What do you think?

Many of us are seized with the need to seek out and buy Canadian (or at least not American) products, in a boycott of US-made products and services that is symbolic but also, undertaken in the hope that it could have a real economic impact. But will it make a difference? And how do you find good, inexpensive Canadian alternatives? And how do you even know if it’s Canadian? Or Canadian enough?
Many questions and no easy answers. Indeed, the concept of “Canadian” seems not at all black and white, but many shades of grey. We need to know that “made in Canada” means at least 50 percent Canadian, whereas “product of Canada” means at least 98 percent Canadian. And the weaselly “prepared in Canada” can mean anything from handled, harvested, preserved, processed, tested, treated or slaughtered in Canada – and could include, for example, concentrated orange juice from Florida that has had water added to it in Canada. Labels put on by grocery chains may be misleading.
Then, there are the larger questions. What about an iconic company like Tim Horton’s owned by an American corporation – do we deem that Canadian by tradition? Or an American company like Walmart that creates jobs for Canadians. Even the dreaded Amazon employs Canadians.
What about unique American services like Netflix, Disney Plus and Prime? Are we prepared to give those up? Are our kids?
How are we navigating the swampy waters of “buying Canadian”? Tell us what you think.

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* 1. Are you trying to buy Canadian?

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* 2. If yes:

Are you buying non-American fruits and vegetables from countries like Peru, Mexico and others?

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* 3. If yes:

Are you successful in finding suitable produce? How about prices? What have you been unable to find?

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* 4. Do you rely on or trust grocery store labelling of products as Canadian?

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* 5. What is your rule of thumb for deciding whether a product is Canadian enough?

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* 6. Have you given up any American products or services (eg Netflix, Florida orange juice)? If so, what?

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* 7. Are your children on board with your decisions? Why or why not?

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* 8. Have you had success using apps identifying Canadian products (eg Shop Canadian, Buy Beaver, O SCANada, Maple Scan)?

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* 9. Please provide any additional comments, concerns or opinions you have on these issues.

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