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Business Insider
27-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
I felt attacked by Trump's tariffs so I made an AI-powered app to help Canadians fight back
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sasha Ivanov, founder of Maple Scan. Ivanov, based in Alberta, Canada, has a master's degree in computer science and is an app developer who studies human-technology interactions. It all came from a really personal moment. Back in February, I was at home watching the news when I saw Trump's announcement about tariffs being imposed on Canadian goods — and I felt attacked. I remember thinking, "I'm going to try to start buying Canadian, to support the economy here and the country," but I quickly realized how hard it is to really know what you're buying. I was going through my pantry, grabbing my ketchup, and trying to look up if it was Canadian or not. I had to look through all its ingredients, then I had to search online for a substitute. It was slow, annoying, and just not scalable. With my background in app development and human-computer interaction research, I quickly decided to build an app that could help solve this conundrum. That weekend, I spent a few days building the first prototype. And a week later, I launched Maple Scan. Maple Scan focuses on informed decisions When people first hear about the app, they think it will just tell them whether something is Canadian or not and recommend an alternative. But our approach is different because that question is nuanced. Please help BI improve our Business, Tech, and Innovation coverage by sharing a bit about your role — it will help us tailor content that matters most to people like you. Continue By providing this information, you agree that Business Insider may use this data to improve your site experience and for targeted advertising. By continuing you agree that you accept the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Once you download the free app, you can take a photo of any product with the in-app camera. The AI-powered image recognition in the app will then read the label and search for information online and in our database, but it won't make a final judgment on whether a product is Canadian. Instead, it will tell you about the ingredients, ownership, where it's manufactured, and how many people are employed there. The app surfaces all those different pieces of information so you can make a decision on your own. We don't want to make that judgment for you — we just want people to be informed. For example, the app can distinguish between " Made in Canada" and "Product of Canada," which are two different things based on how many of the ingredients come from here. It also includes ownership information, like whether it's a Canadian-owned brand or a subsidiary of a foreign company. It's about giving context, not just a label. Honestly, one of my favorite parts of this whole journey has been the community that's grown around it. Maple Scan started as a solo project, but the support that came in almost immediately was beautiful. University colleagues, people across Canada, and even total strangers reached out and said they wanted to help with this project. Now, we have a group of volunteers with expertise in everything from social media marketing to food industry regulations, as well as mentorship, engineering support, and networking help. All the support has been absolutely crucial to the app's growth. For example, people in the food industry have helped explain how long it takes for packaging to reflect a product's sourcing, sometimes months. So, when a company might not have a "Made in Canada" label yet but actually does source from Canada, Maple Scan can help bridge that gap and surface that information sooner. We've had over 110,000 downloads in just a few months, and there've been over 550,000 individual scans to date. When it first launched, it made it to number 6 on the Canadian App Store. And with the recent announcements of more tariffs potentially coming, it's trending again. Maple Scan is constantly adding new features When we launched, we also saw Maple Scan downloads in Mexico in parts of Europe. It turns out that people around the world want to understand who owns the products they buy and where they're made. Though our focus remains on Canada for now, we're working on new features. One of our goals is to help people buy things in line with their values and save money while doing it. We know it's a privilege to shop based on principle, and local products can cost more. So we want to help people make those choices without it costing them extra. We are constantly evolving. One of the coolest things we added later on was hyper-local recommendations. So if there's a soda company in your own city, it might say, "Hey, look, there's this soda company here. Just get that." Another feature we added is fun messages that pop up while the app scans products, like "Checking if it can survive a Canadian winter" or "Scanning for hidden maple syrup." Many people have told me that's their favorite part of the app. The tariffs are definitely a wake-up call for Canada that we can't be overly dependent on one trading partner. But it sends a powerful message when we see people try new products and form new economic relationships. People tell me they have found such great Canadian alternatives that they're happy to stick with them. Once those habits shift, they can be hard to undo even if tariffs go away.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Canadians and Danes boycotting American products
Todd Brayman is no longer buying his favourite red wine, which is from California. A veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, he is one of a growing number of people in Canada, Europe, and other parts of the world, who are avoiding buying US products due to President Trump's tariffs and treatment of US allies. "I have in my life served alongside American forces. It is just profoundly upsetting and disappointing to see where we are given the historical ties that our two countries have," says Mr Brayman, who lives in Nova Scotia. "But I think right now it's time to stand up and be counted, and in my mind, that means buying local and supporting Canadian business." Together with his wife, Mr Brayman has replaced all the American products he used to buy, including his previous wine of choice, with Canadian alternatives. "Luckett Phone Box Red wine, which is from right here in Nova Scotia, is great," he says. Wild market swings as tariffs rattle US economy Trump's tariffs on China, EU and more, at a glance Defiance or diplomacy - how Canadians want to deal with Trump Canada PM Mark Carney says old relationship with US 'is over' The US firms backing Trump's fight over trade Determining which products are Canadian isn't always easy however. "Sometimes labelling can be misleading," adds Mr Brayman. To help, he now uses an app on his phone that can scan a product's barcode and identify where it's from. If the product is identified as American, the app suggests Canadian alternatives. The app, called Maple Scan, is one of numerous emerging in Canada to help people shop local. Others include Buy Canadian, Is This Canadian? and Shop Canadian. Maple Scan's founder, Sasha Ivanov, says his app has had 100,000 downloads since it launched last month. He believes the momentum around buying Canadian is here to stay. "Lots of Canadians have told me, 'I'm not going back'. It's important that we support local regardless," he says. Canadians like Mr Brayman are boycotting American products in response to a raft of import tariffs introduced by Trump. These included tariffs of 25% on all foreign cars, steel and aluminium, and 25% tariffs on other Canadian and Mexican goods. Meanwhile, other European Union exports will get tariffs of 20%, while the UK is facing 10%. Trump says the tariffs will boost US manufacturing, raise tax revenue and reduce the US trade deficit. However, they have spooked global markets, which have fallen sharply over the past month. Trump has even expressed a desire for Canada to join the US as its 51st state, something the Canadian government was quick to strongly reject. Ottawa has also responded with C$60bn ($42bn; £32bn) in counter tariffs, as well as additional tariffs on the US auto sector. And there has been a substantial drop in the number of Canadians travelling to the US. Groups dedicated to boycotting US goods have also emerged in European countries. Momentum behind the boycott is particularly strong in Denmark, whose territory of Greenland Trump has said he wants to acquire. Denmark's largest grocery store operator, Salling Group, recently introduced a symbol, a black star, on pricing labels to denote European brands. Bo Albertus, a school principal who lives in Skovlunde, a suburb of Copenhagen, says joining the boycott was his way of taking action. "Statements that Trump made about wanting to buy Greenland, that was just too much for me," he says. "I can't do anything about the American political system, but I can vote with my credit card." One of Mr Albertus's first moves was to cancel his subscriptions to US streaming services, including Netflix, Disney Plus and Apple TV. "My 11-year-old daughter is a bit annoyed about it, but that's the way it is. She understands why I do it," he says. Mr Albertus is the administrator for a Danish Facebook group dedicated to helping people boycott US goods. In the group, which has 90,000 members, people share recommendations for local alternatives to US goods, from shoes to lawnmowers. Mr Albertus says: "It's a movement that is quite a lot bigger than just our little country, so it all that adds up." Mette Heerulff Christiansen, the owner of a grocery shop in Copenhagen called Broders has stopped stocking American products, such as Cheetos crisps and Hershey's chocolate, in her store. She is substituting them with Danish or European products where possible. Ms Christiansen is also swapping out products she uses at home. She's finding some easier to replace than others. "Coca-Cola is easy to substitute with Jolly Cola, a Danish brand," she says. "But technology, like Facebook, that's totally difficult to avoid." She believes the boycott movement in Denmark is helping people to channel their anger at Trump's policies and rhetoric. "I think it's more for the Danish people to feel good that they are doing something," she says. Douglas Irwin, a professor of economics at Dartmouth College in the US, who specializes in the history of US trade policy, believes the economic impact of the boycott may be limited. "It is hard to judge how economically significant the consumer boycotts will be in terms of reducing trade with the United States," he says. "In the past, boycotts have not lasted long and have not achieved much. It starts as a hostile reaction to some US action but tends to fade with time," he says. For now though, the rising Buy Canadian sentiment in Canada is boosting sales for many local brands. The CEO of Canadian grocer Loblaw posted on LinkedIn that weekly sales of Canadian products were up by double digits. Bianca Parsons, from Alberta in Canada, is behind an initiative to promote locally-made goods, called Made In Alberta, which she says has had a surge in interest since the tariffs were introduced. "We're now getting over 20,000 hits [to the site] every two weeks." Ms Parsons, who is the executive director of the Alberta Food Processors Association, adds: "I've had producers reach out to us and say: 'I'm selling out at stores that I would never sell out before, thank you so much'." Several Canadian provinces, including Ontario and Nova Scotia, have removed US-made alcoholic beverages from their liquor store shelves in response to tariffs, a move the boss of Jack Daniel's maker Brown-Forman has said is "worse than tariffs". Among the American businesses feeling the impact is Caledonia Spirits, a distiller based in Vermont, near the Canadian border. Ryan Christiansen, Caledonia's president and head distiller, says his business had an order on track for shipment to Quebec cancelled directly after tariffs were announced. "My sense is that everyone's just being a little too aggressive and, unfortunately, I think America started that," says Mr Christiansen. "I do understand that the action America took needed a counter reaction. "If it were up to me, I'd be at the table trying to resolve this in a friendly way, and I'm hopeful that the leaders in America take that approach." Ethan Frisch, the co-founder of Burlap & Barrel, an American spice company based in New York, which also exports to Canada, says he's more concerned with the impact of the tariffs on his company's imports and rising inflation in the US than the consumer boycott. He says: "I think there's this assumption that, if you boycott an American company, it's going to have an impact on the economy and maybe change the situation. I think that assumption, unfortunately, is not accurate. "The [US] economy is crashing all up by itself. Businesses like ours are struggling without boycotts." The Swedish city fined for missing an environmental target Why are tech stocks so volatile? What makes a rum Jamaican? 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Euronews
24-02-2025
- Business
- Euronews
New 'Buy Canadian' apps released as boycott of US goods in response to proposed tariffs grows
Some consumers in Canada are looking to buy locally-made products as a way to boycott items coming from the United States. Well, now there are half a dozen apps, all developed within the last few weeks, that will tell them. A search for "Buy Canadian" on Apple iOS or Google Play app stores brings up a list of red-and-white options including Buy Beaver; Is this Canadian?; Maple Scan: Buy Canadian; Shop Canadian; Canly-Buy Canadian; Is it Canadian?; and Check the Label. The apps come amid a souring relationship with the US due to President Donald Trump'ssweeping 25 per cent tariffs that he will put on all Canadian goods starting March 1, excluding energy, which will see a 10 per cent tariff. The apps allow users to scan everyday products to determine whether the product is Canadian or has Canadian ties. How do 'Buy Canadian' apps work? The apps use different solutions to get that information. Buy Beaver, a Montreal-made "community-driven platform" where users rate products on a scale from one to five based on how Canadian they are, has consistently ranked among the top five free shopping apps for iPad on Apple iOS, according to app analytics company Sensor Tower. Other apps like Is This Canadian? use artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse the photos taken with the app to give users a breakdown of what they're buying. Maple Scan provides the company's history and parent company and marks whether a specific good will be impacted by the impending American tariffs. If they determine a product isn't Canadian, the apps offer a list of "Canadian alternatives" to shop instead. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had announced a two-part set of tariffs against American products before the US postponed its tariff implementation to March 1st. In this initial plan, Canada ordered an immediate 25 per cent tariff on 30 billion Canadian dollars (€20.15 billion) worth of goods, like beverages, cosmetics, and paper products. A second list of tariffed goods that was supposed to be released was estimated to be worth 125 billion Canadian dollars (€84 billion).
CBC
21-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Want to buy Canadian? There's an app for that
Social Sharing Picture this: You're wandering around the grocery store, trying to buy Canadian. That carton of blueberries is a no go — and that loaf of bread doesn't make the cut, either. The juice you wanted to buy was made in Canada … using imported ingredients. Wouldn't it be great if your phone could just magically tell you whether the products you want to buy are Canadian or not? Well, now it can — thanks to savvy entrepreneurs across the country who've created apps meant to help shoppers identify the origin of everyday staples. There's Shop Canadian, the brainchild of two software developers in Edmonton; Buy Beaver, which was dreamt up by two Montreal entrepreneurs; O SCANada, created by a mother and son in Calgary; and Maple Scan, an AI-powered tool made by a Calgary researcher. All four apps have a feature that lets shoppers scan an item's barcode to determine how Canadian it is. "We saw on social media a lot of different lists of products being shared. They were not always correct, so we thought we had to find a way to centralize all of this information," said Alexandre Hamila, one of the co-creators of Buy Beaver. After a user scans the barcode of a product, the Buy Beaver app rates how Canadian the product is on a scale of one to five based on several criteria: where it's made, where the ingredients or materials are from and who owns the brand. "Right now, everything is community-driven," explained Christopher Dip, the app's other co-creator. "So if you can scan a product and it says it's not rated yet, then you are able to rate it and give your own info. And as more people vote, we expect the scores to get more and more accurate. "If the product's properly labelled, you technically don't need our app. But you might need our app to know if the parent company is an American one or not. Some people might argue that even if it's a product of Canada and it's supporting Canadian jobs, if the profits go back to the U.S., then that might be something to consider," added Dip. "But we just give that info to the community, and they can make a decision if they want to buy that product or not." Like Dip and Hamila, the Edmonton-based creators of Shop Canadian say they were inspired by a growing movement to buy Canadian — one that emerged in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats against this country. "We were in our kitchen, and I was trying to figure out if what I was eating was Canadian and I had to jump through several hoops," said William Boytinck, who developed Shop Canadian with his business partner, Matthew Suddaby. "And eventually I came up with the idea." WATCH | Meet the app creators making it easier to Buy Canadian: Apps to make buying Canadian easier pop up in patriotism push 6 days ago Duration 2:00 Apps to make buying Canadian products at the grocery easier are showing up across the country with entrepreneurs crowdsourcing information about the origins of materials and ingredients. The duo's "wildest dream" was to keep a few hundred dollars in Canada, but the app has since blown up, and now relies on crowdsourced information. It searches through a database of company-registered product codes, and then shows the user whether the brand that made the product is registered in Canada, the U.S. or elsewhere. There are still a few kinks to work out, especially as high traffic leads to technical difficulties. Plus, Boytinck and Suddaby are trying to decide how purist the app will be in determining whether something is Canadian or not. "If it's imported by a Canadian company and packaged in Canada, sometimes we'll recognize it as Canadian," said Boytinck. Retailers hearing demands for Canadian products When the economy gets tough or the supply chain is disrupted, people pay more attention to where their money is going, said Michael Mulvey, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Ottawa's Telfer School of Management. The "Buy Canadian" apps that have recently cropped up are "a way to make a more educated consumer, a more demanding consumer," he said, adding that a crowdsourcing approach used by the likes of Buy Beaver and Shop Canadian also helps people feel more engaged during times of crisis. WATCH | Buy Beaver co-creators talk buying Canadian amid tariff tensions: Co-founders of Buy Beaver app talk about buying Canadian amid tariff tensions 7 days ago Duration 6:11 Alexandre Hamila and Christopher Dip speak to CBC News Network about their effort to help Canadians find locally made products. Correction: This video has been updated to remove footage showing the incorrect app. "Often people feel sort of helpless when all the world's spinning around them, and this is a way for them to take action and have a voice," said Mulvey. "And I think that's a positive thing in democracy." There could be a trade-off between the consumer's preferred product and the one that costs less to buy, adds Mulvey. People might have to look at their wallets and decide if they want to pay the voluntary tax presented in front of them, and "there's going to be a lot of people who just can't afford to partake at this moment." Will brands and retailers take the hint? At the very least, the demand for these tools might force companies to listen. Loblaws, for example, is already showcasing products made in Canada in stores, online and in flyers, the grocery giant's spokesperson Catherine Thomas recently told The Canadian Press. And Pierre St-Laurent, chief operating officer of Sobeys and Safeway owner Empire, said customers are asking where products come from. The grocer is responding with more signage and information to help them make their picks. "Retailers — if there's demand by customers to find Canadian goods, which there seems to be — I think it's in their interest to help them find those goods and help their search processes," said Mulvey.
