21-03-2025
Shoppers want to 'buy Canadian,' but experts warn that some 'made in Canada' labels might be deceiving
Grocery stores across the country are riding the "buy Canadian" patriotic wave to boost sales, but experts are urging shoppers to get informed before blindly falling for any maple leaf signage. As customers continue to prefer Canada-made items amid a tariff war brought on by U.S. President Donald Trump, here are some ways to decipher what is truly Canadian on your next trip to the store.
'There's no specific law on what you can put a maple leaf on,' David Soberman, marketing professor at Rotman School of Management, tells Yahoo Canada. 'What we have to think about in marketing is what this actually communicates. When you put a little Canadian flag on something, some people will think it's a Canadian product."
On Reddit, users took to the "Loblaws Is Out of Control" page to decry the "downright dirty and wrong" practice of slapping maple leaf signs on anything. The post, titled "Loblaws is truly disgusting," included photos of bags of frozen fruits and vegetables from the company's in-house brands No Name and President's Choice. But the labels on the display featured a maple leaf icon, even though the bags themselves clearly stated that the frozen pineapple is from Costa Rica, the strawberries from Mexico, and the green beans from the U.S.
Some in the comments referred to the tactic as 'canuckwashing' and 'Maplewashing,', but Soberman says the company isn't breaking any laws.
"You'd have to be a pretty uninformed Canadian to think pineapples are grown in Canada," he adds.
The maple leaf sign on frozen pineapples likely signals that No Name is a Canadian brand, even if the products within those labels are sourced elsewhere, Soberman posits.
'I have a feeling they're trying to capitalize on being a Canadian chain,' he says. 'They're trying to distinguish themselves from other places that sell groceries, like Costco or Walmart, which are U.S. owned chains.'
Still, something about this didn't sit right with shoppers.
'This is just down right dirty and wrong just to make a sale,' user Vortechtral wrote. 'They slap on random maple leafs on products in hopes people will purchase them over something else.'
You'd have to be a pretty uninformed Canadian to think pineapples are grown in Canada.
In a statement, a representative from Loblaw says the company is doing what they can to inform customers about Canadian products, while acknowledging that it can be tricky to distinguish between what's made in Canada, packaged in Canada or produced in Canada.
'We know Canadians are looking for more information about where products come from and we're doing what we can, recognizing the complicated supply chain in food production,' it reads. 'We've added the maple leaf symbol … with certain products throughout the store and online.'
The statement further says that in all cases, this symbol means the product was "prepared in Canada" with domestic and/or imported ingredients. Some of these products may have "product of Canada" or "made in Canada" claims on their packaging, which means even more aspects of those products come from Canada.
Loblaw has also added a page to its website, breaking down how tariffs will impact their products. Along with the maple leaf symbol, the company will add a T label to any product that's impacted by the tariffs.
Soberman says grocery chains are doing their best to cater to Canadian customers who want to support local and national producers.
"Make it visible and easy for people to choose, you'll create a more pleasant shopping experience for them because that's what they're looking for right now," he says.
As for the future of the "buy Canadian" movement, Soberman thinks getting Canadians to buy American products again might be like trying to "unscramble an egg."
"What you have is a situation where even when Trump's term ends, and hopefully we get back to a situation that's more normal, where trade is encouraged between countries, I think you'll still have a situation where buying Canadian and being patriotic will be important," he says.
