Coffee Shops in Canada Are Replacing the Word “Americano” on Their Menus to “Canadiano”— Why?

It seems like Canada's having its own "Freedom Fries" moment. Back in 2003, the North Carolina restaurant renamed French fries to the new, more patriotically themed moniker in response to France's opposition to the Iraq war.

Republican Chairman of the Committee on House Administration, Bob Ney then had the menu in congressional cafeterias adopt this new name to reinforce ire against the European nation for its criticisms of Iraq's invasion.

Now, a Canadian cafe is doing the same in protest of President Donald Trump's tariffs.

NBC Chicago reports that some Canadian coffee shops are renaming their drinks in response to tariffs that have been imposed on America's northern neighbor and other nations by the Trump administration.

NBC writes further that the Kicking Horse coffee shop in British Columbia, Canada was first reported by Barista magazine as altering the name of the popular Americano drink to a Canadiano. The establishment also implored other coffee shops throughout the nation to do the same.

The business wrote in a social media post: "For 16 years, the Kicking Horse Café has been quietly calling Americanos ‘Canadianos.'" Today, we’re officially making it a thing and asking coffee shops across the country to make the switch. Join us. Call them Canadianos."

This post has since been deleted.

The Americano is thought to have gotten its name in Italy during World War II, per Wikipedia. After America entered into the conflict, Italian coffee shops re-branded the drink so that U.S. soldiers could easily identify the type of hot beverage that was more reminiscent of the caffeinated drinks they'd consume stateside.

Another coffee shop owner in Toronto that Barista spoke to also referenced the tariffs, which appeared to have prompted the name change: "A lot of people were very gung-ho about it, standing up for being a Canadian at this time." Furthermore, they added that the name change sends out a signal that Canadians aren't a "people that can just be pushed around."

Then, there was a different British Columbia cafe owner who stated that in a way, Trump's tariffs helped bring some Canadian citizens together: "There are aspects of what Trump is doing that have done Canada a service in bringing unity."

Additionally, they stated that the name change is helping to bring about a sense of "Canadian pride."

One Redditor uploaded a picture of a Canadian coffee shop's menu sporting the name change. Users on the application provided a variety of reactions to the nomenclature swap. "It's gotta have a shot of maple flavoring, then," one quipped.

Someone else who responded to the post also referenced the Iraq war era French fries change: "I’m old enough to remember when French fries were out and Freedom fries were in."

One poster who said that they were from Canada found the name change to be ridiculous: "As a Canadian, this is as silly as Freedom Fries."