As 'Buy Canadian' grows, more US companies say retailers turning away their products

The "Buy Canadian" movement is sending new ripples of concern through the executive offices of US-based consumer companies that banked on selling their products on Canadian retail shelves.

California-based diaper maker Parasol Co had been working since January with a distributor to expand the sale of its diapers and baby wipes to new retailers in Canada, including convenience stores, CEO Jessica Hung said.

But, in early March the distributor, who Hung declined to name, halted work on the deal, she said, because of growing anti-American sentiment in Canada.

"They were instructed by a retailer to pause any American brand launch," Hung said, referring to the distributor. "They told us they would re-evaluate when market conditions allow."

"That's the kind of disruption we would never expect," said Hung. "I never heard of this happening until now. It's definitely quite a bit of headwinds."

A dramatic reshuffling of Canada's retail shelves illustrates the impact of patriotic consumerism in Canada, which imported nearly $350 billion of products from the United States in 2024, making it its largest trading partner.

But, in early March the distributor, who Hung declined to name, halted work on the deal, she said, because of growing anti-American sentiment in Canada.

"They were instructed by a retailer to pause any American brand launch," Hung said, referring to the distributor. "They told us they would re-evaluate when market conditions allow."

"That's the kind of disruption we would never expect," said Hung. "I never heard of this happening until now. It's definitely quite a bit of headwinds."

A dramatic reshuffling of Canada's retail shelves illustrates the impact of patriotic consumerism in Canada, which imported nearly $350 billion of products from the United States in 2024, making it its largest trading partner.

U.S. President Donald Trump's jabs to annex Canada, the imposition of a 25% levy on steel and aluminum from Canada and threats to tax all other imports from the country have prompted a rallying cry among many Canadian shoppers to eschew US-made products.

Parasol, which sells its products primarily online and at Target stores in the US, was working on labeling its packages in French for Canadian shoppers, Hung said. She added that she had already begun making decisions about which specific products would be part of the now-scrapped Canada distribution agreement.

Shopper Rebecca Asselin, a mom and health insurance professional from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, has been using social media to share her story about her search for Canadian products.

She told Reuters she recently switched to purchasing Royale diapers, made by Irving Personal Care of Moncton, New Brunswick, one of the only manufacturers of baby diapers and training pants in Canada. "I never really considered before where diapers were made, but apparently, Canadian-made diapers are kind of hard to come by. That's a big change for us."

Irving Personal Care said retailers from all over Canada have been reaching out to discuss increasing distribution.

"As the only branded baby diaper made in Canada, our weekly shipments have quadrupled," Jason McAllister, Irving Personal Care's vice president of business operations, told Reuters.

Drinks and citrus exports

The Buy Canadian movement is not just hampering one diaper business but also drinks and citrus fruit from the US, companies say. In early March, Jack Daniel's maker Brown Forman the removal of American bourbon and whiskey from Canadian liquor stores worse than Canada's retaliatory tariffs and a disproportionate response to Trump's levies.