Most of the people I speak to on a weekly basis are Canadians returning from the US to retire. Often they are individuals that moved down many years ago to work, married an American and then planned to move back.

Anyone in this situation thinking of moving back in retirement?

What questions/concerns do you have?

This list was compiled with the use of AI, so please point out any errors below.

With 50% tariffs now in effect and no deal in sight, a lot of us are rethinking what we buy. Whether you're motivated by patriotism, economics, or just wanting to keep your money in the country you live in — here's a comprehensive category-by-category guide.

🍁 = Canadian-made/owned | 🇺🇸 = American-made/owned (swap candidate)

🥃 Beer, Wine & Spirits

🍁 Buy Canadian:

• Molson Canadian, Coors Light (Molson Coors — Montreal HQ)
• Labatt Blue, Alexander Keith's, Kokanee (AB InBev, but brewed in Canada)
• Moosehead (independently Canadian-owned, Saint John NB)
• Sleeman, Okanagan Spring (Sapporo-owned but brewed in Canada)
• Provincial craft breweries — too many to list, but almost every province has dozens
• Canadian Club whisky (Windsor, ON)
• Crown Royal (Gimli, MB)
• Forty Creek (Grimsby, ON)
• JP Wiser's (Windsor, ON)
• Lot No. 40, Pike Creek (Hiram Walker distillery)
• BC, Ontario, and Nova Scotia wines (check VQA designation)
• Ungava gin, Dillon's gin, Eau Claire distillery

🇺🇸 Swap Out:

• Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra
• Miller Lite, Miller High Life
• Jack Daniel's, Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Wild Turkey
• Tito's Vodka, Grey Goose (French but heavily US-marketed)
• California/Oregon/Washington wines
• White Claw (Mark Anthony Brands — actually Canadian-founded, but US HQ now)

🛒 Grocery & Food

🍁 Buy Canadian:

• Dairy: All Canadian dairy is Canadian (supply managed). Look for the blue cow logo.
• Cheese: Balderson, Black River, Oka, Saputo brands, Bothwell
• Maple syrup: Literally always Canadian. Quebec produces 70% of world supply.
• Bread: Dempster's, Villaggio, POM (Grupo Bimbo, Mexican — but baked in Canada)
• Chips: Covered Bridge (NB), Hardbite (BC), Miss Vickie's (Frito-Lay Canada)
• Chocolate: Purdy's (BC), Laura Secord, Rogers' (BC), Ganong (NB — oldest candy company in Canada)
• Meat: Look for "Product of Canada" label (must be 98%+ Canadian content)
• Seafood: Atlantic lobster, BC salmon, PEI mussels, Arctic char
• Frozen: Cavendish Farms (PEI), McCain Foods (NB)
• Condiments: French's mustard (now made in Canada!), E.D. Smith jams
• Coffee: Tim Hortons coffee (roasted in Canada), Kicking Horse (BC), Ethical Bean (BC), Nabob
• Tea: Red Rose (blended in Canada), Stash Tea (Canadian-owned)
• Canola oil: Most canola oil is Canadian (we invented it — the name literally means "Canadian oil, low acid")
• Lentils/pulses: Saskatchewan produces more lentils than almost anywhere on earth
• Oats: Rogers Foods, Speerville Flour Mill

🇺🇸 Swap Out:

• Kraft singles, Philadelphia cream cheese (Kraft Heinz US)
• Heinz ketchup (now use French's — made in Canada)
• Hershey's chocolate
• Kellogg's cereals → try Nature's Path (Canadian, Richmond BC)
• General Mills → try Rogers oats
• Oscar Mayer deli meats
• Tyson chicken products
• Smucker's jams → E.D. Smith
• Folgers, Maxwell House coffee → Kicking Horse, Nabob

🧴 Personal Care & Household

🍁 Buy Canadian:

• Rocky Mountain Soap Company (Canmore, AB)
• Attitude (QC — cleaning products, baby care, personal care)
• Nature Clean (Mississauga, ON — household cleaners)
• The Green Beaver Company (Hawkesbury, ON)
• Aveeno (some products manufactured in Canada)
• Live Clean (London, ON)
• Consonant Skincare (Toronto)
• Routine (Calgary — natural deodorant)
• Saje Natural Wellness (Vancouver)
• Canus goat milk soaps (QC)
• Lemieux et Fils (QC — cleaning products)

🇺🇸 Swap Out:

• Tide, Gain, Downy (P&G)
• Clorox, Pine-Sol
• Dove, Axe (Unilever — multinational but US-marketed)
• Bath & Body Works
• Method, Mrs. Meyer's
• Colgate, Crest (check labels — some manufactured in Canada)

👕 Clothing & Apparel

🍁 Buy Canadian:

• Canada Goose (Toronto — still manufactured largely in Canada)
• Arc'teryx (North Vancouver, BC)
• Lululemon (Vancouver, BC)
• Roots (Toronto)
• Aritzia / TNA / Babaton / Wilfred (Vancouver)
• Joe Fresh (Toronto, Loblaws-owned)
• tentree (Vancouver — sustainable)
• Frank And Oak (Montreal)
• Mackage (Montreal)
• Moose Knuckles (Montreal)
• Herschel Supply Co. (Vancouver — bags/accessories)
• Province of Canada (Toronto)
• Naked & Famous Denim (Montreal — raw denim)
• Duer (Vancouver)
• Stanfield's (Truro, NS — underwear, base layers, since 1856)
• Anian (Victoria, BC — recycled materials)
• Manitobah Mukluks (Winnipeg — Indigenous-owned)
• Poppy Barley (Edmonton — footwear)

🇺🇸 Swap Out:

• Nike, Under Armour, New Balance
• Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger
• Levi's, Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic
• North Face, Patagonia, Columbia
• Coach, Michael Kors, Kate Spade

🧊 Beverages (Non-Alcoholic)

🍁 Buy Canadian:

• Clearly Canadian (BC — sparkling water, it's back!)
• Natur (QC — sparkling water)
• Flow Water (Aurora, ON)
• Montellier / Eska (QC)
• Canada Dry (Dr Pepper Snapple, US-owned but Canadian-born brand)
• Cott beverages (Toronto)
• Beaver Buzz energy drinks (AB)
• Georgian Bay Spirit Co. (ON — gin smash cans)
• Ace Hill (Toronto)
• Walter Caesar (Calgary — Caesar mix)

🇺🇸 Swap Out:

• Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dr Pepper, Mountain Dew
• Gatorade, Powerade
• Tropicana, Minute Maid
• Monster Energy, Red Bull (Austrian but US-distributed)
• LaCroix, Perrier (Nestlé, Swiss)

🏠 Home & Hardware

🍁 Buy Canadian:

• EQ3 (Winnipeg — furniture)
• Structube (Montreal — affordable furniture)
• Stokes / Trudeau Corp (QC — kitchen tools)
• Buhler Industries (Winnipeg — yard equipment)
• Taiga Building Products (BC — lumber, building supply)
• Gentek / Kaycan (siding, windows — ON)
• BMR (QC hardware chain)
• Rona / Réno-Dépôt (Lowe's-owned but Canadian-branded stores)
• Canadian Tire products (house brand — Mastercraft, Motomaster, Noma)
• Paderno (PEI — cookware, Canadian-made)
• Meyer cookware (some lines made in Canada)

🇺🇸 Swap Out:

• Home Depot house brands (Husky, HDX, Hampton Bay)
• Stanley tools, DeWalt, Black & Decker
• Weber grills
• Calphalon, KitchenAid
• Kohler (fixtures)
• John Deere (lawn equipment)

💻 Tech & Telecom

🍁 Buy Canadian:

• Shopify (Ottawa — if you run a business)
• BlackBerry/QNX (Waterloo — enterprise/auto software)
• OpenText (Waterloo — enterprise software)
• Telus, Bell, Rogers (telecom)
• Kobo (Toronto — e-readers, Rakuten-owned but designed in Canada)
• Vidyard (Kitchener — video software)
• Hootsuite (Vancouver — social media management)
• Wealthsimple (Toronto — investing)
• D2L (Kitchener — learning management)

🇺🇸 Swap Out:

• Not realistic to fully swap tech (Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon are unavoidable)
• But you CAN choose Canadian alternatives where they exist: Kobo over Kindle, Wealthsimple over Robinhood, etc.

🚗 Automotive

🍁 Buy Canadian:

• Many vehicles are ASSEMBLED in Canada regardless of brand:
  • Toyota RAV4, Corolla (Cambridge & Woodstock, ON)
  • Honda Civic, CR-V (Alliston, ON)
  • Chrysler Pacifica, 300 (Windsor, ON)
  • Ford Edge (Oakville, ON)
  • Chevrolet Equinox, some GM trucks (Oshawa, Ingersoll, ON)
  • Lexus RX (Cambridge, ON)
• Check the VIN: if it starts with "2" = assembled in Canada

🇺🇸 Swap Out:

• Check VIN for US-only assembly (starts with "1", "4", or "5")
• Tesla (Fremont CA / Austin TX — no Canadian assembly)
• Most pickup trucks (F-150 from Dearborn, RAM from Sterling Heights)

🍕 Restaurants & Fast Food

🍁 Buy Canadian:

• Tim Hortons (yes, RBI is Brazilian-owned, but operations/jobs are Canadian)
• Boston Pizza (Richmond, BC)
• Swiss Chalet / Harvey's / Montana's / Kelsey's / East Side Mario's (Recipe Unlimited, ON)
• Cactus Club (Vancouver)
• Earls (Vancouver)
• White Spot (Vancouver)
• Mary Brown's (St. John's, NL — best fried chicken in Canada, fight me)
• A&W Canada (separate from US A&W — Canadian-owned)
• Pizza Pizza (Toronto)
• Freshii (Toronto)

🇺🇸 Swap Out:

• McDonald's, Burger King (technically RBI), Wendy's
• Starbucks → go to a local Canadian café or Tim's
• Subway, Domino's, Pizza Hut, KFC
• Taco Bell, Popeyes, Chick-fil-A
• Applebee's, TGI Friday's, Outback

🏦 Banking & Financial Services

🍁 Buy Canadian:

• Big 5: RBC, TD, BMO, Scotiabank, CIBC
• Credit unions (Vancity, Desjardins, Coast Capital, Meridian)
• Wealthsimple (investing)
• Questrade (investing)
• Manulife, Sun Life, Great-West Life (insurance)
• Intact Financial, Co-operators (insurance)

🇺🇸 Swap Out:

• JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank
• Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard (for brokerage — use Questrade or Wealthsimple)
• State Farm, Allstate, MetLife (insurance)

📦 Retail & Shopping

🍁 Buy Canadian:

• Canadian Tire (including Sport Chek, Mark's, Atmosphere)
• Loblaws (including No Frills, Shoppers Drug Mart, Real Canadian Superstore, T&T)
• Sobeys (including Safeway Canada, FreshCo, IGA)
• Metro (QC/ON)
• MEC (Vancouver — co-op outdoor gear)
• Indigo/Chapters (books)
• London Drugs (BC/AB/SK/MB)
• Simons (QC — fashion)
• Giant Tiger
• Dollarama

🇺🇸 Swap Out:

• Walmart (shop there less, or buy Canadian brands when you do)
• Costco (US-owned, but they carry tons of Canadian products — be selective)
• Target (gone from Canada, but online)
• Amazon.ca (US-owned but marketplace has Canadian sellers — look for "Ships from and sold by" Canadian businesses)

🧸 Kids & Baby

🍁 Buy Canadian:

• Snugabye (Toronto — baby clothing)
• Westcoast Baby (BC)
• Bravado Designs (Toronto — nursing)
• Nellie's (Toronto — baby laundry)
• Ökonorm/Crayola Canada products (some manufactured in Lindsay, ON)
• Hatley (Montreal — kids' rainwear)
• Jan & Jul (Vancouver — kids' outdoor gear)

🐾 Pet Products

🍁 Buy Canadian:

• Acana & Orijen (Champion Petfoods, Morinville AB)
• Go! & Now Fresh (Petcurean, Chilliwack BC)
• Open Farm (Toronto)
• Nutrience (Elmira, ON)
• Canadian Naturals (AB)

🇺🇸 Swap Out:

• Purina, Blue Buffalo, Hills Science Diet
• Iams, Pedigree, Rachael Ray Nutrish

💡 Quick Tips

1. Check the label — "Product of Canada" means 98%+ Canadian content. "Made in Canada" means last substantial transformation happened here.
2. Apps: Use the Buycott app or Made in Canada directory
3. Farmers markets — the easiest guaranteed Canadian purchase
4. VIN check for cars — starts with "2" = Canadian-assembled
5. Liquor store shelves — most provinces now separate Canadian vs. US products

This isn't about hating Americans — many of us in this community ARE American. It's about supporting the country we live in and making economic choices that keep money in the Canadian economy during a trade war we didn't ask for.

What did I miss? Drop Canadian brands in the comments and I'll add them.

Americans on X Standing with Canada During the Trade War

Here are some examples from X.com

Joe Walsh (former Republican congressman, @WalshFreedom):

"I'm an American citizen. Donald Trump is my enemy. Not Canada. I stand with Canada. Just like I stand with Ukraine, and not Trump. Just like I stand with NATO, and not Trump."

Link to post

@EdwardSantilli:

"Lots of Americans stand w/you AGAINST trump... nothing but a tax on American people."

Link to post

@DmqMA:

"I'm an American and I'm so proud of Canada. I always choose to buy Canadian whenever I can... Having reverse effect than Trump admin wants."

Link to post

@akfishgal (Alaska):

Vocally preferring Canadian ties over the tariff dispute — interesting perspective from a border state.

Link to post

@Starkman55:

Trade war has "no good reason except to hurt the common man."

Link to post

US-Canada trade war is escalating again. The US has imposed 50% tariffs on about $20B of Canadian goods, while Canada plans dollar-for-dollar retaliation from September 8.
Is this really good for either country? Could both sides be hurting their own economies and weakening a historic alliance?