As of right now the ‘Great Tariff War’ between Mr. Trump and the rest of the world is on hold, but better to be prepared than surprised if / should he wakes up on the wrong side of the bed and drop the hammer.
Truth be told I am almost a non-consumer. My wife manages the budget, buys the food and cajoles me into clearing the cobwebs out of my wallet when she can see my toes through the end of my shoes. Just the way I grew up I guess – ‘make do‘ being more of a mantra than a slogan.
But should the tariffs happen, and even before, we have a GOLDEN opportunity in Canada to Go Canadian! It is long overdue for Canadians to start supporting our own homegrown companies! Here’s somethings to get you started on the Go Canadian path (I’m not a consumer genius so these are mostly gleaned from FB and Mastodon).
10 Ways to Go Canadian
- Watch for Made in Canada (51% Can-Con) or better yet Product of Canada (98% Can-Con) labels on everything you buy, from food to clothes to luxuries.
- Consider Canadian alternatives to American streaming services (Crave etc. vs. Netflix etc.)
- You can save money on streaming services with FAST (Free Ad Supported TV) providers like Pluto and Tubi
- Write / email your provincial representative to ‘get with the program’ and work to eliminate inter-provincial trade barriers.
- Look for non-American replacements to the products you like to use.
- Read the label – often Made In U.S.A. is in very small letters under the ingredients on the package.
- Research which companies are really Canadian or just Canadian subsidiaries of American companies (Postmedia is one prime example) and take the subsidiaries off your shopping list.
- Share info on social media of truly Canadian companies and products.
- Petition our federal government to explore new trade partnerships (like they should have been doing decades ago)
- Limit your spending on non-essentials, I doubt this whole tariff / trade war issue is going to go away until the next U.S. election (hopefully there is one).