TORONTO: A growing "Buy Canadian" movement is reshaping supermarket shelves across Canada, pushing grocers to sharpen country-of-origin labeling and line up new suppliers as a trade dispute with the United States drags on.
In Ontario, Giancarlo Trimarchi, president of independent grocery chain Vince's Market, turned to Facebook to show customers that most of the produce in his stores is Canadian after fielding angry emails and comments about the chain carrying American goods.
The backlash reflects a broader shift in consumer sentiment amid an escalating trade war between the two countries. "Buy Canadian" campaigns took hold last year after President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods, and they have intensified in recent weeks after trade talks broke down and Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes, Lake America.
"It is a lot more aggressive this time around than last year," Trimarchi said in an interview.
Trump told reporters Saturday in Dublin that Canada is eager to reach a trade deal with the U.S. and that an agreement could come "fairly soon," while repeating his complaints that Canada has treated American farmers unfairly and should drop its tariffs.
Trimarchi's four stores, spread across the Greater Toronto Area, now stock produce that is about 90% Canadian. He said he has begun sourcing strawberries from Quebec instead of the U.S. and has cut his advertising budget as the changes strain operating costs.
"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.
Loblaw Cos., Canada's largest food retailer, brought back large maple-leaf signage in its produce and fresh-food sections in August after a brief hiatus, flagging items grown or made in Canada. The company also reintroduced a "T" tag that identifies products affected by tariffs, making Canadian alternatives easier for shoppers to spot.
Metro Inc., the country's third-largest grocer, said it would continue prioritizing local Canadian products.
"There has been a permanent change in the Canadian psyche," said Gary Sands, senior vice president of public policy and advocacy for the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers.
Canada is the world's fifth-largest importer of fresh vegetables by value, and the United States remains its top supplier, accounting for more than half of those imports, followed by Mexico. Still, the U.S. share of Canada's vegetable imports slipped to 62.6% in July, down from 69% in the same month of 2023, before Trump took office, according to government data. More than half of Canada's fruit imports still came from the U.S. as of July. Trade talks between the two countries collapsed Aug. 21, triggering a fresh round of tariffs and counter-tariffs.
'A way to help'
John Ambard, 27, a software engineer in downtown Toronto, said he now tries to avoid buying American products when he can, opting instead for Canadian brands. He checks labels and researches companies online to confirm where goods are made.
"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."
Canada's harsh winters have long forced grocers to rely on greenhouses, stored root vegetables or imports, which are typically cheaper. But experts say the shift in sentiment toward the U.S. could push more retailers to seek local suppliers as the country works to build a more self-reliant food system. The Canadian government is investing roughly 3 billion Canadian dollars over 10 years to expand greenhouse production through the winter months, part of a broader push to lower food inflation, which ranks among the highest in the Group of Seven nations.
'A safer position'
Gordon Dean, owner of Mike Dean Local Grocer, which operates stores in rural Ontario and Quebec, said his stores now sell more produce from countries such as Spain, Brazil and Honduras than before.
"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.
He added that differing regulations between provinces have made it harder to move food products within Canada, leaving many grocers still dependent on suppliers south of the border.
"Nationalism is now trumping economics to a degree that might switch if the relationship improves," said Mike von Massow, a professor of food, agriculture and resource economics at the University of Guelph. He said the Canada-U.S. relationship may never fully return to where it was, but easing tensions — particularly under a future U.S. administration — could eventually pull shoppers back toward American products, which are often cheaper than alternatives.
The tensions driving this shift trace back to February 2025, when Trump signed orders imposing tariffs of 25% on most Canadian goods and 10% on Canadian energy exports; Canada responded with retaliatory tariffs that expanded to roughly 155 billion Canadian dollars in goods within weeks. The dispute widened over the following months to cover steel, aluminum, automobiles and a range of consumer products, with both federal and provincial governments in Canada rolling out support programs for affected industries.
Tariff rates continued to shift through 2025: Washington raised duties on Canadian goods to 35% effective Aug. 1, 2025, while carving out exemptions for products compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Prime Minister Mark Carney, who succeeded Justin Trudeau, pledged to match new U.S. tariffs "dollar for dollar," and Canada's latest round of counter-tariffs took effect Sept. 8, 2026. Legal challenges also reshaped the fight: the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled in May 2025 that Trump had overstepped his authority in imposing some tariffs under emergency powers, and the U.S. Supreme Court struck down several of those emergency tariffs in early 2026, prompting Trump to introduce a temporary 10% global tariff that largely exempts USMCA-compliant Canadian goods.
Sources: Reuters reporting; Wikipedia's "2025–2026 United States trade war with Canada"; The Globe and Mail's timeline of the trade war; Blakes law firm's tariff timeline; Avalara's tariff tracker.
