Buying Canadian is a matter of pride for shoppers. For major grocery chains, it's an opportunity

Jenna Benchetrit · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 12, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

The Buy Canadian question has arrived successful the country's large market stores. You've astir apt noticed labels with agleam reddish maple leafs, prominent displays stacked with Canadian products or promotional flyers that tout homegrown items. 

"All the champion things person ever been made here. All we had to bash was look," proclaimed a caller Buy Canadian-themed commercialized from supermarket elephantine Sobeys, 1 of respective supermarket giants trying to beryllium its Canadian bona fides to consumers amid a tariff warfare with the U.S.

Shoppers conscionable privation it to beryllium casual to find Canadian products close now, and immoderate are consenting to scour labels oregon question retired the items themselves — but that could get old, quick, said Tandy Thomas, an subordinate prof of selling astatine Queen's University. 

Grocery stores to the rescue: "That is going to beryllium imperative to the longevity of this," she said. "Because if it is hard, if each determination requires 3 minutes successful the market aisle to truly effort and decipher the labels, consumers won't beryllium capable to bash that. It's excessively large of an ask."

The country's large nutrient retailers person each rolled retired caller selling strategies successful caller weeks to conscionable a newfound request for Canadian products — and with terms hikes successful play, they're betting connected a reputational reset aft years of contention betwixt shoppers and consumers came to a boiling constituent past year.

Loblaws priming shoppers for tariff terms hikes

Loblaws is priming its shoppers for pricier groceries arsenic the commercialized warfare plays out, announcing this week it volition adhd a triangular "T" statement to store items that it says volition beryllium costlier owed to tariffs. As soon arsenic the tariff goes, truthful volition the terms hike, according to the company's website.

CEO Per Bank explained successful a LinkedIn station past week the institution would beryllium doing much to item Canadian products in-store, successful promotions and connected flyers, and that shoppers would person the enactment of swapping an point for a Canadian-made mentation successful PC Express, the company's online transportation platform.

The institution is besides "offering points for Canadian products," but it's unclear if those products present suffice for a higher PC Optimum points reward than they did previously. CBC News reached retired to Loblaws for an interrogation and a connection and did not perceive back.

Spokespeople for Sobeys (which shares genitor institution Empire with FreshCo, Safeway and IGA) and Metro did not assistance CBC News an interview, but said they were putting much effort into highlighting section and Canadian products and making them much disposable to customers in-store, online and successful selling material. 

But they're not ever getting it right. A recent CBC News investigation found a Sobeys successful Nova Scotia had labelled its location marque maple syrup with a reddish maple leaf, but hadn't done the aforesaid for different Canadian maple syrup brands. The aforesaid probe recovered different discrepancies, similar a maple leafage connected products by brands owned by overseas companies, but not connected brands wholly owned successful Canada. 

WATCH | U.S.-made items with Canadian maple leafage perplex shopper: 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency told CBC News successful an email it had seen "an summation successful complaints related to state of root claims connected nutrient labels oregon successful advertisements" implicit the past month, indicating some savvy shoppers person go much conscious of labelling mishaps. After a full of 5 complaints made betwixt November and January, 23 complaints were made successful February alone.

A spokesperson for the agency, which regulates nutrient information and labelling, said it's reviewing the complaints but that it's excessively aboriginal to archer if immoderate of them interruption Canada's nutrient laws.

A reputational reset aft summertime boycotts

Some retailers are astir apt relieved they'll get a interruption from being the taxable of user choler aft inflation-induced boycotts were directed astatine Loblaws, Sobeys and Metro past summer, said Tim Dewhirst, a prof and elder probe chap successful selling nationalist argumentation astatine the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics astatine the University of Guelph.

The Buy Canadian question represents an accidental for large grocers "to beryllium seen arsenic bully firm citizens," helium said, particularly arsenic absorption shifts — for some, but not each — from 1 boycott to another. 

"In a batch of ways, people's choler has been diffused oregon redirected towards American brands, but much successful particular, the decisions and threats coming from President [Donald] Trump and his administration," helium said.

But Dewhirst besides pointed out consumers person a agelong memory. When ostentation was soaring 2 years ago, shoppers accused large grocers of price-gouging during an affordability crisis. Their executives denied it, but experts told CBC News astatine the time inflation would springiness them screen to hike retail prices.

Several readers person written to CBC News precocious saying they're acrophobic that market retailers volition capitalize connected tariff-related costs, and summation prices much than necessary.

"With geopolitical tensions and the menace of tariffs and truthful on, it's expected that would pb to an summation successful prices," said Dewhirst. "And we person observed successful the past, particularly [due to] the deficiency of contention that determination is among the grocers successful Canada, that determination are opportunities perchance for terms gouging oregon allegations of profiteering."

Calgary grocer takes a antithetic approach

Mike Soufan, proprietor of Calgary market wholesaler Freestone, said a tiny information of his clientele person asked to beryllium directed to Canadian products portion buying successful his store. But helium has nary plans to motorboat a selling blitz to item those products — he'll permission that to the market giants, helium told CBC News.

"A batch of radical inquire if it's a Canadian product, 'I'm not buying U.S.,' but I deliberation they're successful the minority. Other radical don't care. They lone attraction astir the price," helium said. 

WATCH | How affordable is patriotism astatine the market store?: 

Soufan said helium plans to stock the outgo of the tariff with his supplier and his trucking institution to support prices debased for consumers.

The store imports nutrient from the U.S. and different countries similar Mexico and Peru, successful summation to sourcing products domestically, and he's much disquieted astir importing nutrient with a anemic Canadian dollar than helium is astir a taxation connected goods. 

LISTEN | Can vertical farming trim Canadian reliance connected U.S. products? 

He acknowledged he would person to bargain with suppliers and chopped expenses successful the store to marque up for a 25 per cent tariff. But helium said helium wouldn't articulation the large grocers successful their Buy Canadian selling push.

"I'm not playing that game," helium said. "I'll fto radical marque their choice."