Canadians are boycotting U.S. products and services against U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive tariff policy around the world.
On Friday, just one day after granting Canada a one-month tariff grace period, Trump said that new tariffs would be imposed on Canadian lumber and dairy products, including a reciprocal tariff of 250 percent on dairy products.
At Mike Dean Local Grocer's in Chesterville, a village an hour's drive from Canada's capital, Ottawa, the shop is gradually removing American-made goods.
"The reality of the 30-day reprieve on the tariffs. It let us diversify. So, we're less reliant on the American product," said Gordon Dean, the shop owner.
The store is covered in about 20,000 stickers that say "Proudly Canadian" that Dean had a local printer make in response to the U.S. tariffs.
"There's an enormous 'buy Canada,' enormous 'buy local' movement on the go. And that's not a big marketing company coming up with an idea. It's grassroots, it's organic, it's from Canadians themselves. And that's what we have to grasp, is how big this movement is. It's kind of swept across the country overnight by itself," he said.
The tariffs, along with Trump's reiteration that Canada should be the 51st U.S. state, have aroused what some economists call "retail nationalism", according to Dean.
The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), one of the largest buyers of alcohol in the world, removed U.S.-made alcoholic drinks from its shelves on Tuesday.
"They're looking past the brand. The brand is now secondary. They're flipping that over, and they're looking at the back and seeing which Canadian town it's made in. And that's more important than what the brand is," said Dean.
John Ostris, who operates a travel company in Kanata in the suburbs of Ottawa, said bookings to the United States have fallen sharply. He said it's partly due to the weakening Canadian dollar, but more importantly, a reaction against the tariffs.
"Many of the responses are, I don't want to travel to the United States, I don't want to give them my business, I don't want to spend my money there. Or, if we had any bookings made from a year ago, they've actually canceled them. I can't even explain the difference in all the years that I've worked. It's a shocking difference of just non-travel to the U.S.," he said.
Business owners said the tariffs will make "Buy Canadian" a long-term feature of the local trade and will continue long after the tariffs threats end.
"Just the way the world works, sometimes you have to get pushed into a situation to react, and I think this is one of them. It's making an awful lot of people in decision-making offices look at how their supply chain is going to be more resilient, probably closer to home," said Dean.
Canadians boycott US products, services against Trump's tariffs
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday sent a congratulatory letter to an event commemorating the 55th anniversary of China-U.S. Ping-Pong Diplomacy.
Commemoration of the 55th anniversary of China-U.S. Ping-Pong Diplomacy and the launching ceremony of a China-U.S. youth sports exchange series were held in Beijing on Friday.
Fifty-five years ago, the older generation of leaders of China and the United States, with their extraordinary political wisdom and strategic vision, reopened the door to friendly exchanges between the two peoples, creating the much told stories of "the little ball being able to move the big ball," Xi said.
He noted that it is of great significance to advancing the China-U.S. friendly ties that the youth from both sides renew the affinity brought by Ping-Pong Diplomacy and engage in a series of sports exchange activities.
Xi emphasized that the foundation of China-U.S. relations is laid by the people, and the future of bilateral relations will be shaped by the youth. He expressed the hope that people from all walks of life in both countries, especially the younger generation, will draw wisdom and strength from history.
Xi called on the two peoples to better understand each other through exchanges and cooperation, jointly move forward through mutual learning, tighten their bonds of amity, and make new contributions to promoting the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations.
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng read out Xi's letter at the ceremony.
Noting the significance of Ping-Pong Diplomacy to China-U.S. relations and its long-lasting global influence, Han said at the event that the two countries' relations have reached a critical juncture where the strategic choices made by China and the U.S. will once again influence the direction of the evolving global landscape.
China-U.S. relations have generally moved forward over the past 55 years, Han said, underlining that practice has shown that a stable, sound and sustainable China-U.S. relationship serves the common interest of both peoples and meets the shared expectations of the international community.
Han called on both sides to draw on past experiences, follow the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, uphold the principle of mutual respect, adhere to the bottom line of peaceful coexistence, and strive for a future of win-win cooperation.
Han also encouraged curiosity about China from visiting American youth, wishing them to go home with an objective understanding of China and precious friendships with Chinese counterparts.
About 500 people attended the ceremony, including participants of the China-U.S. "Ping-Pong Diplomacy," young table tennis players, sports figures, and youth American football players from the U.S.
In April 1971, a U.S. Table Tennis team delegation took a historic trip to China, becoming the first delegation of Americans to visit China in decades. The trip was the beginning of what became known as Ping-Pong Diplomacy, and helped lay the groundwork for the establishment of official diplomatic relations between China and the United States.
Xi sends congratulations to event commemorating 55th anniversary of Ping-Pong Diplomacy
