When President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods in early 2025, he likely did not anticipate that the response would be a sweeping consumer movement that would cost American businesses billions of dollars. Yet nearly a year later, the economic damage from Canada’s boycott of American products and travel has become impossible to ignore, with Goldman Sachs estimating that the United States economy could lose up to ninety billion dollars in revenue during 2025 alone, representing approximately three-tenths of one percent of the nation’s GDP.
The boycott began as a grassroots reaction to Trump’s tariff policies and his controversial suggestion that Canada should become the fifty-first American state. What started as scattered consumer frustration quickly evolved into a coordinated national movement, with provincial governments removing American alcohol from store shelves and major grocery chains prominently labeling Canadian products with red maple leaf stickers to help shoppers identify domestic alternatives. According to retail data consulting firm dunnhumby, seventy-one percent of Canadian consumers now plan to buy fewer American goods this year, a sentiment that has translated into concrete financial losses across multiple sectors of the American economy.
The spirits industry has suffered perhaps the most visible blow. When Canadian provinces pulled American wine and liquor from their government-controlled stores, they eliminated a market that previously generated over seven hundred million dollars annually in Ontario alone. Exports of American spirits to Canada plummeted by eighty-five percent in the second quarter of 2025, dropping below ten million dollars, while wine exports fell by approximately sixty-seven percent. California wineries, which counted Canada as their most important foreign market representing thirty-five percent of total American wine exports, have lost over one hundred seventy-three million dollars in export revenue during just the first six months of the year. Brown-Forman, the parent company of Jack Daniel’s, reported that its sales in Canada declined by sixty-two percent in the second quarter, with Chief Financial Officer Leanne Cunningham describing the continued unavailability of American spirits products in Canada as having a significant impact on the company’s top line performance. The CEO of the company had previously characterized the removal of American products from Canadian shelves as worse than a tariff and a disproportionate response to the president’s trade policies.
The damage extends far beyond the alcohol industry. American food exporters, who sold twenty-eight billion dollars worth of products to Canada in 2024, have watched their second-largest export market shrink dramatically. Trade data from April 2025 reveals that Canadian imports of American goods targeted by retaliatory tariffs were nearly forty-three percent lower than the same period in 2024, representing approximately three point eight billion dollars in missed purchases from American firms in that single month. While some economists note that this amount represents only a fraction of the nearly thirty trillion dollar American economy, the concentrated impact on specific industries and border communities has been severe.
Tourism has experienced an equally dramatic decline. Canadian visitors by land to the United States have plunged thirty-one percent through the end of September, while air travel by Canadians has dropped thirteen percent. This exodus of Canadian tourists, who historically contributed significantly to the American travel economy, has hit northern border states particularly hard. In the Pacific Northwest, Seattle has seen a twenty-seven percent decline in Canadian visitors while Portland experienced an eighteen percent drop. Great Lakes cities including Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo have all suffered double-digit decreases in Canadian tourism. The ferry service between Vancouver and Seattle has seen ridership plunge thirty percent, forcing the company to lay off a quarter of its workforce. Golf resorts in upstate New York that typically relied on Canadians for seventy percent of their daily players now report that it is rare to see any Canadian visitors at all.
The financial implications of this tourism boycott are staggering. According to the U.S. Travel Association, every one percent drop in international visitor spending costs the American economy one point eight billion dollars in export revenue. If the current trajectory continues through the end of the year, the country stands to lose at least twenty-one billion dollars in travel-related exports alone. The World Travel and Tourism Council has estimated that the loss in revenue from international travelers could cost the American economy twelve and a half billion dollars this year, contributing to the broader ninety billion dollar economic impact projected by Goldman Sachs.
Individual American businesses have shared stories of devastating losses. A small craft distillery in Baltimore that previously sent ten percent of its exports to Canada now projects losing approximately two million dollars in revenue this year after sales dropped to zero. A California diaper company had its distribution deal pulled in March due to what its chief executive described as growing anti-American sentiment. A Virginia distillery that had planned to triple its business in Canada instead watched it collapse to zero, with the chief executive noting that it was almost as if suddenly the whisky did not taste good because of where it is from. An Iowa distillery that had spent three years navigating Canadian regulatory approval and built a successful export business found itself forced to abandon the market entirely.
The boycott has also affected the automotive sector, where Canadian retaliatory tariffs on vehicles and components have contributed to price increases of four thousand to ten thousand dollars for some North American-assembled models. General Motors has projected three to four billion dollars in expected tariff costs for 2026, citing the trade tensions as a key risk factor in their financial guidance. The interconnected nature of the North American auto supply chain means that parts cross the border multiple times during production, amplifying the cost impact of the trade dispute.
While some provinces have begun to soften their stance, with Alberta and Saskatchewan resuming sales of American alcohol in mid-2025, the economic damage has already been done. Many American businesses report that even if Canadian retailers restock their products, it will take several quarters to rebuild market share and consumer trust. The anti-American sentiment that fueled the boycott has proven remarkably durable, with polling indicating that ninety-one percent of Canadians want their country to rely less on the United States, preferring this option over repairing the bilateral relationship.
The ninety billion dollar price tag represents more than just lost sales and empty hotel rooms. It reflects a fundamental shift in one of America’s most important trading relationships. Canada imported three hundred fifty billion dollars worth of American-made goods in 2024, making it the United States’ largest trading partner. The boycott has demonstrated that American businesses cannot take this market for granted, and that political rhetoric can have immediate and lasting economic consequences. As one American distillery executive put it, these tariffs create a level of uncertainty that is paralyzing, and businesses just want to know what the rules are. For now, the rules remain unclear, and the costs continue to mount.