Even with tariffs paused, New Brunswickers still looking to buy Canadian

A Fredericton grocery store owner says the "Buy Canada" reaction to the threat of a trade war with the United States has prompted him to take a closer look at where the products on his shelves are from. 

"We want to make sure that we're doing the best we can and starting to take a closer look at some of the products that we have," said Alex Scholten, the owner of Victory Meat and Produce Market, one of several independent grocers in the area. 

He's also found an uptick in questions from customers about where goods are sourced. 

"Customers recently have been a little bit more focused on where the product is coming from," he said.

Scholten said that about 70 to 80 per cent of products sold in his Fredericton and Lincoln stores are Canadian.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday night that U.S. President Donald Trump had agreed to put a 30-day pause on planned 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods.

Canada put its planned counter-tariffs on hold as well. 

But that hasn't stopped people from saying they'll prioritize buying Canadian products. 

WATCH | How many Canadian products are on the shelves at this local grocery? 

N.B. shoppers looking for local options, despite tariff pause

4 hours ago

Duration 3:03

A Fredericton independent grocer says with the looming threat of a trade war, demand for made in Canada products is spiking.

"I do think that it's important to buy Canadian just because of how unfair the treatment of Canada has been in this situation,"  shopper Nigel Augustine said outside a Fredericton area grocery store.

"I hadn't really thought about buying Canadian until a few weeks ago."

Fredericton resident Jane Bowden said she already buys a lot of her food locally, but is wondering if she'll be able to find replacements for things like citrus, which primarily comes from the U.S.

"I'm looking at all the labels," she said.

Sholten said that most of his offerings of dairy, meat and canned goods are Canadian, but it gets trickier with fresh produce. 

"When the Canadian season ends, it will move into a shoulder season, where we start getting products from the U.S. When the U.S. season ends, we move on to different countries for different products."

While Victory has long tried to prioritize local products, there is often a cost associated with those products. 

"Buying local is great," he said.

LISTEN | Some shoppers shift focus to where products come from: 

Shift - NB9:23Stocking Canadian

Local grocers moved pretty quickly in recent days to find ways to point out Canadian products already on the shelf, and to look for opportunities to bring in more. We'll visit Victory Meat Market in Lincoln to find out more.

The freshness and the quality of the product is really good during those growing seasons. But because of the smaller sized farms and fields, the product typically comes in more expensive."

Bowden said she's willing to pay more to shop local. 

"I don't want to be bullied by Donald Trump and he needs to learn that he can't bully Canada," she said.

"He's lost our trust, it's gone."

Sholten said it can be tricky to determine what is and isn't a Canadian product, with some U.S. companies electing to package in Canada.

But he said it's frustrating to be in the situation where buying Canadian has become an act of defence. 

"I have relatives in the United States, I have friends in the United States, so to have to look at these things and think I have to do something to retaliate is very unpalatable," he said. 

"But unfortunately it's where we're at today."