Mayor Rebecca Alty is encouraging people to take a "thoughtful approach" when it comes to supporting local businesses.
"Our priority at the City of Yellowknife is to foster economic growth and fair trade without jeopardizing local jobs," she told SA国际影视传媒 on Monday. "We will continue to focus on actions that enhance Canadian businesses and community resilience."
Her words come in response to questions about how a boycott against the U.S. and American-made goods could ever work in a place like Yellowknife, as anyone here interested in giving a cold shoulder to American companies and goods might have a harder time than expected.
U.S. president Donald Trump has paused tariffs on certain Canadian goods until April 2. But for the territory's top politician, it doesn't seem like it's enough to put Trump back in his good books.
"We need to stay the course and ensure that we're doing what we can to further insulate our economy, territorially and nationally, from the whims of the American president while moving forward and supporting each other," said Premier R.J. Simpson in the legislative assembly last week.
It's part of a nation-wide trend to encourage boycotting American products and companies and instead support local and Canadian ones - the Team Canada approach. Whether that can actually happen is a different story, however.
Beau Stobbs, a senior communications officer with the Department of Finance, told SA国际影视传媒 on March 6 that the GNWT awarded 17 reportable contracts to U.S.-based companies during the 2024-25 fiscal year.
Reportable contracts are those valued at $10,000 or greater, he explained.
The GNWT also depends on software support and licensing from U.S. companies for several software programs, he added.
"These programs are being reviewed to determine if there are alternatives that would deliver the same level of functionality and security," said Stobbs, adding that the GNWT would not disclose details about the software programs it uses, their functions or importance.
Stobbs did say, however, the GNWT is committed to working with all levels of government to support the Team Canada approach.
"We are assessing the responses to U.S. tariffs that have been implemented by other jurisdictions while also determining the best approach for the Northwest Territories and its residents," he said.
Coun. Garrett Cochrane said he fully understands the drive to support local businesses and it's a good thing to do.
A key point, he noted, was that global trade is a necessity in the modern world and he holds no judgment against people who want to buy products from places such as Starbucks or Walmart.
"They want to be able to support locals being able to retain employment (and) that's a good thing," Cochrane said. "That's how we're going to keep going."
Some U.S. companies in Yellowknife have quite the history here, Cochrane noted. He pointed to KFC, which first opened in Yellowknife in the 1960s and was owned by the Jason family. The now-closed A&W, who many might see as an American company, has an independent Canadian operation with the headquarters in British Columbia.
"I don't think it's bad to support locals who are within these [brands]," Cochrane said. "I also say that people who are deciding to only support Canadian-made brands is also not a bad thing because we do need to have a stronger, independent economy within our nation."
Canada has been attacked by a long-time friend and neighbour, Cochrane added, so it's natural for people to want to exert some form of punishment, but the reality is people do not have the same opportunity to shop at different places than those in cities like Edmonton or Vancouver.
"By the fact of how isolated we are, the fact of how interconnected we are as the regional basis for not only the Northwest Territories but also Nunavut, places like Walmart are going to be necessary to utilize, even though it is an American-based company," he said.
