Rather than go without salad for the week, the Toronto woman got creative, picking up cucumbers grown locally to take the place of lettuce.
The swap was cheaper and it allowed her to buy Canadian, thus serving as an example of how shoppers can join in on the growing desire to
support domestic businesses
while coping with strained budgets.
Prioritizing both is possible but can be difficult.
“This tariff war comes in the midst of an affordability crisis in this country,” Juradinho said in an email.
“I understand the sentiment that decentering cost in your purchasing decisions comes with a certain level of privilege.”
To balance prices with patriotism,
experts agree shoppers should first evaluate how much they can comfortably spend
and then think about how staunch they want to be about shopping Canadian.
Some products might not meet the criteria to sport the top-tier “product of Canada” label — where all, or nearly all, of the
materials or ingredients,
processing
and labour must be Canadian
— but still have ties to the country.
For example, their ingredients might be grown in a region where
the climate is more hospitable
or where materials are cheaper or more plentiful,
but the bulk of the manufacturing or packaging is done here.
In other cases,
a company is headquartered in Canada
but gets its products made overseas or is based elsewhere
but does most of its manufacturing here.
Juradinho prioritizes products from companies that support Canadian jobs,
even if they aren’t owned by Canadians,
but recommends people don’t be too strict with whatever mandate they give themselves because if you’re “too rigid, it isn’t likely to stick.”
How firm you want to be about what counts as Canadian is a personal decision, said Mike von Massow, a University of Guelph professor and food economist.
“We should do what makes sense for us as individuals or as households or as families,” he said.
“I won’t judge anyone for the choices they make,
as I would hope no one judges me for the choices I make.”
To figure out where a product was made, he recommends reviewing labels, and if you’re still confused contact the manufacturer.
Juradinho has also tried out apps like
MapleScan
or Shop Canadian,
which provide product origin info,
and uses Facebook groups designed to trade tips around how to buy Canadian to learn more about what brands are domestic.
While both methods can be imperfect, she said, “there have been many times in the grocery store aisle when I can’t find an adequate non-American replacement product and I will open the Facebook group on the spot, type ‘orange juice’ for example, and get a Canadian brand recommendation that imports oranges from Brazil instead of Florida.”
Taneesha Greaves, a Toronto-based content creator hosting an affordable recipe series called Tariff Takeback, recommends people don’t leave their research for the store.
She suggests those wanting to shop Canadian while sticking to their budget scour flyers to find out what domestic products are on sale in advance.
“When I plan my recipes, I’ll go on the grocery store website and then
look at the labels,
look at the pricing
and kind of build the plan around that,”
she said.
When she finds a Canadian ingredient she wants to use,
she compares flyers from different supermarkets to uncover which grocer is selling it for the lowest price.
The practice can help shoppers price match,
when some stores meet their competitors’ prices on the same items.
The same methods can be used for non-food products, said Jenna Jacobson, an associate professor focused on retail at Toronto Metropolitan University.
She also recommends signing up for newsletters for Canadian brands to learn when they’re offering deals or sales,
or visiting farmers markets,
craft fairs
and local mom-and-pop shops
to locate items made domestically.
While many people believe buying Canadian is often more expensive because labour can be more costly here than elsewhere, she said that’s often not true.
Some Canadian products are no more expensive than their competitors.
In cases when Canadian products are more costly, Jacobson challenges shoppers to think about how well-made their options are.
“Trying to invest in some of those higher quality Canadian items that are going to last longer
is an environmentally friendly strategy,
but also, budget-friendly strategy,” she said.
If you don’t have the means to buy high-quality items new, she recommends looking for Canadian products at thrift stores or on websites selling second-hand goods.
The success shoppers will have when trying to buy Canadian and adhere to a budget will vary wildly based on what they’re looking for.
Juradinho said it’s much more difficult to find Canadian personal care and beauty products but recommends trying Canadian brands like
e11ement,
Vivier,
Di Morelli,
Cheekbone Beauty,
Ilia,
Skinfix,
Nudestix,
Cake
and Three Ships.
When it comes to sourcing Canadian dairy, eggs, meat, cheese, and bread, she’s noticed it’s much easier.
That’s because the vast majority of dairy products found in grocery stores are made domestically, von Massow said, giving people wanting to shop Canadian more options among private labels and sales to stay within their budget.
There’s less leeway with produce because the country’s growing season is so limited, so von Massow said you’d be hard pressed to find broccoli or cauliflower grown domestically this time of year, unless it came from a greenhouse.
“The best way to save money by buying Canadian is to
think seasonally
and to be flexible,” he said.
At his house, that has meant occasionally swapping salad for coleslaw made with Canadian kale and carrots, until summer makes it easier to find lettuce grown here.
If you’re stuck when looking for a particular vegetable grown domestically,
try the freezer aisle,
where there are a lot of Canadian options, he said.
“Because of the flash freezing they now maintain their texture quite nicely and if you’re willing to switch ... you can probably do it in an affordable way.”
---
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2025.
Apr. 16, 2025 "Grocer Metro sees sales of Canadian products grow as Q2 profits rise": Today I found this article by Rosa Saba on BNN Bloomberg:
“In the current context, we are putting even more emphasis on local and Canadian products and optimizing their visibility in all of our banners, whether in store, online or through our various promotional tools, like the weekly flyer,” said Eric La Flèche on a call with analysts discussing the company’s second-quarter earnings.
As customers have been looking to shop more patriotically amid a trade war with the U.S., local products “are selling well and better than the rest of the store,” he said.
“We’ve put a lot of signage through our
stores,
on the shelves,
on displays,
to help customers make decisions on what products they want to buy.”
Ottawa has enacted tariffs on certain U.S. imports in retaliation to the duties imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
So far, the tariffs and Ottawa’s retaliatory duties haven’t had an inflationary impact, said La Flèche, noting that the retaliatory tariffs are limited in scope. The company is receiving some cost increase requests and is asking for six weeks to consider them, which means some are starting to trickle through — but it’s doing its best to mitigate those increases, working with vendors to find other solutions and in some cases finding alternative suppliers.
“We’re managing as best we can to find sources of supply to protect our costs and ... to minimize inflation,” he said.
Some U.S. vendors have production outside the country and are leaning more on that to get around the tariffs, said La Flèche. He gave the example of large berry vendors like Driscoll’s.
“They have fields in Mexico, and some of the berries that we’re selling these days are coming a lot more from Mexico than the U.S,” he said.
Metro reported a second-quarter profit of $220 million, up from $187.1 million a year ago, as its sales rose 5.5 per cent. The profit amounted to 99 cents per diluted share for the 12-week period ended March 15, up from 83 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Metro said it faces an uncertain environment.
“As we begin our third quarter, we face an uncertain economic environment.
It is difficult to predict
how the situation will evolve
and how it will impact consumers
and our business,”
said La Flèche.
“We’re confident that we’ll continue
to grow,
but there’s volatility and uncertainty,
and that affects customers,
and it ultimately can affect businesses.”
Sales for Metro’s second quarter totalled $4.91 billion, up from $4.66 billion in the same quarter last year, helped by the transfer of two significant pre-Christmas shopping days to the second quarter.
Food same-store sales were up 5.3 per cent in the quarter and up 3.9 per cent after adjusting for the Christmas shift.
Pharmacy same-store sales were up 7 per cent, helped by a 7.8 per cent increase for prescription drugs and a 5.3 per cent increase in front-store sales. Front-store sales were up 3.7 per cent after adjusting for the Christmas shift.
On an adjusted basis, Metro said it earned $1.02 per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 91 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2025.
The other 2 blog posts of the week:
"Expert says language on labels leaves a lot of room for guesswork about how Canadian a product is"/ "Buying Canadian is a matter of pride for shoppers. For major grocery chains, it's an opportunity"
https://badcb.blogspot.com/2025/04/expert-says-language-on-labels-leaves.html
"Marketplace found up to 1 in 3 groceries get labelled as Canadian. Customers say they're skeptical"/ "Are you paying more than before to buy Canadian? Experts say it's complicated"
https://badcb.blogspot.com/2025/04/marketplace-found-up-to-1-in-3.html
Nicky Katt, who played teacher Harry Senate on “Boston Public” after starting as a child actor and going on to play an assortment of tough guys in movies including “Dazed and Confused” and “Boiler Room,” has died. He was 54.
His death was reported by his friends and by attorney John Sloss, and reportedly occurred on April 8 in Burbank.
Often playing heavies and villains, Katt worked with Richard Linklater, appearing in “Waking Life,” “SubUrbia” and “School of Rock.” For director Steven Soderbergh, he appeared in “The Limey” as Stacy the Hitman, as Hitler in “Full Frontal,” and had one of his final roles in “Behind the Candelabra.” Christopher Nolan cast him in “Insomnia” and “The Dark Knight,” in which he played a S.W.A.T. team member.
On “Boston Public,” Katt played the popular geology teacher Harry Senate, who taught troublemaker kinds in “the dungeon.” David E. Kelley arranged for him to be written out of the show after suffering a mental breakdown so Katt could pursue his movie career after three seasons.
https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/nicky-katt-dead-boston-public-1236368189/
My opinion: He's an actor I haven't thought about in years. I remember him on Boston Public. He was a good actor on that show and there was good writing with the crazy stories.
Phil L, Vancouver, British Colombia, would like to know:
Should Canada keep daylight saving time or switch to standard time year-round?
Switch to standard time year-round 54.87% (2227)
Keep daylight saving time in spring and autumn 32.91% (1336)
No opinion 12.22% (496)
Brenda R, Cranbrook, British Colombia, would like to know:
Would you consider living in a tiny house?
Yes 52.36% (2529)
No 34.55% (1669)
I don't know 13.08% (632)
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