There was indeed a boycott movement of American products when Donald Trump took power last January, and especially after he started talking about annexing Canada. So let’s see if it made a difference and if he was out of breath after a few months.
The facts
Obviously, yes, sales of food products from the United States suffered. “It is difficult to say exactly how much because there is no firm figures for each company but, in general, there was a surf in food, a bit like what we have seen in tourism,” says Michel Rochette, president of the Canadian Retail Council.
Statistics Canada import data gives a little idea of the scale of boycott. As the graphics opposite show, Uncle Sam sold $ 1.131 billion in “fruits, nuts and fresh vegetables” in Canada last December, just before Mr. Trump’s arrival at the White House. These sales fell up to between 1 and 1.05 billion per month thereafter. The same scheme (postpandemic summit in December 2024, then falls from January 2025) is repeated for several other categories of food, including dairy products, non -alcoholic drinks, frozen or canned fruits, “other food products”, etc.
Now, it is not all the food imports that have suffered from Mr. Trump’s rants – meats and seafood, for example, have not had a decline. And the decline in sales is not a collapse either: we are talking about about 10 % less, roughly, roughly.
This is undoubtedly explained in part by the fact that these imports do not all go directly to the tablets of grocery stores, but are also found in industrial recipes. Their origin is then “hidden”.
And there is also, perhaps above all, moreover, the fact that prices remain the main factor in the choices of many consumers-it is very good to protest against Donald Trump, but it is still necessary to have the means to pay the alternative. “For grocers, it is certain that if there are replacement products, they must be affordable. Otherwise, if they are much more expensive, it can be a challenge to sell them, ”says Rochette.
But overall, yes, American products are less popular than before in our grocery stores, also confirm the association of Quebec Food retailers (ADAQ) as well as a metro spokesperson.
Shortness of breath?
It is also not clear if the strength of the boycott movement is maintained or if we are witnessing a start of breath. “We have no specific data on this,” says Samuel Bouchard-Villeneuve, from ADAQ. […] The movement may have faded a little, but it is difficult to say because there are other factors that play, such as the fact that consumers are always attentive to prices and that we arrive in the harvest period, where there is always a craze for local products. “
Statcan data did not show a signs of shortness of breath last June, that said. And it must be said, adds Mr. Rochette, that “Trump is in the media almost every day, so that makes a frequent reminder for those who want to boycott”.
It is therefore impossible for the moment to say if the movement has started to fade.
Verdict
TRUE. The boycott of American products in grocery store was noticed by retailers and we see it in food import data. However, we are far from a collapse of sales (-10 % approximately in the affected categories) and it will be necessary to see for how long the movement will persist.
