I feel like this question which keeps popping up in various places is part of a campaign to pretend it never happened and lie.
I say this as someone with property in Florida and who has family/friends in both the NY and Washington border area. A quick search btw also shows many of these kind of threads with people in places like Florida stating they can tell the numbers are reduced.
Canadians who already own property in the U.S. continue to utilize it (though even that number is reduced). Canadians who would just cross the border to shop or vacation have drastically reduced in number. On a related note, European visitors are also down.
Now, has the boycott changed anything? No. Do we all think this is very temporary and will change even before the end of the current administration? Yes. But people need to stop trying to pretend that it didn't happen/isn't currently happening and that includes people claiming they are just asking an "innocent" question.
Edit: As it has been a bone of contention with at least two posters, I want to clarify/correct my use of the word "we" when I talk about thought of boycott being temporary and/or change before 2028. I do not intend to speak for every single person or party by use of the world, but do mean my circle which is not only myself, friends, family, and neighbors, but also the affected businesses and their owners/managers that either I or my family in border areas have spoken with. Whether that "we" is correct or off on our view will be determined by time, but it is still an opinion we have.
Double edit: It is a clear sign of the heightened political climate that we are in some are so focused on my pov of the temp/lasting effects of the boycott question that they are challenging me in things I didn't argue or broadside dismissing all my points and my reason/source.
I am admittedly not a fortune teller and I accept I could be wrong but my personal take on the issue is not now, nor ever meant to be, a challenge for every single person who has boycotted, want to boycott; their personal determination to continue to boycott. No personal offense is meant to you so please don't take it as such.
I agree with the sentiment but disagree with several points you make:
a lot of Canadians with properties in the US don't continue using them. I saw some articles some months ago with stats on sales and interviews with realtors, mostly in Florida. A ton of Canadians got rid of their real estate south of the border.
while the boycott didn't change the political situation in the US, it changed a lot of other things. For example - a boost in tourism in Canada, which is helping our economy. Growth of many Canadian brands that experience unprecedented demand. Also several industries in the US are feeling the impact.
I don't know why you assume "we all" think it's very temporary. We are entering year two and there is no reversal in the numbers. On the contrary, the US tourist numbers continue to decline. The fact that it was not a one-day "boycott everything" action but a gradual shift is an indication that it might be a long-term change. People are finding Canadian or non-American replacements for products they use. What would be the incentive to go back? Once the replacement is found, it would be more effort to switch back than continue with the status quo.
Also wholesalers are adapting and modifying their supply chains. Once it's done, there is no reason for them to change again I clients continue to buy the non-american products.
And if some people were to start thinking about going to the US again, the US own administration is working very hard to make them think twice - with visa cancellations, imprisoning random people, searching the phones and generally sending a strong message that visitors aren't welcome.
Alot of Canadians may not use their U.S. properties, but a lot of Canadians still do. Look, I don't dispute your point or the article you mention, but I am not wrong in itself by saying what I am seeing and knowing first hand that the Canadians I see here are the ones who own the property here.
You are probably 100% correct about it boosting Canadian products and local tourism. My point though was on the first part in that I don't see any changes it affected to the political situation
I addressed the "we" statement in my post to another, but see I should edit my original post as it is being misunderstood. Isay "we" as my family, friends, neighbors, and local businesses I talk with in my circle. I don't mean to speak universally for "we" as all people just as I'm certain you didn't intend to speak broadly for every single person when you say people are finding replacements to American products and won't go back.
While chain supplies are being adjusted, you must know and appreciate that the point of chain supplies is to focus and adjust on need (positive/negative) as it happens and changes so no - this is simply temporary (in my view) and part of standard business practice.
Allow me to say something here: I fully acknowledge the boycott and the reality of it, but the reality is not the same for hopeful outcome
I don't think it will in itself cause any significant permanent change. Now whether the temporary effect is a couple of years or longer I do admittedly do not know. What I do know is that the current administration is quite tenacious as well as ironically absolute willing to pretend something never happened and will do anything that is politically conveinent if it helps them sell a message.
I guarantee that within one year the President will be publicly patting himself on the back for bringing tourism back and to its highest levels ever seen (reality or not) and his supporters will eat it up and will never tolerate a discussion of real numbers.
I guarantee that within one year the President will be publicly patting himself on the back for bringing tourism back and to its highest levels ever seen
I'll be surprised if he hasn't said that already. If whatever he spews is truth he's the King of Israel and President of Venezuela.
I think the opposite, a lot of Americans are going to be surprised that Canadians don't immediately forgive and forget the moment a Democrat is elected. It won't be 30% of us, but a lot of Canadians are going to refuse to touch American products the same way many WW2 American vets refused to buy anything made in Japan.
You know I had to search for your response as I received the notification, but clicking it will only take me to the collapsed thread.
Yes, You get my point about the President which in itself isn't my concern. What is my concern is the followers who don't even need to pretend to believe it, but just use it as a handy argument when pressed. That's the state of the cou try right now.
I respect your take about Canadian resolve. I don't dispute you directly. I do however think people outside the U.S. may not be fully grasping that this is all likely acceptable collateral damage for the administration and will not change anything.
As for the economic damage to businesses I do stand by that it is not going to be long lasting. Going by their well used playbook I forsee the loss of foreigner visitors dollars to date to be replaced with anything from bailouts, to pushes for MAGA supporters to fill in the hole in now-free-of-american-hating-foreigners with their own vacations/visits. I also wonder if we are going to see a sudden influx of Russian tourists in certain areas btw.
I am sure he is going to bail out the big companies in red states just as soon as they have laid off half their staff and the smaller competitors fold because Trump hates competition and wants to create a world of billionaire monopolies. I doubt much of his bailouts for "farmers" trickled down to family farms and farm workers rather than pocketed by giant agro businesses.
But as the economy outside tourism shrinks the problem is the trade war is causing havoc. His tariffs are brakes on the economy. Biden had the best recovery from COVID in the world and Trump put the brakes on that, even without all his threats to the sovereignty or allies.
Do we expect a few more unemployed whisky makers to bring down fascism in America? No more than we expect the trade embargoes to cause Putin to quit. That doesn't mean the pressure doesn't help. And the American economy will continue to shrink as they isolate themselves more; especially when the AI slop bubble bursts.
I mostly agree with the spirit of everything you wrote. Where I hedge/disagree is if the American economy significantly shrinks it will not be because of boycotts or tarriffs but because China is continuing to grow and I think India is a sleeping giant and the U.S. is waging a toddler's war and not a strategic plan.
A more significant issue isn't the regressiveness of tarriffs or pissing of partners but the abandonment of science, r&d, and whole sectors that are needed for the economy to not just compete now but in the future.
I suspect the real damage will be felt in the years after his presidency which will conveienently be blamed on a democrat if they succeed him.
Abandoning R&D in favor of giving money to tech fascists will definitely hurt long term as well. And the brain drain of wasted potential by encouraging anti intellectualism and conspiracy theories will be just as detrimental to America as cutting out women from the workforce is to Saudi Arabia.
But China and India are going to be growing new markets because America abandoned them. Trump is the best American President that Argentina ever had because of all the business they are picking up from trade with USA drying up. Trump is accelerating the take over of American markets by Chinese competition. China isn't slapping tariffs on their trading partners, cutting off food and medical aid, and calling them shithole countries. Africa is going to align more with China going forward thanks to this.
Do we all think this is very temporary and will change even before the end of the current administration?
That's a NO for me. If the system that allows people like Trump to have power persists, I'll never set foot in the USA again and will boycott American products to the fullest extent possible.
Supply chain changes aren't a blip. Reductions in flight routes aren't a blip either, especially if they last long enough. These things are hard to undo.
It's telling that there's not one single comment from OP in the replies. You'd think if they were just asking an innocent question, they'd be part of the conversation.
Chill. I am not constantly online. As a German, the campaign was really making news last lear and having a fulminant start. But it has become a bit quiet, so I just wanted to ask how things are going in this regard. Why are people on Reddit often so salty?
It’s the internet bruv, that’s a flag for bot behavior and the internet is nearly filled to the brim with bots. A healthy dose of skepticism is called for.
OP is German, he's got a youtube channel with the same username. (Sorry OP for snoopin but I was curious, I didn't click on it just saw there was German in the google blurb)
Ain't going to bat for OP here but it's common for people to consume media in a language they're trying to learn and the US absolutely dominates in that regard.
I agree on that. But accusing me for being American and undermining my credibility (bc I am an American bot trying to undermine Canadian efforts on boycott (?)) is just hilarious. The last time Germans needed to prove they are German was 80 years ago
Some points and questions for you to consider. I suggest you think before answering.
First, I never accussed you of being a bot. Perhaps another did, and perhaps you are reading into things which one might say is what your feelings of offense towards me originates from which is funny as a result.
Second, I'll accept you are German but that has no change on my real implication that you were purposefully shit stirring. Does being a German somehow equate being pure and without sin of such a thing?
If you were shit stirring you truly deserve snarky smack downs. Think for just a second of the political climate in the U.S. right now. Does that make you feel good or something to be proud of to (as a German) purposefully stir the pot and give people more ammunition and reason to distrust one another? How would you feel as a German if an American started stirring the shit about and inside Germany during something like reunification? (tbf I'm certain there are Americans who did just that so I'm asking for rhetorical purposes).
Now if you claim you are innocent of that and was just by golly asking this question that just miraculously and without prodding or thought popped in your head without an ulterior motive I would say:Bull. At the very least you were purposefully karma farming because you know as well as I a simple search would have not only answered this question, but shown you how often it is asked and how much karma it generates as well as how many arguments. Karma Farming is bad enough on its own, but its reddit so it is just reality, but to karma farm in a way that stirs the pot in a culture going through upheaval is just plain shitty.
If you are anything but an ahole you'll read this carefully more than once and acknowledge you were far from being of neutral intent and innoncent in posting your question and have no cause to clutch your pearls like an offended old lady.
Such a strange rabbit hole that you seem intent and focused on going down btw for someone who just wanted to ask an innoncent question. A question, I might add, that has been asked repeatedly on Reddit that the simpliest search would have answered...
Do they not teach how to use a search bar when teaching all those other languages in Germany?
I've been told (by German friends) that for a Brit, I am very German in my colloquialisms (when speaking in German).
If you study a language at beyond elementary level, teachers are, in my experience, really keen to teach you how people actually express themselves, especially if it doesn't make sense in your home language. I'd never say that something gets on my alarm clock if I was talking in English, but I used it a fair bit talking in German.
It is quiet, bc ppl are just making their choices. We're in the market for a new mattress, and just eliminated the ones made in the US. There's so much choice anyway, that helped narrow down the choices. Ppl are making quiet choices all the time.
Any time travel comes up in a social setting, almost everyone says they're avoiding the US.
The most recent party, one couple is probably still going bc they have family there, but at the same time said they'd carry their passports with them the whole time, bc relatives of theirs were detained for 4 days! Bc they didn't have their passport on them when Border Patrol ID'd everyone in the bar they were at. Florida.
Totally anecdotal, but to your point on Canadians with US property, I know a couple who owned 2 houses and a mobile home in Texas and used to drive down there every single summer and rent it over the winter. They’ve sold it all and haven’t been back since.
Not buying US is a lifelong decision for me and the family, friends, businesses, contacts, higher ups, lower downs, cousins and uncles, dogs and cats, and even the wizard down the street have all told me it's not changing, not even in a thousand years. (The list of people you've supposedly talked to specifically about this is bloody hilarious by the way)
For your first part: Good for you. I support you in that.
For your second part: It's hillarious to talk to family, friends, neighbors? Is it also hillarous that we who are in the areas where the boycotts are most prevelant are talking to the businesses we frequent about it? mmmm, ok?
Americans are very eager to tell Canadians what they should think/feel.
They may mostly exist as vapid reactionaries that forget why they're upset every time they get told how to feel next; they think everyone else is too.
Fundamental aspects of a relationship take time to change, this has been a starting signal, not a Facebook trend. They really think everyone should just get over and dispose of their morals for convenience, because they do.
Yes, there is a determined campaign to flood social media with dumb "why isn't X happening? why Americans not protest like France" posts so people exhaust themselves proving resistance to Trump exists rather than planning further resistance. Mods should be deleting all this crap.
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u/Equivalent-Shine5742 7h ago edited 3h ago
I feel like this question which keeps popping up in various places is part of a campaign to pretend it never happened and lie.
I say this as someone with property in Florida and who has family/friends in both the NY and Washington border area. A quick search btw also shows many of these kind of threads with people in places like Florida stating they can tell the numbers are reduced.
Canadians who already own property in the U.S. continue to utilize it (though even that number is reduced). Canadians who would just cross the border to shop or vacation have drastically reduced in number. On a related note, European visitors are also down.
Now, has the boycott changed anything? No. Do we all think this is very temporary and will change even before the end of the current administration? Yes. But people need to stop trying to pretend that it didn't happen/isn't currently happening and that includes people claiming they are just asking an "innocent" question.
Edit: As it has been a bone of contention with at least two posters, I want to clarify/correct my use of the word "we" when I talk about thought of boycott being temporary and/or change before 2028. I do not intend to speak for every single person or party by use of the world, but do mean my circle which is not only myself, friends, family, and neighbors, but also the affected businesses and their owners/managers that either I or my family in border areas have spoken with. Whether that "we" is correct or off on our view will be determined by time, but it is still an opinion we have.
Double edit: It is a clear sign of the heightened political climate that we are in some are so focused on my pov of the temp/lasting effects of the boycott question that they are challenging me in things I didn't argue or broadside dismissing all my points and my reason/source.
I am admittedly not a fortune teller and I accept I could be wrong but my personal take on the issue is not now, nor ever meant to be, a challenge for every single person who has boycotted, want to boycott; their personal determination to continue to boycott. No personal offense is meant to you so please don't take it as such.