How to Find and Buy Canadian-Made Products
After weeks of threats, the U.S. has officially implemented a 25% tax on Canadian goods and 10% tax on energy products. Canada responded by enacting a retaliatory 25% duty against $30 billion worth of American goods, with another $125 billion prepared to be levied in three weeks if the situation persists.
Trump's tariffs require companies importing products from Canada to pay a 25 per cent fee to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which then goes to the General Fund of the United States. Once importing companies pay the 25 per cent or 10 per cent tariff, they will likely adjust their retail prices to recoup the funds, making Canadian products more expensive for Americans.
In order to maintain sales, Canadian manufacturers could potentially lower their sale prices to entice American importers and offset the impact of the tariff the American company will have to pay.
Similarly, products imported from the U.S. into Canada will require Canadian importers to pay Trudeau's retaliatory 25 per cent tariff, which could push companies to raise their prices on imported goods.
Essentially, tariffs mean that both Canadians and Americans would be paying more on imported products.
Why shop within Canada?
By shopping Canadian products and brands, consumers in Canada would be exempt from potential tariffs, which means potentially saving money. Plus, there would be the added benefit of supporting Canadian manufacturers who may be impacted by the U.S. import tariffs. There is also the obvious benefit of keeping your hard-earned money in your own country. There’s win’s all around by doing this.
How to tell if a product is made in Canada at the grocery store
Since the tariffs have been enacted, there have been a surge of Canadian’s trying to navigate what products are produced in Canada. Some grocery stores have already opted to label Canadian made products with a Canadian flag next to its price tag to help conscious shoppers. Here are some other ways to tell if a product is made in Canada:
Look for a "Product of Canada" label
This label means that approximately 98 per cent of ingredients, processing and labour used to produce the product are Canadian. According to the Government of Canada, products that claim to be "Canadian" are considered the same as "Product of Canada."
Check for "Made in Canada" labels
When products are labelled as "Made in Canada" it means that a majority of the product's last substantial transformation occurred in Canada. A substantial transformation of a product would include combining ingredients to create a new product. For example, ingredients like eggs, sugar and butter undergo a substantial transformation to produce cookies. A product can also have a "Made in Canada" label if a majority (at least 51 per cent) of the costs incurred in manufacturing or producing the goods were incurred in Canada even if some ingredients are from other countries.
"Made in Canada" and qualifier labels
Some packages may include qualifiers to ensure that the consumer knows some ingredients were imported from other countries.
Examples of qualifiers can include:
- Distilled in Canada
- Refined in Canada
- Packaged in Canada
- Processed in Canada
Look for 100% claims
All ingredients, processing and labour for the product (and all of its components) are from Canada.
If you're someone choosing to shop consciously given the tariffs, we've gathered a helpful list of Canadian brands and those manufactured in Canada to help you on your next grocery shop.
Dairy
Anything with the Blue Cow logo is made with 100 per cent Canadian no milk and milk ingredients, according to the Dairy Farmers of Canada.
Agropur, Gay Lea, Lactalis Canada are all Canadian companies and package things like milk, butter, sour cream and whipping cream. Cracker Barrel, Black Diamond and Upper Canada Creamery make various cheese products. Chapman’s, Shaw’s, Kawartha Dairy and Millers Dairy make ice cream.
Cereal
Rogers Foods, Nature’s Path, Sunny Boy Foods and One Degree Organics are some Canadian brands.
Bread and grains
Wonderbrands, D’Italiano, Stone Mill Bakehouse and O’Doughs for bread; K2 Milling and Rogers Food for flour; Arva Flour Mills for organic flour; Yumi Organics for oats and energy bars.
Alcohol
There are hundreds of local distilleries, breweries and wineries in your province, subject to interprovincial trade barriers.
Meat and seafood
Maple Leaf Foods, the Great Canadian Meat Company, Direct Plus Food Group and Premium Brands are some Canadian companies, in addition to local stores.
Snacks
Dare Foods, Celebration Cookies, Laura Secord Chocolates, Maple Leaf Cookies, La Cocina Tortilla Chips, and Purdy’s Chocolate are some Canadian snack food companies.
Paper products (toilet paper, paper towels)
Purex, Kirkland, Cashmere, Cascades and Royale are all available for toilet paper needs, Cascades and Royale for paper towels and other paper products.
Toiletries
Green Beaver, Nelson Naturals and SD Naturals for toothpaste, mouthwash, dental floss. Yukon Soaps, the Rocky Mountain Barber Company, The Unscented Company for soaps, shampoos and conditioner.
Cleaning Products (garbage bags, detergent, cleaners)
Glad for garbage bags, Hertel, Attitude, Biovert for cleaning products, Nellie’s, AspenClean and The Bare Home for laundry and dish detergent
This is just a short list of Canadian made products.
Check out this incredible resource that compiles a list of products and services available in Canada, so you can rest easy knowing your dollars are having their maximum impact on the Canadian economy.