The tension between China and Canada is starting to hit our northern neighbor where it hurts: its beloved Canada Goose. After the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver on December 1, Chinese media is reporting that people are calling for a boycott of the popular outerwear company on the social-media platform Weibo. Meng faces possible extradition to the United States for charges of conspiracy to defraud multiple financial institutions, allegations she denies and plans to contest.
Canada Goose is currently set to open up a new flagship store in Beijing this Saturday, after successfully opening its first Chinese outpost in Hong Kong back in October (the company currently has 11 flagship stores across the world). Meng’s arrest may complicate those plans. Since her arrest, stocks for the company have fallen almost 20 percent and the hashtag “Canada Goose shares plummet” has been viewed more than 220 million times, according to the Daily Mail. Canada Goose outerwear, originally designed for Canadian rangers and other municipal workers braving the elements, has transformed into a luxury status symbol among everyday civilians, sorority girls, and Upper East Side moms everywhere. Its classic black, fur-lined parkas sell for more than $1,000 and are sold through high-fashion retailers like Net-a-Porter.
Currently, Meng has been released on $7.5 million bail in Canada, forcing her to wear an ankle bracelet and stay confined to one of her two homes in Vancouver, but many in China have already expressed their distaste with the country for intervening in the matter altogether. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has spoken out on the subject, emphasizing that the arrest of Meng was not politically motivated.
“Regardless of what goes on in other countries, Canada is and will always remain a country with the rule of law,” Trudeau said on Wednesday.
In addition to holding a knife to a down parka’s throat, China has also detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and a Canadian businessman with ties to North Korea, Michael Spavor, with both facing accusations of harming national security. It’s unclear if either Michael was sporting a Canada Goose coat at the time of their arrest.
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