Grocery store with almost entirely Canadian inventory encouraging shoppers to buy local

A photo showing the storefront of a new grocery store in Perth, Ont. on Friday, June 13, 2025. (CTV News Ottawa/ Dylan Dyson)

A brand-new grocery store in Perth, Ont. has opened with an almost entirely Canadian inventory.

The Perth General Store opened on June 7, offering more than 50 Canadian brands for sale, with at least one item from each province and territory.

“We have everywhere from Saskatchewan to Whitehorse and we’re going to continue to grow,” said co-owner Megan Adams.

“For us right now, especially with the way the world is, it was really important for us to just stay true to our roots,” she said about her all-Canadian selection.

“And as I started researching Canadian brands, I just got more and more inspired, like, there’s some really cool brands out there.”

The opportunity to shop local products appeals to many shoppers, who say they are still cognizant of buying Canadian and staying away from American products.

“I definitely would say it’s heightened due to politics at the moment,” said Alyson Colon, who stopped in to browse the Perth General Store.

“Particularly with produce I notice it the most. So, I am paying attention to where things are being grown and where they’re coming from for sure.”

New numbers from Nielsen IQ show Canadians are putting their money where their mouth is, as the sale of Canadian food products increased at the beginning of 2025, while the sale of American food products dropped, compared to the same time last year.

Sylvain Charlebois, senior director at the Agri-Food Analytics Lab, says those numbers correlate to the time when the tariff war between Canada and the United States was at its peak.

“When you look at ‘made in the U.S.’, food products sales were down since February 8.5 per cent, and that is huge in food retail in just a few months,” Charlebois told CTV News Ottawa.

“I would say that this boycott against American products actually did work… When people walked into the grocery store, they basically hated America more than they actually liked Canada.”

And retailers and consumers say they are willing to pay the price if it means avoiding American products.

“Where things might appear a little bit more expensive than something that’s mass produced in the States, folks are willing to invest and they know that the quality will be there too,” said Adams.

“Is just the juice worth the squeeze?” asked shopper Justin Machan. “If it’s comparable for sure. We’re not going to go 30 per cent more to pay for a Canadian product, obviously. That’s just crazy. But I mean, overall if we can get it comparable, we’ll take it.”

“People are spending basically the same amount of money, then six months ago,” notes Charlebois.

“So, when you have a consumer spending the same amount, it’s just about it’s about shifting budgets and shifting purchases essentially from one destination to another.”