The Trade War That Ignited Canadian Nationalism

The history books may forever speculate about the true reason why President Trump launched a tariff campaign against Canada, Mexico, and China in February 2025. Whatever the motive, one fascinating effect has been the resurgence of Canadian nationalism.

In his speech addressing the threatened tariffs, Prime Minister Trudeau called on citizens to “choose Canada” by “picking Canadian made products”. For many viewers, it was hard to believe this was the same man who once infamously described Canada as the world’s “first post-national state”.

The buy Canadian movement quickly began spreading organically by way of the internet’s memetic ability to amplify viral trends. Madeinca.ca, a website that lists a dizzying array of consumer goods and tells you whether or not they are made in Canada, was created in 2018 but has been flooded with 5,000 new submissions since the U.S.-Canada trade spat began.

“Buy Canadian”, a subreddit that promotes buying locally made goods, has swelled to 170,000 members – ranking it among the top 2% largest forums on Reddit. The momentum shows few signs of slowing down, with hundreds of new posts appearing every day, many of them proudly sharing photos of all-Canadian grocery hauls.

Deep feeling is boiling up over this trade war, and it’s not just being channeled into patriotic grocery shopping. The booing of the American anthem has taken place at hockey games from Ottawa to Calgary. By way of contrast, when the microphone cut out partway through the singing of the Star Spangled Banner at a 2014 Toronto Maple Leafs game, the Canadian crowd spontaneously finished the last verses themselves.

For many, that brotherly love is now gone. According to a recent YouGov poll, 56% of Canadians now hold an unfavourable view of the United States, while just 37% hold a favourable view of their southern neighbour.

The anger is not mutual. In the same poll, 78% of Americans had a positive view of Canada. Part of the reason for this is that the Canada-U.S. trade war has simply not registered highly in the internal U.S. news cycle. For many Americans, the importance of the now paused tariffs pales in comparison to the hundreds of domestic policy changes being concurrently pursued by the Trump administration.

The more fundamental factor in the rise in nationalism north of the 49^th parallel is the deeply rooted Canadian fear of American annexation. In each of the three elections that centred on the question of Canada-U.S. trade – in 1891, 1911, and 1988 – prominent Canadian figures warned that economic rapprochement with the U.S. would lead inexorably to political domination.

In 1891, in his last political campaign, Sir John A. Macdonald defeated a Liberal free trade proposal which he characterised as “the ‘veiled treason’ which attempts by sordid means and mercenary proffers to lure our people from their allegiance”.

Following in Macdonald’s footsteps in 1911, Robert Borden defeated another Liberal free trade plan, saying it was a test of “whether the spirit of Canadianism or of Continentalism shall prevail on the northern half of this continent”. In 1988, John Turner painted Brian Mulroney’s support of free trade as an attempt to sell Canada out.

Mulroney and free trade won the day in 1988, but after the recent tariff threats, politicians of all stripes now say that Canada should reduce its dependence on the U.S. economy. The same old battle over Canadian sovereignty is being duked out once again, fuelled by an American president who is brutally explicit about his aspiration to make Canada the 51^st state – more explicit than any American politician since the Manifest Destiny days of the 19^th century.

Canadian nationalism never really disappears, it just goes into hibernation until Canadians feel a looming threat from the south. Just like in 1891, 1911, and 1988, the 2025 election will likely be fought over Canada’s economic relationship with the United States.