Amazon is selling products calling Canada the 51st state, and many Canadians aren’t happy

U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of turning Canada into the 51st state hits virtual shelves of online retail giant Amazon – Canadian Fusion Canadians called on the company to shut it down.

Petition Amazon is urging to ban lists of shirts, hats, stickers and other products called Canada, or the 51st state, or otherwise celebrate the idea that Canada was annexed by its southern neighbors.

“This is not a joke for us. It is a threat to our autonomy and identity as Canadians,” Ontario resident Sue Williams-Dunn, who began the petition in February.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the petition had more than 57,000 signatures.

A quick search for “State 51” on Amazon’s website brought a large number of items, including “T-shirts that make Canada great again” to mention Trump’s slogan, with stickers on the Canadian map with American flags and hats, announcing Canada to declare Canada the “51st state in the United States.”

“This is offensive, meaningful objection and war. I will not buy products from Amazon right away,” one commenter wrote under the petition.

The emergence of seizing Canadian products for the United States is just the latest front in the ongoing trade war between the two countries, a painful tariff and anti-election campaign that has inspired many Canadians to accept “Canadians”.

Amazon said in an email to CBC News that the related products did not violate its policies.

The company directed CBC News to its “Occurrence Product Policy” page, which states that the company’s policies “ban the sale of promotion, incitement or glorification of hatred, violence, racial, racial, sexual or religious intolerance or promotion of organizations with such perspectives, as well as graphically portraying violence or victims.”

According to the company’s website, a dedicated team monitors complaints and evaluates potential offensive products.

“Even if we disagree with the information or emotions of all products, we strive to maximize the choices of all customers,” Amazon said.

Retired registered nurse Williams-Dunn told CBC News she was “so shocked and frustrated” when she first saw one of the products on Amazon.com.

“I was shocked,” she wrote in an email. “Amazon says no [contravene] They have controversial product policies, but I hope it’s different! ”

Brand Reflection?

For Daniel Tsai, an adjunct professor of law and business at the University of Toronto and Metropolitan University, Amazon will sell these products.

“Amazon loves money,” he told CBC News.

“I’m not surprised that there are many controversial and inflammation types of commodities, because Amazon’s full profit model is based on trying to carry as many commodities as possible without considering their politics.”

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This is not all anti-Canadians – the retail giant also currently has many products that oppose the “51st State” rhetoric in its online marketplace, such as the “Canada is not for sale” hat.

“They are selling on both sides,” said David Amos.

Amazon isn’t the only website that’s showing up on these products: sites like Redbubble and Etsy have similar lists, although products that support Canada seem to outweigh those that celebrate the 51st state speech on these sites.

Tsai said Amazon’s permission to sell products that require Canada to be swallowed could damage its brand image.

“This reveals the true color of Amazon as a large American company that doesn’t care about Canadians,” he said.

But while this may make some Canadians on the company sore, for customers who have long relied on Amazon, it is “hard to find alternatives”.

“I really didn’t see it making so many dents.”

The impact of public protests

Williams-Dunn said her goal is to get the petition to a million signatures – which she hopes may inspire Amazon action.

Although rare, Amazon has previously been on the list due to the public rebound. Many neo-Nazi and white supremacist products were removed from the scene in 2018 and 2020 following criticism from advocacy groups and lawmakers.

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The “Canada Buy” campaign is still very active in the city. But it’s not just Canadians who refuse to buy American goods or visit the country. European movements have also emerged.

But Cai said that this is really talking.

“Forcing Amazon to remove items is not entirely impossible, but it is often difficult to do that,” he said.

“The only way this petition will succeed is if they actually see sales drop and hurt their bottom line. Unless Amazon sees a financial blow, they don’t have much motivation to do anything.”