Canadian shoppers are asking a simple question more often this fall: where is the Canadian option? A new Canadian Press report says food and household goods makers are seeing stronger demand as shoppers try to support domestic brands during the continuing trade dispute. The problem is that store shelves do not always move as quickly as consumer interest. Some companies say they are getting more direct orders because shoppers cannot always find their products through regular grocery and retail channels. That makes the next grocery trip less about slogans and more about knowing how to read labels, shelf tags and online product pages.

One example in the report is aVenco Ltd., a Bowmanville, Ont., parchment paper supplier. Company president Kathleen Chapman told The Canadian Press that direct-to-consumer orders jumped from about 20 in the previous two years to hundreds in the week after new U.S. tariffs came into effect. The company had previously counted on U.S. customers for roughly 30 to 40 per cent of sales, but those conversations have stalled because of tariff pressure. G.E. Barbour Inc., the New Brunswick company behind products such as King Cole Tea and Nuts About Peanut Butter, also described a push to grow more in Canada while it diversifies beyond the U.S. market. For shoppers, the takeaway is not that every Canadian item will be easy to spot; it is that more suppliers may be selling through a mix of stores, regional chains and direct websites.

The first useful move is to separate three ideas that often get blurred together: Canadian-owned, sold in Canada and made in Canada. A brand can be familiar to Canadian shoppers without being made here. A product can be distributed by a Canadian company while being imported. A maple leaf on a package can be helpful, but it is not enough by itself. The Competition Bureau tells consumers not to assume a product is Canadian just because it uses red colours or a maple leaf design. If a business makes an origin claim, the claim needs to be accurate and truthful. When the wording is unclear, the Bureau says shoppers can contact the manufacturer or retailer for clarification.

Food labels have their own rules and gaps. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says country-of-origin labelling is required for some imported prepackaged foods, including categories such as dairy products, honey, fish and seafood products, fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, meat products, maple products, wine, brandy, and processed fruit and vegetable products. But not every food package has to carry the same kind of origin statement, and country of origin does not tell you whether a food is safer. Imported and domestic foods sold in Canada must meet Canadian food safety standards. A better shopping habit is to look for the exact words beside the symbol: “Product of Canada,” “Made in Canada,” “imported for,” or “imported by.” Those phrases tell you more than a flag-style design on its own.

The second move is to understand the difference between “Product of Canada” and “Made in Canada.” The Competition Bureau says it will generally not challenge a “Product of Canada” claim if at least 98 per cent of the total direct costs of producing or manufacturing the good were incurred in Canada and the last substantial transformation happened in Canada. For “Made in Canada,” the general threshold is at least 51 per cent of total direct costs in Canada, the last substantial transformation in Canada, and a qualifying statement such as “Made in Canada with imported parts” or “Made in Canada with domestic and imported parts.” For food, the CFIA also says “Made in Canada” should include a qualifying statement when ingredients may be imported. In plain language: “Product of Canada” is the stronger domestic-content signal, while “Made in Canada” can still include imported inputs.

The third move is to make the shelf do some work for you. If your usual store does not carry a local substitute, ask customer service whether the item can be ordered, whether a nearby branch stocks it, or whether the chain has a Canadian-products filter online. The Canadian Press report quoted retail consultant Peter Chapman saying retailers are consumer-driven and tend to respond when shoppers ask for more Canadian products. That does not mean every request will change a planogram, but repeated requests can help local brands prove there is demand. For household basics such as parchment paper, tea, peanut butter, condiments, soap, paper goods and pantry staples, check regional grocers, co-ops, independent stores, farmers’ markets and manufacturer websites before assuming the only option is a national shelf brand.

The budget caution is to buy Canadian with a list, not with panic. Domestic products are not automatically cheaper, and imported products are not automatically poor value. The strongest strategy is to pick a few categories where a Canadian option matters to you, compare unit prices, and then test quality before stocking up. Keep receipts when trying a new direct-to-consumer order, check shipping thresholds, and watch whether the delivered size matches the grocery shelf size you normally buy. If a shelf tag, flyer or website seems to overstate a Canadian claim, the CFIA says retailers are responsible for store-generated signage and online food origin claims being truthful and not misleading. Shoppers can report food-labelling concerns to the CFIA and deceptive marketing concerns to the Competition Bureau.

Source trail: - The Canadian Press via CJME: “Local demand surges for Canadian-made food and household goods, but retailers lag” — https://www.cjme.com/2026/09/01/local-demand-surges-for-canadian-made-food-and-household-goods-but-retailers-lag/ - Competition Bureau Canada: “Made in Canada claims” — https://competition-bureau.canada.ca/en/deceptive-marketing-practices/made-canada-claims - Canadian Food Inspection Agency: “Country of origin on food labels” — https://inspection.canada.ca/en/food-labels/labelling/consumers/country-origin - Canadian Food Inspection Agency: “Notice to industry – The importance of accurate use of Product of Canada, Made in Canada and other origin claims” — https://inspection.canada.ca/en/food-labels/labelling/notice-industry-2025-03-14