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One of Canada’s largest grocers is bringing back country of origin labelling as the “Buy Canadian” sentiment gains steam amid an escalating trade war with the United States.
After facing social media backlash, Loblaw says it heard consumers’ demands to bring country-of-origin labelling back.
“As Canada enters another period of trade uncertainty with the United States, we are once again taking steps to give customers clear information about products affected by tariffs and make Canadian products easier to identify,” a spokesperson for the grocer said in a statement.
“We will also continue using the maple leaf symbol in our stores to help customers identify Canadian-made and prepared products. This includes reintroducing the country-of-origin in our fresh produce aisles,” the statement added.
In recent days, several social media users have complained that their local Loblaw-owned grocery store had done away with country-of-origin labelling. Others have pointed to seemingly misleading labelling, allegedly identifying American produce as Canadian, and vowing to stop shopping there.
“Customers have told us they want to support Canadian farmers, producers, entrepreneurs, and businesses. We want to make doing that easier,” the Loblaw spokesperson said.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Industry Minister Melanie Joly urged Canadians to buy Canadian products.
“When you choose a Canadian product, you’re not only putting pressure on the U.S., right now you’re protecting jobs,” she said.
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The flood of complaints against Loblaw is a sign that the ‘Buy Canadian’ movement has found new strength, says retail analyst Bruce Winder.
“It didn’t die down. It softened maybe, just a little bit, but now it’s revved back up again,” he said.
The company’s decision to take the labelling off the shelves reflected how difficult it can be to label products in an integrated supply chain, Winder said.
“It’s not a pure science. It’s not like it was in the 1970s where things were 100 per cent made in Canada or 100 per cent made in the U.S. Our supply chains are integrated,” he added.
However, pressure from consumers has meant Loblaw risked losing customers if they didn’t bring the labelling back, said University of Guelph food economist Mike von Massow.
“Canadians have spoken,” von Massow said.
When Canada first imposed counter-tariffs on the U.S. in March 2025, Loblaw introduced the ‘T’ symbol on some shelves to identify which products had a tariff applied to them. The company is also bringing that label back.
“We are reinstating the T symbol on shelf labels for products sourced directly from the U.S. that are affected by tariffs. Customers will begin to see the T symbol appear as affected products are identified and shelf labels are updated,” the Loblaw spokesperson said.
The ‘T’ symbol “protects them from being accused of hiking prices,” von Massow said.
Canadians could soon start seeing that symbol appearing on products like fish, seafood products and honey from the U.S. starting Sept. 8, when Canada’s counter-tariffs go into effect, he added.
Identifying country of origin is easier for some food products compared to others, von Massow said.
“For fresh produce, it’s relatively easy. There’s no transformation, it is either a Canadian apple, or it’s a U.S. or a New Zealand apple,” he said, adding that those products will often carry a “definite” label marking it as a ‘Product of Canada.’
On the other hand, a ‘Made in Canada’ or ‘Prepared in Canada’ product could contain some foreign ingredients but include some “significant transformation” that took place in Canada.
For example, American orange juice concentrate prepared into juice in Canada is often marked as ‘Prepared in Canada,’ von Massow said.
Identifying any such mark, including a ‘Made in Canada’ mark, can help support Canadian businesses, Winder said.
“If Canada is mentioned on the label, that’s a good thing. That means Canadians were involved somehow in the production of the product,” Winder said.
“That’s going to help Canadians to some degree.”
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