It’s time for Canadian businesses, and people, to make a choice.
Someone sent me a photo the other day that really got under my skin. It was that of a local Canadian real estate development and investment company flying an American flag in front of one of their locations. Incredulous, I drove to the spot myself. I was happy to see that the entrance’s flags, pointed out by my friend, had been removed and replaced by Canadian and Ontario flags. But I noticed that on the street, proudly waving in the wind, was another American flag. I sat there, in my car, and looked at it for a long time, trying to figure out what bothered me so much about it. It wasn’t anger, or at least, not just anger. It was more like deep disappointment mixed with genuine confusion.
Here we are, watching the American president threaten to annex our country. Not as a joke anymore. In 2025, Trudeau got caught on a hot mic calling it “a real thing.” And Mark Carney, in his first speech as PM-designate, talked about “dark days brought on by a country we can no longer trust.” Millions of Canadians are boycotting American products, canceling trips south, downloading apps to avoid buying anything made in the States. Heck, Vegas is practically begging us to visit, having seen a decline of roughly 23 per cent of Canadian adults overall, according to Abacus.
And yet, there are businesses that are still proudly flying the Stars and Stripes like nothing’s changed.
That’s the thing, though. Everything’s changed. When the leader of another country repeatedly talks about turning your country into a U.S. state, and backs it up with punishing tariffs designed to force you into submission, the symbols you choose to display stop being neutral. They become statements about where you stand.
So let me be clear about where I stand: it’s time to take down that flag.
This Isn’t a Drill
Look, I get it. For years, Trump’s comments seemed like typical bluster. The guy says a lot of things. But we’re past that now.
In February 2025, Trudeau got caught on that hot mic telling business leaders that Trump’s annexation talk “is a real thing.” These weren’t comments meant for public consumption, he said it when he thought the cameras were off. That’s when you know someone’s being honest. Canadian government officials stopped treating this as satire and started treating it as what it is: a legitimate threat to our existence as a country.
Trump’s not being subtle about it either. In his inaugural address in January 2025, he said his second presidency would expand American territory. He’s ruled out using the military against Canada—how gracious of him—but said he’d use “economic force” instead. And he’s following through. The tariffs aren’t just trade policy. They’re a weapon designed to cripple our economy until we have no choice but to capitulate.
Think about that for a second. The American president has openly stated he wants to use economic warfare to force Canada to give up its sovereignty. And some Canadian businesses are still flying his flag?
What That Flag Means Now
Symbols change meaning depending on context. That’s just how it works. The American flag used to mean something different when it flew on Canadian soil. It represented friendship, shared values, the longest undefended border in the world. That was then.
Now? Now it’s the flag of a government that:
- Has repeatedly and explicitly floated making Canada a U.S. state.
- Has slapped us with tariffs specifically designed to destroy Canadian jobs and businesses
- Is using economic coercion as a tool to force us into political submission
- Has bullied us out of trade agreements with other countries
- Has shown nothing but contempt for our democracy and our right to exist
- Has even met with Alberta separatists (in what critics see as a divide‑and‑conquer move)
When you fly that flag today, you’re not celebrating American culture or the American people. Most Americans are decent folks, and many are horrified by what their president is doing. This isn’t about them.
This is about what that flag represents right now, in this moment: American government power being used against Canadian, and other nations’ independence. It’s the symbol of a country whose leader appears determined to end our independence.
Ordinary Canadians Get It
While some businesses are still figuring this out, regular Canadians already made their choice. The response has been massive.
Over 1.4 million Canadians joined Facebook groups dedicated to boycotting American products. People created apps—Maple Scan, Buy Canadian, Is This Canadian?, O SCANada—just to help shoppers avoid anything made in the States. In February, provincial liquor stores pulled American wine and spirits off the shelves. Ontario still hasn’t put them back.
Go to any grocery store and you’ll see it. Canadian apples fly off the shelves while American ones sit there rotting. Store owners report customers getting genuinely upset when they spot U.S. products. One professor at Queen’s noticed that domestic apples at his local store were completely sold out while the bin of American apples next to them sat untouched.
The tourism numbers tell an even bigger story. Canadians spent over $20 billion in the U.S. in 2024, with more than 20 million of us heading south. That’s collapsing. Air travel to the States dropped 19% in November compared to last year. Land travel is down 31%. These aren’t small dips. This is a fundamental shift in how Canadians feel about the United States. I used to shop in Massena every week, yet, I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve been since Trump took office. And even one hand has too many fingers.
Cities are taking action too. Mississauga removed American flags from locations along Lake Ontario and from arenas “at the request of many,” according to the mayor. It’s the third Ontario city to do it, and more will follow.
This is a grassroots movement. Nobody’s forcing anyone to boycott American products or cancel their Florida vacation. Canadians are choosing to do it because they’re angry, they’re worried about their country, and this is the one concrete thing they can do to push back.
The Business Argument
I can already hear the pushback: “But what about our American customers? Our American partners? We don’t want to seem hostile.”
Here’s the thing. While you’re worried about optics, your fellow Canadians are putting their money where their mouth is. They’re boycotting American products even when it costs them more. They’re canceling vacations they’d been looking forward to. Small business owners are taking financial hits to stand with their country.
And your business is flying the flag of the country threatening to absorb us?
That’s not just tone-deaf. It looks like you’ve chosen a side. And it’s not Canada’s side.
Meanwhile, Canadian businesses that have leaned into the “buy Canadian” movement are doing great. Maker House, a gift shop in Ottawa that sells only Canadian-made stuff, is having a record year. T-shirts with “elbows up”, the rallying cry from Mike Myers’s SNL bit defending Canada, are still flying off the shelves.
Your customers are paying attention. They’re downloading apps to check where products come from. They’re reading labels carefully. They’re actively trying to support businesses that support Canada. So where do you want to be when they look at your business?
We’ve Seen This Before
Quick history lesson: In the 1890s, the U.S. imposed the McKinley Tariff on Canada. It was economically devastating, and that was exactly the point. The American Secretary of State at the time openly hoped the tariff would force Canada to join the United States.
Sound familiar?
The playbook hasn’t changed. Use economic pressure to break our will, make staying independent so painful that giving up seems easier. Canada survived that attempt by refusing to bend. We need to do it again.
It’s About Self-Respect
Strip away all the economics and politics, and what you’re left with is pretty simple: self-respect.
When someone threatens to take your country away from you, you don’t honor them by flying their flag. You don’t signal that commercial relationships matter more than your nation’s survival. You don’t try to play both sides.
This isn’t the jingoistic nationalism that makes Canadians uncomfortable. Former Michigan Governor Jim Blanchard—an American, by the way—pointed out that Trump “has managed to unite all the political parties in Canada like no other issue or person.” And it’s true, except for Alberta maybe. We are all on the same side of this issue. It’s kind of nice to all agree on something for a change.
This unity isn’t about hating Americans. It’s a healthy response to an actual threat. It’s Canadians across every province, every political stripe, every background saying: we’re not okay with this.
What To Do
Here’s what needs to happen: Take down the American flag. Put up a Canadian flag if you want, or don’t fly any flag at all. Just make it clear where you stand.
To every Canadian business still flying the Stars and Stripes: I get that the flag used to mean something different. It represented partnership, friendship, all of that. But that era’s over. Not because we ended it, because an American administration decided our sovereignty was up for negotiation. The context changed. The meaning changed with it. Time to recognize that.
If you’ve got American business partners or customers you value, talk to them directly. Explain this isn’t about them personally, it’s about responding to their government’s threats against our country. The Americans who truly understand what their president is doing to Canada will get it. The ones who don’t? They weren’t really friends anyway.
The Bottom Line
We’re at a turning point. Some basic assumptions about the world, that NATO members don’t threaten each other, that the U.S. wouldn’t try to forcibly expand its borders, have suddenly become uncertain. The post-war order that protected countries like Canada is cracking, and we’re caught in the middle.
In moments like these, there’s no such thing as staying neutral. Symbols matter. They show what you value and where you stand. And the American flag flying on Canadian soil right now sends the wrong message. It says commercial relationships matter more than sovereignty. It says we’re willing to accommodate threats to our existence. It says Canadian independence is negotiable.
It’s not.
Take down the flag. Stand with Canada. The time for ambiguity ended when an American president declared he wanted to erase our country from the map. Every business that keeps flying the Stars and Stripes after that is telling Canadians that their convenience matters more than our nation.
People will remember this moment and who stood where. Make sure you’re on the right side.
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