Canadian shoppers' commitment to buying local remains strong as trade war persists

Canadian consumers' commitment to buying domestic goods remains as strong now as it was when the trade war with the United States began 19 months ago, according to recent surveys.

Commitment to buying Canadian strengthened in August when a round of tariff talks with the U.S. collapsed, according to the Numerator Tariff Sentiment Tracker, which tracks about 1,800 Canadian consumers monthly.

Almost one in four, or 24 percent, of Canadian consumers strongly agreed with the statement "I intend to buy only products made in Canada" in August, up 5 percentage points from July.

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An Abacus poll conducted in September found 77 percent of Canadians say they will avoid U.S. products entirely or buy as few as possible, almost identical to the 78 percent who said so at the beginning of the trade war in early 2025.

But retail analyst Bruce Winder says grocers must base decisions on economic realities, balancing patriotism with the right products and prices.

"They also have to have the right flavours and brands that Canadians want and they also have to have the right costing and retail prices," Winder said. "It's been really tough for retailers and suppliers trying to check all of those boxes."

Patriotism often collides with pocketbooks, Winder notes, with some consumers adamant about buying Canadian even if it costs more, while others have to buy what's affordable.

According to a national survey by Execulytics Consulting for Food Health and Consumer Products of Canada in August 2026, only 9 percent of Canadians say they are willing to pay more than a 10 percent premium for a Canadian alternative.

"That low price ceiling shows that patriotism is quickly capped by economics," said Errol Cerit, executive vice-president, industry, public affairs and membership development at FHCP.

The FHCP survey also found that 74 percent of Canadians have changed their grocery shopping habits because of tariffs.

"Canadians are paying closer attention to where the products they buy come from," Cerit said.

Cerit cautions that while consumers often focus on company ownership when choosing Canadian options, ownership alone does not tell the full story.

"It's also critical to consider local investments made by foreign-owned companies, which generate economic ripple effects and support jobs across numerous sectors, including manufacturing and marketing," he said.

Jo-Ann McArthur, president of Nourish Food Marketing, says consumers cannot find Canadian replacements in every category, especially at discount stores.

"Not only does it take a lot of time for major grocers to adjust supply chains, but there also aren't Canadian replacements for everything," McArthur said.

"If I'm a grocer I want to support Buy Canadian," she said, "but I want to support cautiously and I also need to remain pragmatic knowing the inflationary pressures that my shoppers are under. They're just trying to fill that basket as inexpensively as possible and if I don't provide that through my discount banner, that's going to be an issue."

Grocer Robert Galati, CEO of Galati Market Fresh in North York, says his customers are looking for Canadian, especially in the produce department.

"However, that's easier said than done with the local growing season coming to its end," he said.

Meanwhile, Loblaw is actively expanding its domestic supply chain to build local capacity and reduce reliance on imports, having onboarded 267 new Canadian suppliers in 2025 and an additional 200 this year, alongside more than 1,200 participants in its Small Supplier Program.

Loblaw helps shoppers identify Canadian-made goods through maple leaf shelf tags on more than 35,000 products.

Novello Desserts reported in October that price is a major factor in the grocery stores Canadians avoid.

With files from Canadian Grocer