Buying Canadian at the supermarket? It's more complicated than you think

The trade war triggered by President Donald Trump's tariffs has been inspiring patriotic stances among customers at Canadian grocery stores, but buying only domestic products isn't as simple as looking for a maple leaf.

Jim Kreski of Windsor, Ont., learned that during a recent visit to a FreshCo location.

"I happened to pick up a can of soup and I saw that even though they had red maple leaves on everything, the product was actually made in the U.S.A.," Kreski told CBC Windsor. "That was stated right on the can."

FreshCo is among the supermarket chains with a new policy of highlighting Canadian goods, including adding maple leaf logos to certain shelf labels.

But Kreski noticed the symbols associated with Canada were also on shelves stocked with items that were actually American products, such as Campbell's soup and Betty Crocker cake mixes.

Kreski said that after he discovered the apparent mislabelling in multiple aisles, he asked a staff member about it.

"She said that if it was a Canadian company that had purchased the goods ... they put the maple leaves."

The maple leaf is also put on products "prepared in Canada" from imported goods.

"I understood what she was saying, but I think it's deceptive," Kreski lamented. "To me, it's not right."

The buy Canadian movement heightened this week after Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods entering the U.S. would proceed. On Thursday, Trump said they'll be put on hold for a month.

In the case of FreshCo, the company has been incorporating "Buy Canadian" into its advertising. A promotional email reminds the public that FreshCo — a subsidiary of Sobeys — is "a proudly Canadian company."

Other promotional copy encourages customers to, "Spot and shop Canadian products in-store and in our flyer — Look for the maple leaf on shelf."

When contacted about Kreski's concerns, a spokesperson for Sobeys said the parent conglomerate — Empire Company Limited — "has responded quickly to Canadians' desire to buy Canadian."

According to the spokesperson, the corporation is "committed to clear and accurate labelling," and products are continually reviewed to ensure they meet CFIA [Canadian Food Inspection Agency] definitions for Canadian products.

"While labelling is a manual process and occasional discrepancies may occur, we have steps in place to identify and correct them promptly," Sobeys stated.

Mike von Massow, a professor with the Ontario Agricultural College at the University of Guelph and an expert on food economics, feels it shouldn't be a surprise that choosing Canadian goods can be complicated.

"It's sometimes difficult to define what Canadian is," von Massow explained. "Each of us has to sort of create our own line as to what is acceptable."

For example, oranges can't be grown in Canada — but there are Canadian companies that make products out of imported orange juice concentrate. "Is that a Canadian product?" von Massow asked.

On the other hand, Canada produces plenty of pigs — but the processing of those pigs into consumable pork products is typically done in the U.S.

"We have a lack of processing capacity in Eastern Canada," von Massow said. "So there are these nuances ... in the middle space of absolutes."

Making the issue even murkier is the fact U.S. retailers — such as Walmart and Costco — that operate in Canada also sell Canadian-made products.

Von Massow is also aware of what he describes as "Canada-washing" — food retailers using patriotism as a marketing strategy while being less than forthcoming about the origins of items for sale.

It can all make "buying Canadian" as tricky as politics.

"Ask questions at the grocery store," von Massow advised. "Check the labels. Look at the regulatory websites to see what the different wording means, and inform yourself.

"It's more work. But if it's important to you, you can figure it out."

Von Massow has been trying to practise what he preaches: He has stopped buying Cheerios, his favourite cereal, because he learned General Mills, a U.S. company, only manufactures them in the U.S.

Carol Kreski, Jim's wife, said she's found online help with Canada-conscious buying decisions. She joined the Facebook group "Made in Canada — Canadian Products."

"When I shared it at the time, there were 74,000 members on this page. I forwarded it to all my friends and family," Carol recalled. "As of today, it's at 1.2 million people, all following this page of alternatives to U.S. products."

Despite Jim's distrust of FreshCo's shelf labels, he said he's not giving up. He'll continue to try to make Canadian choices when shops and avoid U.S. imports when possible.

"One person may not make a difference on buying Canadian, but if 50 per cent of us do it, it could make a huge difference," he reasoned.