- The proportion of Canadians avoiding Americans products has remained steady or even increased since February.
- Very few Canadians say they would immediately purchase American alcohol if it returned to Canadian liquor stores.
August 5, 2025
Over the past six months, we have tracked how Canadians are adjusting their purchasing habits throughout the ongoing trade war with the United States.
Throughout the year so far, a majority have been changing at least one of their purchasing habits, in light of the ongoing issues with U.S. trade. Across types of changes to purchasing, Canadians are most likely to be looking specifically for Canadian products (62%; down 6 points since April) and avoid products from the U.S (53%; down 3 points since April). Additionally, two in ten residents each say they are seeking Canadian entertainment (20%; down 2 points since April) and cancelled a planned trip to the U.S. (19%; down 3 points since April). On par with past results, very few Canadians report cancelling an American streaming service (8%; down 1 point since April).
Importantly, only two in ten Canadians (22%; down 3 points) have not done any of these activities, showing that the vast majority of residents are actively supporting the ‘buy Canadian’ sentiment.
Across generations, younger and middle-aged Canadians are less likely to seek out Canadian products and look at the labels of products to avoid purchasing American goods, while their older counterparts are most likely to do both. However, older Canadians are less likely than their younger counterparts to seek out Canadian entertainment. Additionally, men are more likely than women to say they cancelled an American streaming service.
Now that American alcohol products have been off liquor store shelves for a couple of months, we wanted to check in on how Canadians (excluding those in SK and Alberta) were feeling about the change.
Three in ten Canadians said they will not purchase American alcohol again, while another three in ten said it depends on the political situation. Additionally, one-quarter said they never bought American alcohol in the first place and only 15 percent would purchase American alcohol again, no questions asked.
Consistent with purchasing habits, younger to middle-aged Canadians are more likely to say they would purchase American alcohol again, no questions asked, while their older counterparts are more likely to say they will not purchase American alcohol again.
Results are from an online survey conducted in partnership between Narrative Research and the Logit Group. The survey was conducted between July 9th and 10th, 2025 with 1,230 Canadians, 18 years of age or older from the Logit Group’s online Canadian Omnibus. Data were weighted based on the 2021 Census, by gender, age, and region to reflect actual population distribution. For more information, please contact:
Margaret Chapman, COO & Partner, Narrative Research – 902.493.3834, mchapman@narrativeresearch.ca
OR
Sam Pisani, Managing Partner, Logit Group – 416.629.4116, sam.pisani@logitgroup.com
Narrative Research (www.narrativeresearch.ca), is a non-partisan, 100% Canadian-owned, research company, certified as a Women Business Enterprise (WBE). Narrative Research provides clients with state-of-the-art research and strategic consulting services.
The Logit Group (https://logitgroup.com/) is a leading North American data collection and market research execution company headquartered in Toronto, conducting large-scale projects for a variety of well-known research agencies and brands. Logit employs industry-best technologies across an array of methodologies, and is independent, experienced and quality-oriented.
The questions asked were:
In the last few weeks, which of the following, if any, have you done…
- Sought out Canadian products (e.g., at grocery stores)
- Looked at the labels of products to avoid products made in the United States
- Sought out Canadian entertainment content (music, movies, shows, podcasts, radio, etc.)
- Cancelled a planned trip to the United States
- Cancelled an American streaming service
- None of the above
If American wine, beer, and other alcohol became available for purchase again in your home province, would you purchase it again?
- Yes, absolutely, no questions asked!
- Maybe, it depends on the political situation
- No, I won’t buy American wine, beer or other alcohol again
- No, I never bought American wine, beer or other alcohol in the first place
