Buy Canadian: Canada's Identity and the Resurgence of National Pride

If, in 2024, you had asked Canadians to define what it means to be Canadian, you might have received generic answers – Hockey and Tim Hortons and little besides. Or you might have elicited anger – anger at Canada’s mistreatment of Indigenous people, or anger at the housing crisis, or anger at everything in the country that leaders have told us is “broken”. Ask today, and you might instead hear about strangers scrutinizing labels at the grocery store together, flags taped up to windows, cancelled trips across the borders, and our new national rallying cry, “Elbows Up”.

From the high cost of living to the residential school scandal(s), Canadians have had plenty of reason to feel unpatriotic as of late. 70% of young Canadians polled last year agreed that “Canada is broken”, and in 2024, just 34% agreed they were “very proud to be Canadian”. Military recruitment, which hinges on a sense of civic duty, also lagged. Our unity had cratered. Luckily for us, there is no rallying force like a common enemy. In China they call Trump the Nation Builder because his blunders are seen as strengthening their own interests. We may owe him the same ironic debt.

It has always been hard to explain what it means to be Canadian. We do not, and have never shared a single language, religion, race, or culture. But there is one thing we have been certain of since before Confederation: we are not American. Our country exists to stop Manifest Destiny – the belief that it is divine will for the USA to conquer all of North America – at the 49th parallel.

The response to Trump’s “51st state” comments has therefore been swift and strong. Government actions meant to reduce harm and show strength get a lot of attention, but it is the grassroots resistance that has come to symbolize our national disgust. Four in five Canadians have vowed to buy Canadian where they can, and two-thirds are avoiding American products to boot. Subscriptions to CBC’s streaming service are up 40%, border crossings have plummeted to pandemic levels, and sales of the Maple Leaf have doubled whilst discounted Florida oranges rot on the shelves.

These highly visible, collective displays of anger show us that we are more united than we perhaps thought, willing and proud to cooperate and to look out for one another against the neighbourhood bully. In such a divisive era, this may be more important than we have yet reckoned with. Our common actions likely nurture social trust where the ballot box has weakened it. Social trust – the belief that we share common values with our fellow Canadians – drives economic growth as powerfully as financial and physical capital, and more than the skill level of the populace. It also increases life satisfaction and makes political cooperation easier.

Perhaps we are already seeing signs that this is happening. Just five months into 2025, over 75% of young Canadians now say that they feel proud to be Canadian; in fact, national pride has grown in all demographic groups, with Quebecers leading the charge at 86%. Military recruitment is now on track to reach 2025 targets. And many local businesses – including distilleries, hotels, RV rentals, and restaurants – are profiting off of our renewed love for staycations.

Of course, we should not kid ourselves that just because we’ve switched from Jack Daniels to Crown Royal everything is solved. The rent is still too high, the political scene divisive, and the nation’s legacy complicated and hard to face. Even if we can rally together to mitigate the worst harms, economic hard times still loom on the southern horizon. But to be patriotic is not to be uncritical of your country, but simply to love it, and to want to build a better future with your neighbours – and this year, we have shown each other that we are ready to travel the tough road ahead together.

Written By:

Carolyn Dallimore, Policy Strategist - Engage

Joshua Skeen, Policy Strategist - Engage