76%. Nationally, 58% of respondents said they were making the same effort.
Those numbers came from an online poll of 1,003 Canadian adults conducted from September 21 to September 23, 2026. The results were weighted to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region, with a stated overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The political breakdown deserves some caution, however. Party-specific results are based on smaller groups within the overall sample, and the poll establishes a relationship between voting history and reported shopping behaviour rather than proving that political affiliation itself caused those decisions.
This Is No Longer Looking Like a Short-Lived Protest
One reason the latest results stand out is that avoiding American products has not simply disappeared as the trade dispute has dragged on. Research Co. found 58% of Canadians were avoiding U.S. goods when an alternative was available, up from 55% when the company asked a similar question in June. A three-point movement is modest, but the direction matters: months into the dispute, reported avoidance was slightly higher rather than substantially lower.
Separate Abacus Data research points in the same direction over a much longer period. In February 2025, 78% of Canadians said they intended either to avoid American products entirely or buy as few as possible. When Abacus asked again in September 2026, the combined figure was 77%. More importantly, reported behaviour increased. The share saying they had already bought more Canadian products rose from 53% to 61%, while the share saying they had tried not to purchase American products rose from 38% to 51%. What began for some households as an emotional response to a political confrontation appears to have lasted long enough to affect regular shopping routines.
Age Matters Almost as Much as Politics
The partisan divide is dramatic, but politics is not the only characteristic separating Canadians on this issue. Research Co. found the strongest American-product avoidance among people aged 55 and older, with 70% saying they were steering away from U.S. goods when alternatives existed. The rate declined to 54% among Canadians aged 35 to 54 and 50% among those aged 18 to 34.
Another national study from Abacus Data found a comparable age pattern when Canadians were asked more broadly about choosing Canadian products. In research conducted from late June through early July, 64% of respondents aged 60 and older said they often or almost always chose Canadian. The rate was 55% among people under 30, 46% among those aged 30 to 44 and 47% among Canadians aged 45 to 59. That matters when interpreting political differences. Age, geography, income, political affiliation and shopping habits can overlap. A poll showing Liberal voters avoiding U.S. products at a higher rate than Conservatives cannot, by itself, separate all those factors. The safer conclusion is that both political and demographic divisions are visible in the consumer response.
The Boycott Has Moved Beyond the Grocery Aisle
Avoiding an American-labelled jar or household product is only one part of the behavioural shift. Research Co. found 33% of Canadians saying they were avoiding American restaurant franchises operating in Canada, up six points from its previous measurement. Another 29% said they had cancelled a planned U.S. trip, while 28% reported avoiding American entertainment options. The response is therefore reaching into dining, tourism and media spending as well as physical merchandise.
Travel data provide an important reality check. Statistics Canada reported approximately 2.6 million Canadian-resident return trips from the United States by air and automobile in August 2026, an 8.8% increase from August 2025. Travel south has therefore been recovering from last year’s depressed levels. Yet it remained substantially below 2024. Automobile return trips in August 2026 were 27.4% below August 2024, while air return trips remained 22.7% lower. That mixed picture illustrates why the consumer movement should not be described as a universal boycott. Some Canadians have resumed cross-border activity while others continue to change where they travel, eat and spend.
Price Still Has the Final Say for Many Households
Patriotism becomes more complicated when the Canadian alternative costs considerably more. Abacus Data found 53% of Canadians said they often or almost always went out of their way to select a Canadian product instead of a non-Canadian one. But when respondents were specifically told that the Canadian choice cost noticeably more, only 19% said they would still buy Canadian.
The largest group—43%—said the answer depended on the purchase: they would choose Canadian for some products and select the cheaper option for others. Another 34% said they would simply buy whichever item cost less. More recent Abacus polling found 61% of Canadians believe products made in Canada generally cost more than similar American products, almost unchanged from 60% in February 2025. That helps explain why even politically motivated consumers may behave inconsistently from one store visit to another. A household might willingly pay a little extra for Canadian produce or a locally manufactured household item, yet choose a less expensive imported alternative when budgets are tight. Country of origin matters, but it competes with affordability every time a shopper reaches the checkout.
“Canadian” Is Harder to Identify Than It Sounds
Consumers cannot deliberately buy Canadian—or avoid American—if they cannot reliably determine where products come from. Abacus Data found 89% of Canadians wanted grocery retailers to clearly identify which products are made in Canada. Its research also showed continued confusion around familiar corporate names. Boston Pizza, for example, was identified as Canadian by fewer than half of respondents, while Costco was correctly recognized as American by about three-quarters. Nestlé, a Swiss company, generated an especially mixed set of answers.
Official terminology adds another layer. For non-food goods, the Competition Bureau generally will not challenge a “Made in Canada” claim when at least 51% of total direct production or manufacturing costs were incurred in Canada, the product’s last substantial transformation occurred in Canada, and the claim includes an appropriate qualifier regarding imported content. “Product of Canada” carries a much higher threshold: at least 98% of direct production or manufacturing costs must be Canadian, along with the substantial-transformation requirement. A maple leaf on packaging therefore does not necessarily mean every ingredient, component or dollar of production originated domestically.
Canada Cannot Simply Shop Its Way Out of U.S. Integration
Individual consumers can substitute one product for another, but the national economy remains deeply connected to the United States. Statistics Canada reported that Canada imported approximately $75.4 billion in merchandise in July 2026 on a seasonally adjusted balance-of-payments basis. About $44.6 billion of that came from the United States—roughly 59% of the total. U.S. imports actually increased 1.8% from June to July, driven in part by passenger cars and light trucks.
The automotive sector demonstrates why total separation is unrealistic. Canadian and American factories exchange vehicles, components and materials across a highly integrated continental production system. Statistics Canada reported Canadian imports of motor vehicles and parts reached a record high in July, increasing 11.4% from June. Even the meaning of an “American-made” product can become blurry: Abacus found 72% of Canadians recognized that many American-made food and household products contain Canadian ingredients or components. A consumer boycott can alter demand for particular brands, but it does not instantly untangle decades of supply chains, manufacturing relationships and cross-border sourcing. Avoidance is therefore much easier at the brand level than across an entire economy.
The Consumer Divide Reflects a Much Bigger Trade Debate
Shopping behaviour is unfolding alongside sharply elevated concern about Canada’s relationship with the United States. Research Co. found 82% of Canadians considered U.S. tariffs a threat to Canada, while 75% said they were following tariff-related news very or moderately closely. In the same poll, 65% approved of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s handling of the tariff dispute, compared with 41% who approved of Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s approach.
Canadians were also broadly receptive to diversifying trade. The poll found 75% supported enhancing commerce with Mexico, 76% with Japan, and 77% with the United Kingdom, European Union, and Australia and New Zealand. Support for expanding trade with China was lower but still reached 61%. Academic research describes boycotting and deliberately purchasing preferred products as forms of “political consumerism”—ways people can express social or political preferences through the marketplace. Canadian research has found political consumer behaviour is associated with several demographic, attitudinal and individual characteristics. That context makes the Liberal-Conservative shopping gap meaningful, but it does not make every purchasing decision partisan. Politics is increasingly present in the shopping cart; price, age, availability and habit are still there beside it.
