The Canadian boycott of US products is reshaping supermarket shelves across the country, with growing numbers of shoppers choosing Canadian goods and grocery retailers turning to alternative suppliers to reduce their reliance on American produce.
The consumer shift has intensified amid the bitter trade dispute between Canada and the United States, forcing supermarkets to improve country-of-origin labelling and search for new sources of fruits, vegetables and other food products.
In Ontario, Giancarlo Trimarchi, president of independent grocer Vince’s Market, recently turned to Facebook to reassure customers that most of the produce sold across his stores is Canadian.
Trimarchi said the company had received angry emails and comments from customers who questioned why US produce was still being stocked in its supermarkets.
“It is a lot more aggressive this time around than last year,” Trimarchi said, describing the intensity of the consumer reaction.
Canadian Shoppers Turn Away From US Products
The growing Canadian boycott of US products began gaining momentum last year after President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods.
The movement has intensified in recent weeks after Canada-US trade talks broke down and new tariffs and counter-tariffs came into effect.
Although Trump said on Saturday that Canada was eager to reach a trade agreement and that a deal could come “fairly soon”, Canadian consumers and retailers are already changing their buying habits.
Trimarchi said his four stores across the Greater Toronto Area now source about 90% of their produce from Canada.
The grocer has switched its strawberry supply from the United States to Quebec, although the change has increased operating pressures and forced the company to reduce its advertising budget.
“We were always put in a position where you had to balance quality versus price. Now it’s quality versus price versus country of origin,” Trimarchi said.
Retailers Make Canadian Products Easier to Identify
Canada’s major grocery retailers are also responding to the changing mood among shoppers.
Loblaw, the country’s largest food retailer, brought back large maple-leaf signs in August to highlight Canadian produce and fresh-food products.
The company also reintroduced a “T” tag designed to show customers which products are affected by tariffs while making Canadian alternatives easier to identify.
Metro, Canada’s third-largest grocer, said it would continue prioritising locally produced Canadian goods under the current circumstances.
Gary Sands, senior vice-president of public policy and advocacy at the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, said the change could have lasting consequences.
“There has been a permanent change in the Canadian psyche,” Sands said.
US Still Dominates Canadian Produce Imports
Despite the growing Canadian shoppers boycott US products movement, the United States remains Canada’s biggest supplier of fresh produce.
Canada is the world’s fifth-largest importer of fresh vegetables by value, with the United States historically accounting for more than half of those imports, followed by Mexico.
However, government data showed that the US share of Canada’s vegetable imports had fallen to 62.6% in July from 69% in the same month of 2023, before Trump was elected.
More than half of Canada’s fruit imports also came from the United States as of July.
The figures underline the challenge facing Canadian retailers as they attempt to respond to consumer preferences while maintaining affordable and reliable food supplies.
Canada’s harsh winters make domestic production of fresh produce difficult, meaning supermarkets have traditionally relied on greenhouses, stored root vegetables and imports.
Canada Looks Beyond the US for Food
The changing relationship between the two countries is now encouraging Canadian grocery stores to diversify their supply chains.
Gordon Dean, owner of Mike Dean Local Grocer, which operates stores in rural Ontario and Quebec, said his supermarkets are sourcing more produce from Spain, Brazil and Honduras than they did previously.
“There’s nobody running back to the U.S. supply chain because once the new supply chains are established, they’re far more diversified. We’re in a safer position,” Dean said.
The shift could make Canadian retailers less dependent on a single foreign supplier even if political relations between Ottawa and Washington eventually improve.
However, Dean noted that restrictions and different regulations between Canadian provinces continue to make it difficult to move food products across the country.
Those barriers mean some retailers remain dependent on suppliers south of the border despite the growing demand for alternatives.
Food Nationalism Versus Lower Prices
The changing shopping habits also present an economic dilemma.
American products are often cheaper than alternatives from other countries, meaning consumers could eventually return to US goods if political tensions ease and prices once again become the dominant consideration.
Mike von Massow, a professor of food, agriculture and resource economics at the University of Guelph, said nationalism was increasingly influencing decisions that were previously driven primarily by economics.
“Nationalism is now trumping economics to a degree that might switch if the relationship improves,” von Massow said.
He added that the Canada-US relationship may never completely return to its previous state, although an easing of tensions, particularly under a future US administration, could encourage retailers to increase purchases from American suppliers again.
Canada Invests in Domestic Food Production
The government is also attempting to make Canada more self-reliant in food production.
Canada is investing about C$3 billion over 10 years in greenhouses and other facilities designed to increase domestic production during the country’s harsh winter months.
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The investment is also intended to help tackle food inflation, which remains among the highest in the Group of Seven developed economies.
For Canadian consumers such as John Ambard, the issue goes beyond prices.
The 27-year-old software engineer in downtown Toronto said he tries to avoid American products when possible, choosing Canadian brands and businesses instead.
“I think, honestly, if I can support Canadian products and Canadian institutions through these tough times, I think that’s a way to help in my small way,” Ambard said.
“I’m a little bit mad with America right now with how things are going. The attitude has just not been that of a friend.”
The growing consumer movement is therefore creating pressure that extends beyond individual shopping decisions.
As Canadian grocery stores develop new supply relationships and domestic producers expand their capacity, the latest trade dispute could permanently change where Canadians source the food on their supermarket shelves.
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