Amid Escalating Tensions With US, Canada’s PM Urges Citizens To 'Buy Canadian'

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney has pushed back against United States President Donald Trump’s latest threat to impose 100% tariffs on Canada over its potential trade engagement with China.

In a video posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Carney urged citizens to “Buy Canadian”, adding that Canada would “focus on what we can control”.

The remarks are being seen as signalling a shift in Canada’s economic approach, with a renewed emphasis on local businesses and reduced reliance on international trade. In the video, Carney told Canadians: “With our economy under threat from abroad, Canadians have made a choice: ‘To focus on what we can control’. You are choosing to put your hard-earned dollars behind Canadian businesses and Canadian workers. Canada's new government is doing the same — with our new ‘Buy Canadian’ policy.”

He was referring to the government’s ‘Buy Canadian Policy’, implemented in December last year to strengthen the domestic economy and support homegrown industries.

Carney described the initiative as “a mission to build big — from millions of homes that will improve affordability, to major projects that will transform our economy, to the new military hardware that will protect Canadians and our sovereignty”.

The prime minister has also pledged to “build big” using Canadian-made materials, including steel, aluminium and lumber, underscoring a move away from dependence on international trade. He further stressed the use of “Canadian technology and with Canadian workers”.

“We can't control what other nations do. We can be our own best customer. We'll ‘Buy Canadian’, we'll ‘Build Canadian’. And together, we will build Canada strong,” he said.

Carney’s message comes amid escalating tensions with Washington over Canada’s outreach to China. On 24 January, Trump warned that he would impose 100% tariffs if Canada pursued deeper economic ties with Beijing. “If Governor Carney thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken. China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life. If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100% Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the USA,” Trump said.

China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the US, and Carney’s recent visit to Beijing signalled a move towards reviving economic ties. The discussions reportedly included lowering tariffs on Canadian agricultural exports, easing Chinese electric vehicle imports, and boosting Chinese investment in Canada. Carney has also described China as more “predictable” and “realistic and respectful”.

Trump has also previously criticised Canada for opposing his proposed ‘Golden Dome’ missile defence system over Greenland. “Canada is against The Golden Dome being built over Greenland, even though The Golden Dome would protect Canada. Instead, they voted in favor of doing business with China, who will 'eat them up' within the first year!” he wrote on Truth Social.

(with inputs from Mint)