Recent poll finds most British Columbians still avoid American products amid tariff tensions

A recent poll by BC-based Research Co. found that amid tariff tensions with the United States, most BC residents are still avoiding buying American products. 

On February 1st, United States President Donald Trump announced a sweeping 25% tariff on all Canadian goods. 

However, due to specific trade agreements between the countries, this tariff has since been reduced to include all goods not covered by the agreement. This tariff came partially into effect on March 4th after a pause initiated by negotiations between the two countries. 

Furthermore, Trump announced a 10% tariff on all Canadian energy which was subsequently announced on February 1st, and should have been effective as of March 4th, but is currently paused indefinitely. 

There have been additional tariffs announced by Trump that impact Canada, including one on all steel and aluminium, as well as one on all automobiles and automobile parts. 

Canada has not taken these tariffs sitting down though, between former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney, some retaliations have been announced. 

There is currently a 25% reciprocal tariff on many goods being imported from the United States that is partially in effect. This came into effect in March, and has been rolled out gradually. 

Many provinces and territories have also taken retaliation into their own hands, pulling American alcohol from liquor store shelves and changing procurement policies to only buy American as a last resort. 

Given all the tensions between Canada and the United States, Research Co. sought to find out if British Columbians have held true to boycotts of American goods. 

According to the poll, 64% of BC respondents say they have been avoiding buying American, 38% have been avoiding American franchised restaurants, 39% have cancelled a trip to the United States, 33% have avoided “American entertainment options” and 22% admitted to doing nothing different. 

Following the recent election, most British Columbians are happy with the way things turned out, and think the Conservatives would not be handling the tariff war as well as the Liberals. 

To this end, when asked if they thought the Conservatives would have been better positioned to handle the tariffs, 32% said “definitely not” and 18% said “probably not,” while 22% said “probably” and only 16% said “definitely.” 

When asked what they thought the next six months would look like, 38% of BC respondents said they believe the tariffs on Canadian goods will be rescinded, 29% believe the tariffs would be expanded upon and 33% were unsure of what could happen. 

Despite the mass media attention the tariff war has been getting, it has been hard for some to follow along because of how dynamic the situation has been. 

According to the poll, just 23% of BC respondents said they had followed the situation very closely, 45% said they were following somewhat closely, 21% said not too closely and 10% said not closely at all. 

What have you been doing differently during the trade war with the United States? Let us know in the comment section below.