Are Manitobans still boycotting American goods over the holidays?
Posted December 22, 2025 5:02 pm.
Last Updated December 22, 2025 7:55 pm.
A campaign to shop local and boycott American products swept the country this past spring when Trump tariffs were first announced. But now that the holiday season has arrived, some Manitobans say that the boycott has been harder to maintain, as many face financial constraints.
“I don’t know which is American and which isn’t, honestly, I haven’t really paid attention,” said one shopper CityNews spoke to. “Yeah, at first I was, it was a huge thing, everyone was paying attention to what is Canadian, what isn’t, but I feel like now it’s just kind of dismissed, I don’t know, I haven’t really paid attention ever since.”
Another shopper said, “Just buying whatever, because like I’m not spending too much to support local, I’d love to, but I mean at the end of the day I have to pay my bills at the same time while keeping everyone happy.”
While another said, “I was just at Eddie Bauer, and I couldn’t tell you if that’s an American store or a Canadian store; it’s one of my favourite stores, so there I have to say I’ve been lax.”
Marketing professor Divya Ramachandran says that with many Canadians struggling financially, it makes it tougher to shop local and ignore big brand deals, especially around the holidays.
“I don’t think people have abandoned the principle of it, I just think it’s not as simple,” said Ramachandran.
“At some point, probably the prices start mattering way more, so you start looking for deals, discounts, and the biggest discounts are typically offered by the bigger brands that may not be your local Canadian or Manitoba brands.”
Some consumers tell CityNews that it’s much easier to focus on local brands when looking at groceries, as opposed to retail.
“When I’m shopping at Loblaws or something, then I’m paying attention even though I know it’s become complicated and you can’t always tell exactly what’s Canadian and what isn’t,” said a Winnipeg shopper.
While another said, “Grocery shopping, I’m more like, do it Canadian, I’m more likely to buy Canadian things at the grocery stores, but when it comes to like Urban Planet, I don’t know if it’s Canadian owned, but just things like that I’ll buy more from them.”
