Trump says US-Canada trade deal could come ‘fairly soon’ as boycott reshapes Canadian shelves

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said Canada was keen to strike a trade deal with Washington and that an agreement could come “fairly soon”, even as the trade conflict has pushed Canadian consumers and retailers to actively reduce their dependence on American products.

“Canada wants to make a deal very badly,” Trump told reporters after a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in Dublin.

He reiterated his complaints over Canada's treatment of US farmers, saying Ottawa would have to remove tariffs. “Canada has to treat our farmers better. They can't charge our farmers tariffs,” he said, adding: “You'll probably see a deal with Canada fairly soon.”


The comments come at a particularly sensitive moment in the economic relationship between the two neighbours. A prolonged trade war has begun reshaping not just bilateral trade flows but consumer behaviour and supply chains inside Canada, where a growing “Buy Canadian” movement has prompted shoppers to boycott U.S. goods and supermarkets to make country-of-origin labels more prominent.

Trump’s suggestion of a possible breakthrough in negotiations comes after weeks of sensitive trade ties that have begun to leave a more lasting mark on Canada's consumer market. Even if a deal eases tariffs, Canadian grocers and suppliers are increasingly building alternatives to U.S. products, potentially making some of the trade shifts harder to reverse.

The consumer backlash has become increasingly visible in Canadian supermarkets.

In Ontario, Giancarlo Trimarchi, president of independent grocer Vince's Market, said his four stores in the Greater Toronto Area now source about 90% of their produce from Canada after customers expressed anger over the presence of American products.

The grocer has begun sourcing strawberries from Quebec instead of the U.S., although the shift has increased pressure on operating costs and forced cuts in its advertising budget.

“We were always put in a position where you had to balance quality versus price. Now it's quality versus price versus country of origin,” Trimarchi said.

The “Buy Canadian” movement began gaining momentum after Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods early last year. The sentiment intensified in recent weeks after trade talks broke down and Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America.

Trade negotiations between the two countries broke down on August 21, triggering another round of tariffs and counter-tariffs.

(With inputs from Reuters)