Calls for Amazon boycott grow after online retail giant pulls out of Quebec

There are calls for Quebecers to boycott Amazon one day after the American online retail giant announced they were pulling out of the province and laying off hundreds of workers.

Some Quebecers say they’ve had enough with Amazon.

“It’s not helping the Canadian economy at all, let alone the Quebec economy. So I try to avoid [it],” one person told CTV News on Thursday.

On social media, the discussion around the boycott is also shining a light on allegations made by the CSN union that the layoffs are in response to workers at a Laval warehouse forming a union.

“This is a small act that we can do to show that we support good working conditions, we support the right to unionize, and we most of all reject the arrogance of Amazon to come and just do as they please,” Louisa Worrell, a spokesperson for boycottamazon.ca, told CTV News.

Amazon denies that the decision to pull out has anything to do with unionization.

“I hope it’s not the case. But if it’s the case, I understand the boycott because you did nothing wrong, you know? And it’s just to defend the cause of the employees,” another resident told CTV News.

But according to retail expert Jacques Nantel, “it’s certainly not a coincidence.”

Nantel has his doubts about Amazon’s claim and is not surprised there have been calls for a boycott.

“You’re going to have some consumers who will be highly frustrated because you do have a lot of unionized employees in different sectors,” said Nantel, professor emeritus at HEC Montreal. “So their reaction is somehow predictable. Will it have an impact on the bottom line of Amazon? Of course not.”

Still, Nantel has joined the online chorus, posting on LinkedIn that he has deleted his Amazon account. He’s encouraging Quebecers to buy local instead.

But with Amazon’s dominant position in the market, how realistic is that? On the streets of Montreal, people weighed in on how they’d respond.

“It’s pretty hard to go without Amazon, right? I mean, it’s convenient. It’s fast. Like, it’ll probably be a factor for a while. But, I mean, seriously, how can we go without Amazon nowadays?” one woman said.

“Yeah, it’s really convenient for me, especially as a student. If I need stuff, I buy it. It comes like two or three days,” another person said. “You know, you can’t really beat that.”

Amazon said it does not expect there to be an impact on deliveries.