{"id":15047,"date":"2025-02-04T07:04:06","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T07:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/torontotribune.ca\/index.php\/2025\/02\/04\/want-to-buy-canadian-how-to-find-alternatives-to-big-u-s-brands-national\/"},"modified":"2025-02-04T07:04:06","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T07:04:06","slug":"want-to-buy-canadian-how-to-find-alternatives-to-big-u-s-brands-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/torontotribune.ca\/index.php\/2025\/02\/04\/want-to-buy-canadian-how-to-find-alternatives-to-big-u-s-brands-national\/","title":{"rendered":"Want to buy Canadian? How to find alternatives to big U.S. brands – National"},"content":{"rendered":"


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UPDATE AS OF FEB. 3, 2025 AT 4:59 P.M. EASTERN: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the U.S. tariffs on Canada will be \u201cpaused\u201d for 30 days. Read more about the announcement here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs have fuelled a surge in people vowing online to \u201cBuy Canadian.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while experts say there are ways to find alternatives to the big U.S. brands, there may still be some difficulty.<\/p>\n

The push to buy domestically ramped up after Trump announced his long promised 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods, with Canada planning to retaliate with $30 billion worth on American products, both set to take place Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The tariffs will then rise to $125 billion in 21 days if the U.S. doesn\u2019t remove the tariffs.<\/p>\n

Tyler McCann, managing director of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute, said buying Canadian is a great way to invest in the country\u2019s food system.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe idea, the concept of buying more local really is just important and it\u2019s a good one,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s really a good way overall to make our food system more resilient.\u201d<\/p>\n

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He said when Canadians head to the store, people should not look at only the brand to determine if they\u2019re buying local, but also at the label for information, including if it has a maple leaf on it.<\/p>\n

According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) this typically signifies \u201call or virtually all major ingredients, processing and labour used to make the food product<\/a> are Canadian.\u201d<\/p>\n

Food economist Michael von Massow at the University of Guelph said while people might think to avoid U.S. brands like Lays potato chips or Samsung electronics, he cautions Canadians may need to consider alternatives they\u2019re not used to, especially in the case of food.<\/p>\n

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If your favourite Kellogg\u2019s cereal, for example, doesn\u2019t have a Canadian alternative, you may have to try a different product in order to stay Canadian, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re dedicated to that \u2018shop Canadian,\u2019 then we may have to switch and look at alternatives that might be in the same broad category, but not identical to what we prefer,\u201d von Massow said.<\/p>\n

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But the plan to buy Canadian is not without issue. McCann noted most of the food Canadians buy is from all over the world and that can make it difficult to know what is \u2014 and is not \u2014 Canadian.<\/p>\n

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According to a report by the institute in June 2023<\/a>, about 80 per cent of Canada\u2019s fruits and 60 per cent of its vegetables are imported from other countries, with a large portion from the U.S., Mexico and other Latin American countries.<\/p>\n

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This is especially true in the winter, when certain produce cannot be grown in the country, resulting in consumers turning to either frozen fruits and vegetables, such as blueberries grown and frozen in Canada, or turning to other countries.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is an inherent part of one of the reasons why trade is a good thing, because it does give us this global supply, this yearlong supply of food from all around the world,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it also in this situation creates a real issue at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, while people may want to avoid American products even if many products come from the country, von Massow noted Canada is an exporting country and there isn\u2019t a need to punish all countries just to avoid the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s less about buying Canadian, which is good, and more about not buying American,\u201d von Massow said.<\/p>\n

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If Canadians are still curious about whether a product may be produced in Canada, such as if it doesn\u2019t have the \u201cProduct of Canada\u201d wording, he said you can also call the company to ask them directly.<\/p>\n