A movement is gaining traction on social media to boycott American corporations on Feb. 28, that are scaling back on diversity, equity and inclusion or DEI efforts.
In turn across the border, this has led to a call for a retail blackout on Feb. 28, of all U.S. corporations doing business in Canada. Conversations have sparked on Reddit and Substack, calling for Canadians to boycott, Walmart, Home Depot, Best Buy, Amazon, McDonald’s, Staples, Gap, Toys R Us and Costco on Friday.
However, the Penticton & Wine Country Chamber of Commerce has a different approach to the growing frustration among Canadians regarding the recent American tariff threat, and that is to choose to purchase Canadian-produced goods whenever possible.
Chamber president Jordan Knox understands the desire to take a stand, but he is asking Penticton residents to consider the economic impact of those actions, particularly when it comes to focusing on stores that employ Penticton workers.
“Many Penticton and Canadian workers are employed by retail businesses that have been targeted in this proposed boycott and may result in unintentionally harming our friends, family, and neighbours who depend on these jobs,” he said. “The chamber believes that supporting local and Canadian manufacturers, growers, and retailers on an ongoing basis will be far more powerful than a single day of protest.”
Michael Magnusson, the chamber’s executive director, believes that Canadians can make a real difference by prioritizing local shopping, first within their communities, and then online with Canadian outlets for items not available in Penticton.
“Spending in our own country rather than foreign-based e-commerce platforms will strengthen our national GDP and promote job stability for many workers during these unpredictable and unprecedented times,” explained Magnusson.
Instead of boycotting U.S. products and stores, the chamber said residents can look for products labelled ‘Product of Canada’ or ‘Made in Canada, and while not 100 per cent foolproof, barcodes starting with “00 to 13” are often from Canada. The Chamber also encourages using Apps like “Shop Canadian”,“O SCANada”, and “Maple Scan” to help identify Canadian-made goods.
“Of course, it goes without saying that supporting local wineries, breweries, cideries, and our farmers market in April will go a long way to supporting those who have invested so much into Penticton and the South Okanagan,” said Knox. “We want to thank everyone who has already made a conscious effort to shop local and buy Canadian.”
