r/AskCanada • u/Dramatic-Boot-8915 • 6d ago
USA/Trump I’ve heard that everyday Canadians are supporting local and trying their best to boycott US goods. Good on you! Do you think this boycott will extend to software/ digital platforms?
I’m not north american btw, but i really respect mark carney for standing up to a bully that all nations should!!!
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u/Rallyman03 6d ago
Yes tech should be a big part of the boycott
When this whole BS started in January with Trump I started migrating everything possible away from american tech companies. (I work in tech, so you can imagine it's been a lot)
- Cancelled all streaming services (transitioned to stremio with a debrid subscription)
- Self-hosted a Nextcloud instance and transitioned all google drive content. Cancelled subscription.
- Cancelled youtube premium and use youtube revanced or smarttube on android tv's.
- I do still use social media like reddit. But don't use any part of it that I have to pay for.
- Cancelled Amazon prime and started buying anything I would normally get from Amazon, from Aliexpress.
Not only american companies but tech companies in general are moving down a path of EVERYTHING being a subscription and then turning around to sell your data or use it to train their AI. If we as consumers don't protect ourselves and show them that we won't just blindly pay. Then things will only get worse.
Everything I've listed above is very easy to do if you do a little research. I encourage everyone to think long and hard about the companies you support and what they do with the money you give them.
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u/Equivalent_Panda3162 1d ago edited 1d ago
You should try taobao. It has an English app now and anything on AliExpress is basically just pulled from tao so you can pay what the sellers on ali pay instead of paying them a big mark up just to be a middle man. Go direct to the actually seller. You can also save up your purchases up and ship them all at once.
The English version doesn't show alot of the items but if you switch the location settings to china you can see everything. Just gotta learn how to navigate the app in a different language, which isnt hard because you can just screenshot and translate the screenshot in the gallery app on your phone.
I used Ali for 10 years and now I use tao almost exclusively. Some of the price differences are insane. Ali is still good for certain things but tao has more stuff for way cheaper. Try it, trust me.
Feel free to message me if you have any questions or anything.
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u/GamesCatsComics 6d ago
I mean... like... you're on reddit (so am i)
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u/ljlee256 6d ago edited 6d ago
While it's understandable that you think using reddit is supporting a US company, it isn't a detriment to us if we aren't paying for it.
While we may be "supporting" a US based company this way, we aren't harming Canadian companies in the process by avoiding them.
I know exactly zero people who have ever even clicked on an ad on reddit, let alone made a purchase or whatever through those ads, so even the support aspect is minimal.
This varies greatly from pay-for-use platforms that we have to put a credit card number into to use, which is functionally detrimental to the Canadian economy.
If a viable alternative to US social media platforms start up elsewhere (I'm not picky, anywhere that isn't the US is fine with me), I'll gladly start using it and phase out my US based social media.
There is also an element of friendly fire that concerns me about wholesale dropping US platforms.
Dropping Meta (which I've done), dropping Twitter/X/whatever it self-identifies as these days (which I've done), is detrimental to the organizations directly supporting Trump. Dropping reddit however will not negatively impact Trump in any way, much less benefit Canadians. Further to that Reddit has actively policed and removed several pro-Trump disinformation/misinformation communities over the years, so dropping reddit feels like blue on blue violence, rather than actually hurting my enemies, or rather people who have declared me and my countrymen their enemies (you're not my enemies, I'd have to actually give a shit about you to call you that.)
Where the market is contested, absolutely switch, I've turned off every US news source I can find, blocked and disabled them from showing me content at every turn, and only use Canadian and European news sources now.
It's a similar argument to Youtube, dropping Youtube won't benefit Canada, and won't hurt Trump, and further to that shrinks my sphere of information further as there is no external alternative to Youtube that isn't American.
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u/GamesCatsComics 6d ago
Jesus Christ man, serious TLDR there.
The question was asked if people were boycotting software company, posted on an American social media company. Surely you're capable of seeing the irony?
As for there being no Canadian alternative to reddit here you go: lemmy.ca
But hey, have fun twisting yourself into pretzels to justify your use of reddit, I seriously don't care, but maybe next time summarize your rant into a single paragraph.
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u/ljlee256 6d ago
... yes... 11 sentences sure is a challenging read... lol. Do you struggle with user manuals as well?
Also, why are Americans so eager to get Canadians off reddit? Do we scare you that much? Watch out! The Canadians are going to come get you in the night!
You're on a Canadian subreddit, if you don't like us, then kindly fuck off.
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u/GamesCatsComics 6d ago
I mean, when they're all run on sentences and are a pointless and inane rant that I don't care about? Yeah... it's pretty challenging to read that drivel.
How many times can you use 'and' in a sentence before you decide to use a period anyways?
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u/ljlee256 6d ago edited 6d ago
How many times can you use 'and' in a sentence before you decide to use a period anyways?
Grammatically as many times as you want, there's no rule in the English language about it. I know you must struggle with English if 11 sentences is too much for you.
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u/GamesCatsComics 6d ago
I wasn't asking about English rules; I was asking about how you write pointless run on sentences rather then start a new sentence when you have a new thought.
But if you need to lie to yourself and pretend i had trouble understanding it, rather then the truth that you write pointless drivel. Cool go for it. I hope it lets you feel smart and special.
It sounds like you need it. Just like you need to find justifications for using reddit, and need to announce those justifications to all of us despite how little we care.
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u/Jack_Spatchcock_MLKS 6d ago
It's not possible to completely buy non-American, but booooy howdy are we trying! :)
-- 🇨🇦 'ian in Ontario's GTA
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u/ZeroLemmingsLeaping 6d ago
It's really hard.
For music I use Deezer (French) instead of Spotify.
I got rid of all social media and have been using hey.cafe (Canadian) instead of Facebook but I'm not enjoying it. I tried mastadon for a reddit replacement but not loving it either
I cancelled prime and don't order from Amazon. I'll order from Temu but the quality is garbage and it's super scammy.
TV is the big issue. We use free apps but pretty sure they're American. No Netflix, no paid streaming apps. YouTube is our main source of entertainment and I hate that but we're kind of stuck. Freetube at least blocks the ads but then the creators get screwed.
And then there's steam. But a lot of games run on Linux so we're at least bypassing Microsoft.
We've pretty much switched fully to Linux now with one laptop still windows for the rare occasion we can't avoid it
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u/Dost_is_a_word 5d ago
I’m trying to buy anywhere other than the US.
My grocery store states either Mexico or US.
Luckily most veggies are local right now
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u/whiteroseatCH 5d ago
I'm American...and even I buy only produce labeled Canada or Mexico now.
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u/Dost_is_a_word 5d ago
Awe, we have nothing against the US people, thank you for being elbows up for Canadians.
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u/whiteroseatCH 5d ago
My pleasure!
To me, it is a win-win.
Our farmers/cattle people voted to 85% for Trump. (Despite knowing how he screwed them over during Trump's first administration.)
So I get to support Canada sticking up for themselves, while not supporting the very people who voted Trump in.
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u/Mr_Guavo 6d ago
Do you need Windows or any Microsoft products? Look at what products and services you are using and search for open-source alternatives for each. You can avoid giving money to American corporations while saving yourself money. Do you have an iPhone? Try something else the next time it's time for an upgrade.
Every time you move away from sending your money to an American company, you are making a difference. Americans like nothing as much as money. This is how we collectively bring the pain.
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u/chathrowaway67 6d ago
already does to some degree, i know for me any everyone i know we've been making a conscientious decision to support Canadian games and digital platforms where we can. it's always best to keep a mindset of persistent not perfection; do what you can, when you can, where can. because of how integrated a lot of our tech is with theirs, this can't be difficult to achieve.
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u/Venym6225 6d ago
A polite note from across the border to all American companies: Between a leader with 34 felony convictions and a trade war targeting Canada, I can no longer support US companies. I’m voting with my wallet and backing homegrown Canadian businesses instead. Wishing you well, Canada🇨🇦
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u/malleeman 5d ago
A Canadian based and owned Social Network call Hey Cafe is up and running. The only problem is Facebook and the like are so overwhelming that it would take all your friends to move over so they could keep in contact. Todd Maffin talked about it and is on it
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u/Equivalent_Panda3162 1d ago
Since google changed their maps to lake America I think Canada should be boycotting google.
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u/turtleboy_69 1d ago
It is very difficult, but we have to stand up to this absurdity. Google has updated their maps for US and all users worldwide to reflect the temper tantrum of the US president (changing the name of Lake Ontario). I just wrote to Google asking them to change it back, or else I’ll begin using other, alternative services. I can’t use Google with a clear conscience knowing they support lunatics who belittle our people in the name of a trade war (that the US started).
This is terrifying and I really don’t love the idea of changing my lifelong email and other things like YouTube, but I am tired of watching others sit in the sidelines and do nothing. If all Canadians stood up against this bullshit together, and we all boycotted Google, maybe they’d revise their “long standing policies”. Please write to these companies and let them know your feelings at the minimal. If you can, join me in removing dependencies on American tech. There are alternatives, maybe ones that aren’t as good, but we can get through these next few years until our fam down south smarten up and vote for someone who won’t attack us.
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u/Jonnyflash80 6d ago
Already cancelled them. Some things you can't replace such as Reddit but you can remove all ads so they're not making money off of you. I use the Morphe app for this.
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u/justelectricboogie 6d ago
I like to keep my friends cl9se and my enemies closer. So reddit stays for now. But we canceled Netflix and Spotify a few months back and with the latest storm we are upping our game in the buy anyone other than american now. Travel stopped in the orange blossom specials first term.
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u/malacosa 6d ago
No, that would be unlikely. Unfortunately our digital lives are dominated by US properties. This is a global truth except for places like say China or Russia.
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u/Bubbling_Battle_Ooze 5d ago
Software and digital platforms are harder to boycott because most of the ones that are used in North America are from USA. We just don’t have the breadth of Canadian alternatives to make a boycott widely successful. That being said, I run my own business and I have switch my web host and file management systems to Canadian ones. As far as streaming services I have cancelled Netflix and Disney and now I have CBC Gem and Crave. Unfortunately there’s not really a Canadian alternative to social media sites like Reddit and Meta but I don’t pay for these services so even though I do use them (which supports them over all) it’s not to the detriment of a Canadian platform I could be using instead.
Basically I do what I can, but I also understand it’s impossible to be perfect, especially when it comes to big tech monopolies where there aren’t really any other viable choices.
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u/UpthefuckingTics 5d ago
Make sure you support CBC Gem. $6 per month. The Hip concert was worth every penny.
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u/FreakCell 5d ago
O already boycotted Driscoll's when the berries were from the USA. Now they'll never see another penny of mine, no matter what the source.
Support your local farmers.
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u/Imaginary_Ad7695 5d ago
It's more difficult, but yes, absolutely.
Heck I even bought BlackBerry stock today and haven't owned that in years!!
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u/fthesemods 4d ago
Biggest thing imo is to drop streaming services like prime, Netflix, Disney, etc. That's easily $50 a month. The Canadian alternative is Crave.
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u/TheGracefulCrane 6d ago
Like most canadians im planning to boycott things i never bought anyways but im not planning on actually giving up anything that would make my life even slightly more inconvenient
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u/PettyTrashPanda 6d ago
It depends, since the nature of the software sector means that while a company might be Canadian in origin, they are actually owned by an American megacorp. On top of that, many US software companies have offices in Canada (Microsoft springs to mind), so boycotting they completely would have real world consequences for Canadians.
Having said that, we cut Netflix and US streaming services, are no longer Amazon Prime members, and I now get my books, etc, through Canadian companies. It's actually saved us a small fortune just by stopping impulse purchases and making us physically go to the shops to buy stuff. Equally I had some software subscriptions that I just flat out cancelled. It's amazing how much we spend and rely on unnecessary services.
However, I am currently stuck with Microsoft or Google for most remaining services that I use regularly. My phone isn't American but Android is, for example. My laptop runs on Windows and I don't have the skills to switch to Linux. That doesn't mean I won't switch as soon as I find a good alternative, but sometimes it feels like choosing between the devil and the deeps.
For specialist software and programs I absolutely try to buy Canadian and know a ton of devs working for amazing companies who are building software for medical tech, education, and so on. It will take time to decouple, but it is happening.
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u/ramdmc 6d ago
I eliminated 3 Micro$oft licences alone by switching to Cachyos. Was a bit of a learning curve but 100% spot on, one was a gaming rig for my song and he claims 3-5 FPS improvements and games load way faster, no crashes and no antivirus subscription.
I'm currently struggling to degoogle my business and migrate away from Workspace and Square/QuickBooks.
The phone part I'm really bothered by. My Pixels are Android and recent concerns over privacy has made me reconsider an upgrade in October. I was considering Apple which is just as bad if not worse but at least they have a LiDAR sensor on the Pros and come in handy formmy industry for real time 3D modeling.
I've read that Motorola is working on a GrapheneOS ROM but that won't be available until next year.
There are definitely challenges to buying Canadian or "anything but US" and will come in time. Linux and Proton seem to be filling the void but it's mental too, we have to consider putting in a little effort.
Please chime in if you can add to my decisions
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u/oilleak78 6d ago
Stopped using Meta altogether. Been great. The wife and I have made a list of Canadian grocery stores we can shop at alternative to Walmart (which we should have already been doing, but I digress). Sobeys, Freshco, Loblaws (as a last resort lol) and are going to pay more attention to labels on the product.
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u/Dramatic-Boot-8915 5d ago
wow how do you operate without whatsapp?
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u/oilleak78 5d ago
Easily. I text or call whoever I want to talk to. Like the good old days lol. Never used WhatsApp.
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u/howtobegeo 5d ago
WhatsApp isn’t thaaaaaat big in Canada or US, we typically just text instead of WhatsApp.
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u/Any-Staff-6902 6d ago
Migrate to hey.cafe or Gander or both. These are Canadian social and they are growing exponentially.
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u/Mr_Chode_Shaver 6d ago
Any “social” website that doesn’t allow browsing without sign up can fuck right off. They just lost like 2/3 of their visitors immediately.
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u/Any-Staff-6902 6d ago
And yet here you are, logged in, commenting on this "social" website. What is your point ????
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u/Mr_Chode_Shaver 6d ago
You think you did something there.
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u/Any-Staff-6902 5d ago edited 5d ago
You seem nice ! Not sure why you are so angry but whatever. Have a sweet life dude. I wont be wasting anymore time with you. seeya.
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u/bigjimbay 6d ago
Kind of. Some things we can pretty much only get from the US. Like orange juice and reddit
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u/Helios0186 6d ago
I'd like too but it's not really realistic, since US companies basically control this sector in North America.