Mario Canseco: British Columbians rethink grocery bills as Trump tariffs loom
It is fair to say that Canadians have assembled a united front after U.S. President Donald Trump first uttered his threats related to tariffs and his overtures about the annexation of Canada. We have seen renewed support for premiers who have chosen to openly discuss and implement retaliatory measures, and many Canadians are seeking to avoid American goods and services
The idea of “Buying Canadian” may make sense, but many British Columbians are unaware of specific limitations. When we asked the province’s residents about the proportion of fruits and vegetables Canada is importing from the United States, the responses were way off from reality.
Just over a third of British Columbians (36 per cent) identified that somewhere between 21 and 40 per cent of the fruits Canada imports are American. The confusion is worse for vegetables, with 16 per cent of British Columbians knowing that somewhere between 21 and 40 per cent of the vegetables Canada imports are from the United States.
Upon learning the reality of Canada’s current reliance on American produce—36 per cent of fruit imports and 67 per cent of vegetable imports—British Columbians become uneasy. More than half of the province’s residents (55 per cent) are “not too........
© BIV
