Sentiment to ‘buy Canadian’ grows amid looming tariffs

With the threat of tariffs continuing to loom over Canada, shoppers are looking at ways to keep more of their money at home. CTV's Katelyn Wilson reports.

As Canadian businesses prepare for the possibility of American tariffs, more people are leaning into the “buy Canadian” sentiment.

Late Monday afternoon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the tariffs on Canada would not be implemented for at least 30 more days, just days after Trump said they would begin on Tuesday.

But with the threat continuing to loom over Canadians, just how easy is it to shop at home?

As it turns out, it’s complicated, and the first challenge is understanding the label.

Anything that says “product of Canada” is 98 per cent Canadian, while “made in Canada” means 51 per cent of its contents are Canadian.

“There’s ‘prepared in Canada’ as well and prepared in Canada means the last step of manufacturing is in Canada but ingredients will be foreign,” said Sylvain Charlebois, agri-foods analytics lab director with Dalhousie University.

Heather Gulyas came to Farmer’s Pick on Monday, prepared to buy Canadian.

“For me, it’s about making a statement as one person in one family that can make a difference just in the little things that we do,” said Gulyas.

When it comes to produce, the country of origin is clearly marked on the sign. For example, potatoes, onions, cucumbers and apples are all easy to buy Canadian. Most fruit, on the other hand, is sourced elsewhere.

“We have Niagara for peaches, nectarines and plums. But that’s only for a few months out of the year,” said Alfonso Curcio, owner of Farmer’s Pick.

“Berries, most of them come from Florida and California, but there’s Mexican available, so I’m buying from Mexico.”

As for dairy, meat and bread, those sections are considered Canadian friendly.

“Meat, I would say 80 per cent [is Canadian], bread is very much 100 per cent and dairy is very much 100 per cent as well,” said Charlebois.

But when it comes to your pantry staples, you may have to make choices. That is where you’re likely to run into the different labels.

“Instead of buying Heinz ketchup, I’m buying French’s ketchup,” said Gulyas. “It’s not a big killer for me to do those things, I’m just going to change the way I prepare things.”