Buy Canadian movement at grocers could ramp up again during trade talks

Prepared in Canada signage at a store in the town of St. Andrews, N.B., on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Some shoppers may no longer check labels at the grocery store so intently to see which products have Canadian ties as the buy Canadian movement that swept the country has waned.

About a year since the fresh wave of patriotism set in at the grocery store, many shoppers have returned to buying the cheapest option available – no matter the origin.

However, with the Canada-United States-Mexico free trade agreement up for review this year, it sets the stage for intensified rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump on tariffs and threats of annexing Canada. Experts say it could also pave the way for a fresh wave of the buy Canadian sentiment.

“Based on the direction that the trade talks would take, we will see that fervor returning back into the shopping decision,” predicted Amar Singh, senior director and head of Canadian retail insights at Kantar.

“There’s a very high chance of it happening.”

Even now, Trump’s seemingly relentless pursuit to acquire Greenland could make Canadians feel more inclined to avoid American products at the grocery store and favour local vendors instead.

“With Greenland, I think Canadians can sympathize with the feelings,” said Peter Chapman, founder of consulting firm SKUFood.

“Even though it’s got no direct impact on Canada, when we read that or see that happening in front of us, we say, ‘Well, that could be us next.’”

The buy Canadian wave first surged last year as Trump’s attacks on trade with Canada and the world led to a litany of economic uncertainty, tariffs and other threats. Canada, too, responded with its own counter levies, including on symbolic food items, such as Florida orange juice.

Grocery stores responded to shoppers’ demand for local goods by shoring up their domestic and international supply chains. They began adding maple leaf signs to their shelves to more clearly indicate which products had Canadian ties, and Loblaw Cos. Ltd. marked items that saw price increases due to tariffs with a “T” symbol. Manufacturers also revamped their packaging to indicate any domestic ties.

Usually, onboarding new suppliers is a long planning process that can take up to a year, said Jo-Ann McArthur, president of Nourish Food Marketing.

“It is a big deal to change something at a store level,” she said. It’s not as simple as swapping one product for another, but decisions trickling down from the head office to all stores.

However, as shoppers grew fatigued by trade rhetoric, many tariffs, including some of Canada’s countertariffs, were removed and food inflation began to take a toll on household budgets, the buy Canadian wave began to fade.

All the major grocers — Empire Co. Ltd, Metro Inc. and Loblaw Cos. Ltd — took notice.

“We are seeing some customers who are going back to those products that they love, now that they are much cheaper than they were, and that will have some impact on Canadian sales,” Loblaw chief executive Per Bank told analysts during a conference call in November.

Statistics Canada on Monday said food price growth was five per cent year-over-year in December, continuing to outpace headline inflation.

The movement has shifted from buy Canadian to buy anything-other-than-American, as long as it’s affordable, said McArthur.

“(Consumers) are perhaps a little more pragmatic when it comes to shopping,” she said.

Among all retail lines, patriotic purchasing steadily fell to 46 per cent in December from a peak of 65 per cent in April, according to an Ipsos Canada analysis.

Consumers are prioritizing Canadian items if the price makes sense, Singh said.

“The average Canadian consumer wallet is not strong enough to bear high premium costs of local products,” he said.

Should the movement ramp up again this year as the trade deal review nears in July, grocers are much better positioned this time to respond to demand.

“They’ve done a lot of the heavy lifting and can react quicker now,” said Chapman.

Volumes may not be as strong for local products, but McArthur said supply changes are likely to stay because “it just makes for a more resilient supply chain.”

“Retailers still want to be seen as supporting that,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 23, 2026.

Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press