What to know when buying Canadian seeds

John Barrett of Veseys Seeds shares tips with Your Morning on Friday, April 4, 2025 for those who want to grow produce.

The tariff war and the arrival of spring may have you thinking about growing your own produce, flowers or herbs with Canadian seeds, but one garden expert says it’s complicated.

John Barrett, director of sales, marketing and development at Veseys Seeds, says he has received a lot of questions from shoppers wondering where his company’s seeds come from and whether his company is Canadian. He said his Canadian business is 100 per cent family owned and has been around for about 86 years, but it’s hard to give a simple answer about the origins of his seeds.

“With any seed company, seeds that are sold through mail-order companies where they have the newest and best varieties, these seeds are grown in actual seed farms all over the planet, sometimes even in the Southern Hemisphere so that seeds can be available at a time when we need them,” Barrett told CTV Your Morning on Friday from York, P.E.I.

He said Canadian companies selling seeds, like his North American mail-order gardening business, don’t collect the seeds themselves from plants. His company, instead, relies on seed farms from 27 different countries, such as in Europe and the United States, to harvest the seeds.

“So a lot of our seeds do come from European-based companies and European growers,” Barrett said. “Some of those seeds come to us through the U.S. because some of these European companies might have a warehouse or distribution facility.”

Barrett lists an example of seeds from the Netherlands or Belgium that may end up in New York for a couple of weeks before they’re shipped to his company in P.E.I. “There would be certain items that would be grown in the U.S.,” he said, noting that it’s necessary and “unavoidable” because seeds need a certain type of soil or climate. “All Canadian seed companies are on the same boat when it comes to where seeds come from ... so it’s tricky.”

Finding Canadian seeds may be challenging because there are few Canadian seed companies, Barrett added.

However, he said customers can check seed packages for the company’s address and phone number. Department, grocery and hardware stores will have seed racks available with brands from Canada, the U.S. or other places, he added.

Watch the video above for the full interview.