Latest news with #RealCanadianSuperstore
Toronto Sun
01-08-2025
- Business
- Toronto Sun
CHARLEBOIS: Canada's food chain just got tariff-slapped — again. Ottawa has only itself to blame.
In the face of rising tariffs and global trade turbulence, Ottawa didn't just drop the ball—it left the field entirely, and now Canada's agri-food sector and Canadians will be paying the price. Customers grocery shopping in an aisle at the Real Canadian Superstore on March 3, 2025 in Toronto, Canada. Photo by Katherine KY Cheng / Getty Images As August 1 quietly slipped by, so did Canada's last, best chance to avoid a sharp escalation in trade tensions with its most important economic partner. Unlike Mexico, which secured a temporary reprieve, Canada is now fully exposed to a 35% tariff imposed by the United States on a range of non-USMCA-covered goods. For the Canadian agri-food sector — and for consumers from coast to coast — this is less a policy adjustment and more a gut punch. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Prime Minister Mark Carney — the seasoned economist who campaigned on his negotiating acumen and international gravitas — is failing. Instead of delivering results, Parliament was sent home for the summer, and Ottawa's silence echoed through what is arguably Canada's most consequential trade dispute in a generation. To be clear, not all food exports are affected. Products covered under USMCA quotas — dairy, poultry, and some meat — remain exempt. But for producers of grains, oilseeds, processed foods, and niche value-added products, this 35% tariff is a major blow. Margins in agri-food are notoriously thin. For many exporters, the choice is binary: absorb the cost, or exit the U.S. market. Either path reduces revenues, heightens the risk of layoffs, and weakens Canada's competitive position. With the U.S. absorbing over half of our agri-food exports annually, this is no minor hiccup — it's a strategic failure. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. And this is not an isolated case. Canadian farmers are already facing stiff tariffs in other key markets. India continues to impose duties on Canadian lentils and pulses, while China maintains restrictions and tariffs on pork, canola, and lobster. For a trading nation, these accumulating barriers are suffocating — yet Ottawa seems content to manage the damage rather than prevent it. There may be isolated benefits. As seen in the cocoa and chocolate supply chain, tariffs can shift some production northward, potentially boosting domestic processing. But these are exceptions. The broader story is one of uncertainty, rising input costs, and declining production volumes. And even for goods that never cross the border, Canadian consumers are unlikely to be spared. Processors losing export markets may attempt to recover margins domestically, pushing prices higher — particularly in small markets or for export-facing SKUs like baking products, specialty grains, and packaged goods. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Tariffs also wreak havoc upstream. Input sourcing, contract logistics, and production planning are all disrupted. Expect more volatility in prices, sporadic availability of staple ingredients, and even stockouts for certain SKUs. Compounding this are retaliatory tariffs and ripple effects through global supply chains. Many Canadian food manufacturers depend on imported inputs — machinery, additives, packaging — that are themselves caught in the crossfire. Inflationary pressures will persist, even if headline food inflation slows. What's most alarming isn't the tariff itself — but the absence of a coordinated Canadian response. Washington gave plenty of notice. And yet, no contingency plan emerged, no strategy was communicated, and most telling of all, no serious negotiation took place. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Supporters of Bill C-202 may take solace in the temporary shielding of supply-managed sectors. But that's little comfort for the rest of the agri-food economy — and let's not pretend supply management is immune to geopolitical pushback. It is, at best, a partial solution in an increasingly complex trade environment. Canada once led in global trade diplomacy. Today, we are reactive, overly reliant on past frameworks, and slow to acknowledge that trade has become a geopolitical chessboard, not a rules-based playground. The agri-food sector — which accounts for nearly 1 in 9 jobs and close to 7% of Canada's GDP — deserves more than summer recesses and bureaucratic platitudes. It requires decisive leadership, policy agility, and a proactive strategy to preserve market access and stabilize domestic food systems. If Prime Minister Carney hopes to reset the narrative this fall, he'll need to do far more than issue statements. Targeted tariff relief, short-term support for exposed sectors, and a clear diplomatic pathway with Washington must be top priorities. Without this, more markets will close, more family farms will shutter, and more grocery bills will climb. — Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, co-host of The Food Professor Podcast and Visiting Scholar at McGill University. Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA World World Tennis
Globe and Mail
24-07-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Loblaw quarterly profit beats estimates on increased demand for local and discount brands
Retailer Loblaw Companies Ltd L-T beat second-quarter revenue and profit estimates on Thursday, driven by strong demand for essential products such as groceries and medicines at its Real Canadian Superstore locations and discount banners, including Maxi. Consumers seeking lower-priced alternatives across categories ranging from food to healthcare have boosted demand for discount retailers such as Loblaw. I tried to Buy Canadian with my grocery list. Here's what it cost me Same-store sales at its food retail segment rose 3.5 per cent in the second quarter, while drug retail unit sales increased 4.1 per cent from a year earlier. The 'Buy Canadian' movement, sparked by trade disputes between the U.S. and Canada, has also led to consumers switching to locally made goods. This shift has led to a dramatic reshuffling of shelves at Canadian retail stores, which are now benefiting from a surge in sales of Canadian products. Loblaw's retail sales, its biggest revenue contributor, climbed 5.4 per cent in the quarter ended June 14, compared with a 1.4 per cent increase a year ago. E-commerce sales also jumped 17.5 per cent. While Buy Canadian bump fades for many businesses, it's going strong among some industries Earlier this month, U.S. President Trump threatened to impose a 35 per cent tariff for goods imported from Canada, starting Aug. 1, raising concerns about an escalating trade war. Loblaw's quarterly revenue rose 5.2 per cent to $14.67-billion from a year ago. Analysts estimated a rise of five per cent to $14.64-billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. On an adjusted basis, the company posted earnings per share of $2.40, topping expectations of $2.33 per share. Loblaw maintained its annual adjusted profit forecast of high single-digit growth. Separately, Loblaw announced a 4-for-1 stock split on Thursday to keep shares affordable for retail and employee investors.
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Loblaw beats quarterly estimates as Canadian shoppers turn to local and discount brands
(Reuters) -Canadian retailer Loblaw Companies Ltd beat second-quarter revenue and profit estimates on Thursday, driven by strong demand for essential products such as groceries and medicines at its Real Canadian Superstore locations and discount banners, including Maxi. Consumers seeking lower-priced alternatives across categories ranging from food to healthcare have boosted demand for discount retailers such as Loblaw. Same-store sales at its food retail segment rose 3.5% in the second quarter, while drug retail unit sales increased 4.1% from a year earlier. The "Buy Canadian" movement, sparked by trade disputes between the U.S. and Canada, has also led to consumers switching to locally made goods. This shift has led to a dramatic reshuffling of shelves at Canadian retail stores, which are now benefiting from a surge in sales of Canadian products. Loblaw's retail sales, its biggest revenue contributor, climbed 5.4% in the quarter ended June 14, compared with a 1.4% increase a year ago. E-commerce sales also jumped 17.5%. Earlier this month, U.S. President Trump threatened to impose a 35% tariff for goods imported from Canada, starting August 1, raising concerns about an escalating trade war. Loblaw's quarterly revenue rose 5.2% to C$14.67 billion ($10.78 billion) from a year ago. Analysts estimated a rise of 5% to C$14.64 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. On an adjusted basis, the company posted earnings per share of C$2.40, topping expectations of C$2.33 per share. Loblaw maintained its annual adjusted profit forecast of high single-digit growth. Separately, Loblaw announced a 4-for-1 stock split on Thursday to keep shares affordable for retail and employee investors. ($1 = 1.3614 Canadian dollars) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
24-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Loblaw beats quarterly estimates as Canadian shoppers turn to local and discount brands
July 24 (Reuters) - Canadian retailer Loblaw Companies Ltd ( opens new tab beat second-quarter revenue and profit estimates on Thursday, driven by strong demand for essential products such as groceries and medicines at its Real Canadian Superstore locations and discount banners, including Maxi. Consumers seeking lower-priced alternatives across categories ranging from food to healthcare have boosted demand for discount retailers such as Loblaw. Same-store sales at its food retail segment rose 3.5% in the second quarter, while drug retail unit sales increased 4.1% from a year earlier. The "Buy Canadian" movement, sparked by trade disputes between the U.S. and Canada, has also led to consumers switching to locally made goods. This shift has led to a dramatic reshuffling of shelves at Canadian retail stores, which are now benefiting from a surge in sales of Canadian products. Loblaw's retail sales, its biggest revenue contributor, climbed 5.4% in the quarter ended June 14, compared with a 1.4% increase a year ago. E-commerce sales also jumped 17.5%. Earlier this month, U.S. President Trump threatened to impose a 35% tariff for goods imported from Canada, starting August 1, raising concerns about an escalating trade war. Loblaw's quarterly revenue rose 5.2% to C$14.67 billion ($10.78 billion) from a year ago. Analysts estimated a rise of 5% to C$14.64 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. On an adjusted basis, the company posted earnings per share of C$2.40, topping expectations of C$2.33 per share. Loblaw maintained its annual adjusted profit forecast of high single-digit growth. Separately, Loblaw announced a 4-for-1 stock split on Thursday to keep shares affordable for retail and employee investors. ($1 = 1.3614 Canadian dollars)
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Loblaw beats quarterly estimates as Canadian shoppers turn to local and discount brands
(Reuters) -Canadian retailer Loblaw Companies Ltd beat second-quarter revenue and profit estimates on Thursday, driven by strong demand for essential products such as groceries and medicines at its Real Canadian Superstore locations and discount banners, including Maxi. Consumers seeking lower-priced alternatives across categories ranging from food to healthcare have boosted demand for discount retailers such as Loblaw. Same-store sales at its food retail segment rose 3.5% in the second quarter, while drug retail unit sales increased 4.1% from a year earlier. The "Buy Canadian" movement, sparked by trade disputes between the U.S. and Canada, has also led to consumers switching to locally made goods. This shift has led to a dramatic reshuffling of shelves at Canadian retail stores, which are now benefiting from a surge in sales of Canadian products. Loblaw's retail sales, its biggest revenue contributor, climbed 5.4% in the quarter ended June 14, compared with a 1.4% increase a year ago. E-commerce sales also jumped 17.5%. Earlier this month, U.S. President Trump threatened to impose a 35% tariff for goods imported from Canada, starting August 1, raising concerns about an escalating trade war. Loblaw's quarterly revenue rose 5.2% to C$14.67 billion ($10.78 billion) from a year ago. Analysts estimated a rise of 5% to C$14.64 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. On an adjusted basis, the company posted earnings per share of C$2.40, topping expectations of C$2.33 per share. Loblaw maintained its annual adjusted profit forecast of high single-digit growth. Separately, Loblaw announced a 4-for-1 stock split on Thursday to keep shares affordable for retail and employee investors. ($1 = 1.3614 Canadian dollars) Sign in to access your portfolio
