Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke has pledged to roll out “buy local features” to the Shop app after criticizing the Canadian government’s decision to impose retaliatory tariffs on US imports.
Lütke announced the features in an X post on Feb. 2, the day after Canada announced its in-kind response to the United States’ tariffs on Canadian goods. The burgeoning trade war prompted nationwide calls to support and buy Canadian goods, including those on social media asking for Shopify and Lütke to introduce buy-local features.
Lütke said the features would be rolling out in Canada, the United States, and Mexico to start, adding the update would be available either the night of Feb. 2 or on Feb. 3, based on App Store review.
Lütke did not elaborate on what the features entailed. BetaKit has reached out to Shopify for more details but did not hear back by press time.
Trade War
On Feb. 1, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to implement 25-percent tariffs on virtually all Canadian goods and 10-percent tariffs on Canadian energy starting Tuesday. The move follows Trump’s repeated tariff threats over what the White House claimed was Canada’s failure to stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal crossings into the US.
In response, the Canadian government responded by imposing 25-percent tariffs on $155 billion of American goods, with tariffs on the first $30 billion taking effect on Tuesday and the rest to follow after a 21-day public comment period.
Prior to announcing the Shop app changes, Shopify’s CEO publicly denounced the federal government’s decision in a post on X, writing that he was “disappointed” with both Trump’s decision to impose tariffs and Canada’s reciprocation.
“I love Canada and want it to thrive. I built Canada’s biggest tech company here because I know it’s a special place,” Lütke wrote.
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“Canada thrives when it works with America together. Win by helping America win. Trump believes that Canada has not held its side of the bargain, and he set terms to prove that we still work together: get the borders under control and crack down on fentanyl dens.”
In a fact sheet following the announcement, the White House said the tariffs are a consequence of the “extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs” crossing the Canadian border into the United States.
Despite Canada’s recent proposal to invest $1.3 billion CAD into border security, which includes Black Hawk helicopter patrols by the RCMP, Trump told reporters at a press conference Jan. 31 that nothing could be done to stop the tariff threat.
According to the Canadian government, less than one percent of fentanyl smuggled into the United States crosses through the Canadian border. Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows that the volume of illegal drugs seized at the US-Canada border has declined since 2022.
In a Truth Social post today, President Trump made no mention of drugs or illegal migration measures. The president continued to threaten Canadian sovereignty, however, repeating claims that Canada should become “our cherished 51st state.”
Deep Impact
In another social media post on X, Lütke said Shopify would be “unaffected” by the tariffs, but that Canadian small businesses on the platform are “not so lucky.”
“America will shrug it off. Canada will decline. It’s simply the wrong choice in a possibility space where much better options would have been available,” Lütke wrote.
“Alongside price impacts and shocks to the supply chain, the substantial recession that is likely to follow will impact nearly all firms.”
Robert Gillezeau
University of Toronto
Robert Gillezeau, an assistant professor of economic analysis and policy at the University of Toronto, told BetaKit in an email statement that it is “extremely unlikely” that Shopify would be unaffected by the introduction of tariffs, noting a resulting slowdown in economic activity and sales on both sides of the border.
“Alongside price impacts and shocks to the supply chain, the substantial recession that is likely to follow will impact nearly all firms,” Gillezeau told BetaKit.
Gillezeau also disagreed with Lütke’s statement that retaliatory tariffs were the wrong choice for Canada.
“For whatever reason, Mr. Lütke appears to be undermining Canada,” Gillezeau said. “His decision to align with the Trump administration, even in the face of this reckless and economically illiterate attack on our country, puts us all at greater risk.”
BetaKit has reached out to Shopify and Lütke for a response to Gillezeau’s comments and for greater detail regarding his claim that tariffs will not impact Canada’s largest tech company.
Lütke and Shopify have previously criticized the Canadian government’s handling of issues that directly impact its clients’ businesses, such as the Canada Post strike in November. In an open letter ahead of the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend, Shopify claimed that Canada Post had an “effective government monopoly” on delivering to P.O. boxes, and called on the federal government to “do whatever is necessary” to get striking Canada Post workers back to work.
Disclosure: BetaKit majority owner Good Future is the family office of two former Shopify leaders, Arati Sharma and Satish Kanwar.
Feature image courtesy Mauricio J Calero for BetaKit.