I launched a Buy Canadian marketplace in response to US trade tensions. Now traffic is surging.

Valerie Crisp launched her Buy Canada marketplace last year.

Courtesy of Valerie Crisp Some Canadians are responding to Trump's new 50% tariffs by buying closer to home.

Valerie Crisp launched a Canadian goods marketplace last year to serve that demand.

She's excited about the movement, but says buying Canadian comes with tradeoffs.

This as-told-to essay is based on conversations with Valerie Crisp, the 38-year-old founder of Common Goods, an online Canadian marketplace.

She is based in Toronto.

Her words have been edited for length and clarity.

The Buy Canadian movement certainly ebbs and flows.

But right now I'm blown away by the way Canadians have taken this on as a group project.

Last year, when US President Donald Trump implemented his tariff policy , conversations about solidarity and sovereignty in Canada were swelling, and it became apparent to me that this probably wasn't going to be a temporary conversation.

I'd been working on a pilot project for a product search solution when the Buy Canada movement started.

Having this prototype already for product search in my back pocket, I thought, why don't we see if Canadians would want this solution? Supporting Canadian businesses is always preferred, but I think there's nuance to this conversation that I've become more aware of since founding this business.

I saw a chance to make buying Canadian easier My background is in fashion and apparel.

I was a founder before with my own bag brand, but by the time the tariff situation arose, I'd already gone through a tech accelerator program .