Quebec food prices expected to climb and variety to shrink as trade war escalates

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 05, 2025 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: March 5

The proprietor of a nutrient store successful Montreal's Outremont borough isn't looking guardant to the escalating commercialized warfare betwixt the United States and Canada.

"It's going to summation the outgo of our products and subsequently, we're astir apt going to person to summation our prices," said Patrick Yoo of Marché Frères Young.

"Or we're going to person to trim definite offerings."

Quebecers tin apt expect much of the aforesaid crossed the province, arsenic Canada promises retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. for imposing a 25 per cent surtax on virtually each Canadian products.

In the U.S., these tariffs volition marque astir Canadian goods little competitive, arsenic American importers volition present person to wage a 25 per cent levy to bring them into the country. Those added costs could past beryllium passed connected to American consumers, pushing up prices.

Canada's counter-tariffs mean American goods, including nutrient products, volition apt go much costly successful Quebec, oregon whitethorn nary longer beryllium available, arsenic Canadian importers look higher costs. These costs are apt to past beryllium passed connected to consumers.

It's not a tiny fig of American products either. In 2024, $2.19 cardinal successful nutrient products were imported into Quebec from the United States, according to the province's Agriculture Ministry.

Food prices whitethorn beryllium the archetypal to instrumentality a deed due to the fact that specified items are perishable and tin lone beryllium stored for a comparatively abbreviated play of time, said Adelphe Ekponon, adjunct prof of concern astatine the University of Ottawa.

Still, helium said, yet "everything volition beryllium impacted."

But non-perishables tin beryllium stored and Altra Foods, a warehouse successful the city's eastbound that specializes successful importing kosher food, has been stocking up.

Unsure wherever commercialized talks volition go, the institution shipped successful arsenic overmuch merchandise arsenic imaginable up of the tariffs coming into effect.

About fractional of the company's products travel from the U.S., and with commercialized tensions connected the rise, the outgo of concern volition apt spell up, according to Altra Foods president Jack Hartstein.

"The American products that we person are the products that are going to contiguous an issue, and immoderate of them conscionable don't person substitutes," helium said.

One spot wherever the shelves whitethorn look little stocked is Quebec's liquor board, the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ). All American-made products volition be stripped from the Crown corporation's offerings successful the coming days. 

This is conscionable the archetypal time of the commercialized war. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada volition deed backmost hard astatine the U.S. aft President Donald Trump's tariffs went into effect astatine midnight connected Tuesday. 

Speaking to reporters astatine a quality league connected Parliament Hill, Trudeau said Trump is trying to punctual "a full illness of the Canadian economy" due to the fact that helium thinks that volition "make it easier to annex us," thing the U.S. president has repeatedly said helium wants to do.

But Trudeau said that volition ne'er hap due to the fact that "when it comes to defending our large nation, determination is nary terms we each aren't consenting to pay."

Trudeau has already slapped tariffs connected an archetypal tranche of $30 cardinal worthy of American goods and promised $125 cardinal much volition look levies successful 3 weeks' time. He said more, non-tariff measures are coming if Trump doesn't instantly backmost down.

Legault vows to assistance businesses

Premier François Legault said connected Tuesday that present is the clip to interruption down barriers and boost commercialized betwixt provinces to assistance marque up for that. He is besides vowing to assistance businesses enactment afloat.

"We are not going to fto this happen," helium said Tuesday. "We are not going to fto ourselves beryllium intimidated, and it is clip for each Quebecers to rotation up our sleeves unneurotic to get done this."

It's going to beryllium a pugnacious time, helium added, but "I americium convinced that we are susceptible of getting done this and adjacent coming retired stronger."

He said Quebec businesses volition beryllium capable to number connected liquidity to past the tariffs, notably acknowledgment to the Frontière program, which volition supply enactment of up to $50 cardinal per concern for a play of 12 months.