Islanders are pushing back in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats by shopping local and paying more attention to where their products come from.
Ghislaine O’Hanley started a social media campaign called 100 Local Dollars with her friends a decade ago, encouraging Islanders to spend $100 at local businesses and share their purchases on social media using the hashtag #100localdollars.
Now, with the tariff threats from Trump, she’s decided to revive the campaign.
“Here, we’re so lucky on Prince Edward Island that we could be connected so closely to a lot of the food and produce that we can buy locally,” O’Hanley told CBC’s Island Morning.
On Saturday, Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian and Mexican imports. To counter U.S. tariffs, Canada slapped back with a 25 per cent tariff on $30 billion in goods imported from the U.S.
But on Monday, Trump agreed to put a pause on his tariff plans for at least one month after talks with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to tighten border security.
Despite the pause, O’Hanley said she’s determined to continue supporting local products.
During the original campaign, she spent money on a range of Island-made goods, from goat milk soap and pottery to fresh flowers and concert tickets.
“I think what surprised me the most was realizing that I was already spending at least $100 a month on local goods and products and services.”
‘Made in Canada’ vs ‘Product of Canada’
O’Hanley isn’t alone in her efforts. On Island Morning Wednesday, some Islanders also called to share how they are boycotting American products and services like deleting Amazon accounts, and paying more attention to which products they buy are Canadian.
But buying Canadian isn’t always straightforward.
According to the Competition Bureau, there’s a key difference between products labelled Product of Canada and those marked Made in Canada.
