Let’s be good Canadians and not go cross-border shopping

I know this is going to be unpopular but I’m just going to come out and say it: Cross-border shoppers are unpatriotic.

Friday, of course, is Black Friday in the United States and despite Canadian retailers' efforts to keep your dollars here, thousands of Canadians will head south for the big sales.

In fact, according to a recent Accenture Consulting poll, 60 per cent of Canadians surveyed said that they will shop in the United States — in a physical store or online — between now and Christmas day.

I guess I understand why so many Canadians do their shopping in the 'land of the free'. Thanks to economies of scale, fairer tariffs, more favourable labour costs and lower costs of doing business, most consumer products in the U.S.are cheaper.

A 2012 BMO Nesbitt Burns study illustrated the price gap: A pair of running shoes were 37 per cent more expensive in Canada, a lawnmower was 31 per cent more expensive and a kid's backpack was 26 per cent above U.S. prices.

[ Related: Tories eye tariff reductions to mitigate Canada/U.S. price gap ]

But do you realize — those of you who regularly cross border shop — what you're doing to Canada?

To save a few bucks, you're costing our economy billions of dollars and thousands of jobs while killing hundreds of mom and pop businesses.

Your cross-border shopping junkets cost our country's retail sector as much as much as $20 billion a year.

And it’s getting worse.

According to a report recently publicized by Liberal Senator Pierrette Ringuette, new rules that increased cross-border duty exemptions will result in an additional $340 million in duty free shopping a year and a further decrease in sales tax revenue of $40 million.

That's tax revenue that could be used for health care, education or even tax cuts elsewhere.

I would imagine that many of the cross border shoppers are the same people who advocate for higher business taxes and increases in minimum wages. But when those same businesses are forced to charge higher prices to pay those expenses, Canadians flee to the United States, en masse, to do their shopping.

These are the same people I suspect, who in February, will be donning their Olympic Team Canada jerseys cheering for the Canucks against the Yanks.

At the risk of sounding harsh, can you spell h-y-p-o-c-r-i-t-e?

[ Related: Does Black Friday pay off for Canadians? ]

Aside from helping our economy, shopping in Canada does have other benefits.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business' Mike Klassen argues that there are many great reasons to shop in Canada.

"After you get some goods over the US border you’ll find that after shipping and duties it’s not such a deal," he told Yahoo! Canada News.

"Canadian retailers offer some great deals, and of course many of the businesses are just a short ride from your home. Nothing like finding what you want close at hand.

"Let’s face it, Canadian businesses know their customers best, which is why we shop here."

I'll admit, that I have cross border shopped once or twice in the past few years. But this year I'm going to make an effort to do my Christmas shopping locally — even it costs me a few extra dollars.

I'm going to be a good Canadian.

(Photo courtesy of Reuters)

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