Canadians have been ditching all-things American after having enough of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats about tariffs and making their country the “51st state.”
Boycotts of U.S. products from whiskey to dog food to Teslas—and a huge pullback in travel across the border—haven’t stopped Canadian investors from buying Uncle Sam’s debt, though. Trump’s chaotic tariff rollout in April marked the high point of the “Sell America” trade as stocks, bonds, and the dollar all sank. But despite the turmoil in fixed-income markets, Canadians purchased a net $9.2 billion of U.S. government bonds in April, the biggest monthly surge since November 2023.
However, the value of Canada’s overall holdings fell by roughly $58 billion that same month, according to the most recent data from the Treasury, by far the biggest swing for any of the top 20 foreign owners of U.S. debt.
The drop likely reflects that…
