I'm a Canadian mom who frequently traveled to the States. Now I'm avoiding the US and boycotting American products.

• Pearl Whamond is among the Canadians boycotting US products in protest of President Donald Trump.
• The Montreal resident said Trump's positions on tariffs and annexation have fueled Canadian pride.
• She also used to travel often to the States for shopping or weekend getaways, but not anymore.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Pearl Whamond, a 55-year-old nurse and mother of three who lives in Montreal. She's among the Canadians boycotting American products due to President Donald Trump's policies and comments relating to Canada, including tariffs and interest in making the country a US state. This story has been edited for length and clarity.

I've always been very proud to be Canadian. I also have really enjoyed visiting the States.

But there seems to be a change in some of the US population. I'm feeling hatred toward Canada as if we're just piggybacking off the States or taking the US for granted. Americans used to feel like our cousins, nationality-wise, but I'm not feeling that anymore.

Now I'm noticing a bunch of national pride that we didn't see before, especially in Quebec, because Quebec is infamous in Canada for being the black sheep. We're the ones who have the French-speaking majority, so if Quebec is pissed off enough to fly the Canadian flag, something's really wrong.

I wouldn't go over the border these days, and I'm trying to avoid buying American products.

I don't feel safe traveling to the US

I'm half Filipino and half Irish. I don't look white. My husband is Mexican. My three kids, 25, 20, and 15, are Black. I'm afraid to go to the States. I would be concerned about going down due to what I'm hearing about ICE and deportations.

My husband has permanent residency in Canada, but if he got separated from me in the US, and I couldn't speak on his behalf, I don't know if he could explain himself well enough to get out of a scenario. If there's any question of anything like that happening, I'll just stay on my side of the border.

We're right up over Vermont, about an hour and a half drive away, and we used to go down just to grocery shop. I drove down regularly to see my friends in New Jersey and Boston. Just last summer, I took my girls to New York to see "Six" on Broadway because my daughter's a theater kid.

We used to do weekends like that, and my kids loved it there. Our dollar has not been strong for a long while, but it was worth it to me to spend the extra in exchange for that experience. Not anymore.

I'm boycotting American brands

Many people across Canada are trying to buy products made in Canada. There are all these online groups promoting that. Some people are very, very strict, and they're not getting anything from the US. Other people are doing what they can.

My husband used to call me the Amazon queen. I haven't ordered anything from Amazon since February 5. I've cancelled my Prime membership. I'm not shopping at Walmart or McDonald's.

Food-wise, it's pretty easy to get home-grown produce. I had a hard time finding broccoli not from the US for a while. We still have the US strawberries at $1.99, which are being left on the shelf. In my neighborhood, we're paying $4.99 to $6.99 for Quebec strawberries. People are willing to pay more to buy from home.

Even my 15-year-old, who is very politically active, and her friends are boycotting American products.

There's also an awful lot of supportive Americans saying, "We're on your side. We're trying to buy Canadian. We understand how you feel about our government. What they're doing is not right. We shouldn't threaten anyone with annexation, let alone Canada, which has always been our ally."

But those who have the opposing opinion are a lot more aggressive and a lot more hate-filled, actually. It may be nine out of 10 people will be friendly and wonderful like they've always been, but it just takes that one, and that's what scares me.

I don't want to lose the close relationship between Canada and the US

I don't know anyone here who wants to be a 51st state. We like our healthcare. We like our education. We like Canada. We grew up here. We're Canadians. Nothing against the US, but we don't want to be absorbed.

We respect Americans. We respect your anthem. We fight by your side in every single war. We love your country like we always have. We're just really sad to see how some Americans are thinking of us now, and we're angry with the way your president is treating us.

Even if the tariffs issue ends or if there's another president in four years, some Canadians are saying, "Once bitten, twice shy." There have been too many threats and too much back-and-forth. It feels like bullying, it feels threatening, and as a country, we're not appreciating it.

And even if the other party gets elected in four years, in eight years it could be more of the same. It's been done once, so it feels like we're fair game now.

I grew up feeling like the US and Canada were great allies and great friends, and I don't want to let go of that. I don't want to let go of that warm, fuzzy feeling that you've got our back and we've got yours. So, I guess we're just waiting to see how far this will go.

Do you have a story to share about the relationship between the US and Canada? Contact this reporter at kvlamis@businessinsider.com.