Good article about a smart - and patriotic - Canadian who put her money where   
   her heart is.  More of us should be reading the labels and buying Canadian   
   instead of American as long as the Republicans keep shielding the mistake they   
   have for a President.   
   _________________________________   
   The Canadian Press · Posted: Jun 16, 2018   
      
   #BuyCanadian: Pocketbook patriotism takes off amid U.S. trade tensions   
      
   'I'm not going to let you push my country around,' says Winnipegger after   
   cancelling U.S. cruise   
      
   Bonnie Hallman of Winnipeg had been booked to board a Disney cruise next   
   summer to bask in the untamed wilderness of Alaska, which she had longed to   
   see since flipping through copies of the state's tourism magazine as a   
   teenager — until a simmering    
   trade standoff with the U.S. forced her to rethink her travel plans.   
      
   The 53-year-old geography professor said she scrapped her dream Alaskan   
   getaway in favour of a trip to P.E.I. shortly after President Donald Trump   
   took aim at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for pushing back against American   
   tariffs on steel and aluminum.   
      
   She's among a number of social media users who have resolved to #BuyCanadian   
   in an effort to bolster homegrown industry amid fraying trade relations with   
   the U.S.   
      
   A recent poll also found that roughly half of Canadians surveyed said they   
   would refrain from cross-border shopping or travelling to the U.S. for   
   pleasure.   
      
   Hallman said a similar decision came to her like a "lightning bolt" when Trump   
   personally attacked Trudeau as "dishonest" and "weak" upon leaving last week's   
   G7 summit in Charlevoix, Que.   
      
   As a Canadian citizen, Hallman said she has little sway over domestic U.S.   
   affairs, but she could think of one way to hit the Trump administration where   
   it hurt — with her wallet.   
      
   "I'm not going to let you push my country around," she said in an interview.   
      
   But experts caution that pocketbook patriotism may have unintended fiscal   
   consequences on both sides of the border.   
      
   Robert Wolfe, a professor emeritus at Queen's University's School of Policy   
   Studies, said the online push to #BuyCanadian could fan the flames of a trade   
   war in which no side would prevail unscathed.   
      
   "If it starts to escalate the Canada-U.S. tensions so that Americans begin to   
   think we're actually just mad at them, as opposed to mad at their president,   
   that could be difficult for Canada-U.S. relations, and ultimately, not good   
   for the economy," said    
   Wolfe.   
      
   The mirror of "buy Canadian" is "buy American," a protectionist approach to   
   trade that Canadian exporters have long fought against for fear of being shut   
   out of U.S. markets, Wolfe said.   
      
   Ottawa plans to impose retaliatory duties on certain U.S. products that appear   
   to have been selected to maximize the political toll on key industries, rather   
   than punishing all American businesses.   
      
   "In the end, we don't win if North American relations become really   
   belligerent."   
   Turned off by 'made in America'   
      
   The online poll conducted by Abacus Data between June 1 to 6 — after Trump's   
   tariffs announcement but before trade tensions erupted at the G7 summit —   
   also found more than half of 2,200 respondents said they would avoid buying   
   U.S. wines, while 35    
   per cent would be turned off by a "made-in-America" label.   
      
   The polling industry's professional body says online surveys cannot be   
   assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.   
      
   Food economist Mike von Massow of the University of Guelph said he thinks a   
   show of Canadian fiscal solidarity may buttress the country's position in   
   trade negotiations, even if the #BuyCanadian campaign has more of a symbolic   
   impact than an economic    
   cost.   
      
   "Canadians of all political stripes and consumers are saying, 'We're behind   
   you. We think this is the right thing to do,"' said von Massow.  "We have a   
   relatively unpredictable partner in these negotiations, so showing some   
   solidarity and some resolve    
   probably will create some benefit."   
      
   Swearing off American-made products, however, is easier said than done, von   
   Massow said. It can be hard to decipher what is truly a Canadian product, and   
   few consumers are willing to sacrifice their purchasing preferences to only   
   buy what's locally    
   available, he said.   
      
   Scott Chamberlain, a father of four in Ottawa, said he's been trying to fill   
   his grocery cart with mostly homegrown goods to support the Canadian producers   
   who could be hardest hit by cross-border friction over trade.   
      
   But when the labour lawyer tweeted out a photo of his first "Trump-free" haul   
   — including Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, Dole bananas and Activia yogurt —   
   social media users were quick to point out that many of the foodstuffs he   
   picked out are produced at    
   least in part by American companies.   
      
   "I'm not going to say I'm never going to buy an American product again,"   
   Chamberlain said in an interview.  "We all just need to do little things to   
   support Canada."   
      
   Hallman said she doesn't see herself taking that long-desired trip to Alaska   
   any time soon, but she holds out hope that she'll eventually feel comfortable   
   crossing the border again.   
      
   "This is not some kind of rabid anti-Americanism. If anything, it's done very   
   regretfully, but I also didn't have a choice," she said.  "It's firmed my   
   resolve that you can't take for granted what we have."   
   ______________________________________________   
      
   "What we have" is a much, much better country than the U.S. will ever be . .   
   .  no matter how much they brag to cover up their flaws.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)