This morning, I stumbled across a ‘live’ online poll asking if I, as a Canadian, was planning to ‘Buy Canadian’ if Trump’s tariffs were, in fact, imposed. I said I would at least try. But I immediately wondered: how could I easily tell Canadian from US products?
Some Canadian retailers are going even further to promote Canadian products, in the
shadow of threatened US tariffs on Canadian goods entering that country…
I spend enough time in supermarkets shopping the bargains and taking precautions not to be ripped off by shrinkflation and package-padding. I don’t want to make grocery shopping an all-day affair! But I do want to stand behind my country, its economy and the great products we grow and make here.
A handy guide to Canadian brands
So I was gratified (and relieved) to find a comprehensive Guide To Buying Canadian attached to a long scroll of Trump-tariff related posts from a variety of media outlets.
“Following Trump’s tariff news, some grocery stores are opting to label Canadian made products with a Canadian flag next to its price tag to help patriotic shoppers,” Yahoo! Lifestyle Editor
But the foolproof way to tell if a product is made in Canada is to look for government approved ID on the label…
Look for the ‘Product of Canada’ label
This label means that approximately 98 per cent of ingredients, processing and labour used to pro-duce the product are Canadian. According to the Government of Canada, products that claim to be ‘Canadian’ are considered the same as ‘Product of Canada’, DiFilippo advises.
The Guide itself…
… Lists dozens (hundreds?) of Canadian brands that all pass the government approval test. The Yahoo! directory is conveniently organized under general headings such as as ‘Dairy’, ‘Baking’, ‘Wine, Beer and Spirits’, ‘Meats & Poultry’, and so on, for easy reference. You can easily link to or save-down the whole list to your home computer or smart phone…
My take
It’s important to note that some major brands may be owned by American or ‘international’ parent companies. But, if their labels say ‘Made In Canada’ or ‘Product of Canada’, that’s proof that the spe-cific product you’re looking at was, indeed, made in Canada by the Canadian branch of the brand. And that it contains majority- or entirely-Canadian ingredients, and was produced or packed by Canadian labour.
That’s good enough for me.
As I said yesterday, I’m not running out to sign up for the Crazy Old Cat Ladies’ Home Guard just yet. But for now, I will make an effort to buy Canadian. Which, come to thin of it, is something I already do…
~ Maggie J.