Trump’s trade war pushes some Canadians to turn sour on U.S. stocks

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Canadians have been shunning U.S. products as a result of President Donald Trump’s trade war. Now there’s evidence some also want to see fewer U.S. stocks in their retirement accounts and pensions funds.

Almost half of Canadians — 47% — believe pension managers should be reducing their holdings of American assets, according to a new poll by Nanos Research for Bloomberg News. Just 9% said they think funds should increase their allocations to the U.S.

The poll was taken in early July, before Trump’s most recent escalation of tariff threats against Canada.

The Nanos survey comes after a report from Sun Life Financial Inc. said that more Canadian investors shifted money out of U.S. equity funds during the first quarter than in any other period since the early days of the Covid pandemic.

Sun Life, which is among the largest workplace pension plan providers in Canada, said call volumes to its service centre spiked when Trump launched his tariff war earlier this year — “and unlike previous market events, these concerns have translated into concrete portfolio adjustments for some members.”

The firm’s report is based on its database of 1.5 million members of capital accumulation plans, which include people who hold so-called “defined contribution” retirement plans through their employers.

Canadian investors may have simply been selling down some of their U.S. equities after enjoying sharp gains in 2023 and 2024. But Sun Life believes nationalism was probably a factor, too.

“The ‘buy Canadian’ sentiment that gained popularity earlier this year may also be having an impact on how people are investing their money,” Dave Jones, senior vice president of group retirement services at Sun Life, said in a statement.

Canada’s largest public pension funds all have large allocations to U.S. assets, but some are now looking to lock in gains after years of strong equity performance. The head of Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec said last month he wanted to scale back on U.S. investments. “It’s been 10 years of U.S. exceptionalism,” Caisse CEO Charles Emond said. “We’re at 40% of our total fund in the US. I’d say that’s kind of the peak, like to trim a bit.”

The moves also come as the Canadian stocks benchmark has outperformed U.S. peers this year. The S&P/TSX Composite Index has gained 9.5% so far in 2025, outpacing the 6.8% advance of the S&P 500.