Canada’s biggest grocery chains are finding themselves in a sticky situation after being accused of negligence for selling watered-down maple syrup in their stores. A class-action lawsuit filed in Quebec’s Superior Court claims Loblaws, Metro, and Sobey’s were “betraying their customers’ trust” for years by selling cans of maple syrup from a producer southwest of Montreal that were allegedly cut with cane sugar even though they were advertised as being “pure.” The plaintiff, Maude Fraser-Jodoin, originally filed an application to authorize the class-action lawsuit in April naming the producer, Érablière Steve Bourdeau, as the sole defendant. However, an amended application filed earlier this month now includes the names of the major grocery store chains, who are accused of demonstrating “negligence, recklessness, carelessness, or serious indifference” for putting watered-down syrup on their shelves. It adds: “the grocery stores should have exercised caution and due diligence before offering this ‘pure’ maple syrup for sale at a low price, given the disparity with the value of other products; they should even have suspected that the disputed syrup was tampered with after it went on sale, in light of the available information.” Allegations surfaced in media report The allegations of diluted syrup first came to light after an investigative report by Radio-Canada on April 2. According to the report, independent testing of a sample of cans purchased from a local store revealed the syrup labelled as “pure maple syrup” allegedly contained at least 50 per cent cane sugar. The report also claimed that in conversations with a journalist, the owner, Steve Bourdeau, allegedly admitted that he purchased syrup from Ontario and sold it in cans labelled “product of Quebec,” which is illegal. The amended class-action lawsuit filed on Aug. 3 will need to be authorized by a judge before it can proceed, and the allegations in the suit have not been tested in court. Groupe Épicia, which operates several grocery stores, including the Val-Mont grocery store where the plaintiff bought four cans of syrup in question in 2025, is also named as a defendant. Lawsuit seeks refunds, other damages Érablière Steve Bourdeau, located in Saint-Chrysostome, Que., has sold maple syrup since Oct. 5, 2010, which suggests there could potentially be thousands, “if not millions,” of class members, according to the lawsuit. The court document said class members would include: “All persons in Canada who, since October 5, 2010, have purchased at least one can of maple syrup produced by 9227-8712 Québec Inc., including those who purchased it at a store operated by Metro Inc., Sobeys Group Inc., Groupe Épicia Inc., or Loblaw Companies Limited.” The lawsuit, filed by the Slater Vecchio law firm, seeks a refund for the purchase price as well as unspecified compensatory damages. It also seeks $100 in punitive damages per class member. “Without an award of significant punitive damages, nothing will deter L’Érablière from continuing such practices to the detriment of maple syrup enthusiasts, maple syrup producers, and the integrity of this product, which is integral to Quebec’s identity,” the lawsuit stated. A Metro spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit, while Loblaws told CTV News it intends to contest the request for authorization. The other grocers did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. It’s not the first maple syrup controversy to happen in Quebec. In 2012, three men stole 2,700 tonnes of syrup worth $18 million from a Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers warehouse in Saint-Louis-de-Blandford, Que., over several months, replacing the liquid gold with water before anyone noticed and selling it in the U.S. The men were found guilty of theft and fraud and were sentenced between two and eight years. One of the men was also ordered to pay a $9-million fine. The operation, known as the Great Maple Syrup Heist, turned into a TV drama on Amazon Prime, produced by Jamie Lee Curtis.
