The trend of renaming the popular drink has taken hold across the country. Several coffee shops in Canada have renamed their Americanos in protest at Donald Trump’s tariffs on the U.S.’s neighbor to the North. Despite most coffee shop owners wanting to remain apolitical, the trend of renaming the popular drink – made up of an espresso shot and water – to the more appropriate “Canadiano” has taken hold across the country.
Shortly after returning to office, Trump threatened to hit Canada and Mexico – two of America’s biggest trading partners – with exorbitant 25 percent import tariffs, later imposing a one month delay. On Monday the president reaffirmed that the tariffs would start next month as planned, despite multiple warnings that they could potentially hurt economic growth and worsen inflation.
The “Canadiano” revolution began with a since-deleted Instagram post from British Columbia-based coffee company Kicking Horse Coffee, which urged shops to change the names of their drinks to something more patriotic. However, the social media post prompted some backlash, with X users calling for a boycott of Kicking Horse – though not before other coffee shops caught wind.
Cafe Belém, in Toronto, Ontario, has now taken up selling newly rebranded “Canadianos.” The shop’s owner, William Oliveira, told the Post he does not want his shop to be a “political place” but that showing support for Canada is important currently, even in small ways.
“It’s good for us to just, you know, stand up for being ourselves and reminding other people … that we’re not to be pushed around and bullied by others,” he told the outlet. Elizabeth Watson, owner of Palisades Cafe in British Columbia, said she had made the change in her own cafe after a customer sent the shop the Kicking Horse social media post, which she thought was “bold and brave.”.
“We aren’t necessarily aiming to be political,” Watson told The Post. “But we love the idea of really just supporting Canadian pride.”. She added that, while the signage for “Canadianos” is currently a temporary fix (a piece of paper), she would not be opposed to making it a permanent thing.
Oliveira agrees. “It’s definitely me saying, ‘Hey, just in case anybody was wondering, this is where we stand on that subject: We are pro-Canadian,’” he said. The caffeine-based protests are not the only ones being carried out in Canada. Hockey fans recently booed the American national anthem at games, and entrepreneurs have developed apps that identify products made in Canada.
