At the end of January, then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the country’s prime ministers urged people to “choose Canada” buying Canadian products in the middle of the growing threat of US tariffs.
“There are many ways to do its part,” Trudeau said on January 22. “It could mean verifying the labels and choosing Canadian manufacturing products.”
With the US tariffs. Uu. Now instead and in counter-tarifas, buyers who took that message are analyzing the labels, and, at the same time, many are asking the question: Is there any cousin about patriotism? Market He has received dozens of messages in the last weeks of consumers who wonder if they are now paying more for the same products because they are, in varying degrees, Canadian.
“I would like an investigation [to see] If ‘Buy Canadian’ is just another elegant marketing tactic, “wrote a user in Reddit.
Another sent us an email saying that they feel that “Canadian items have risen in price, some seem to increase weekly.”
So Market He analyzed the prices of thousands of edible products labeled as a Canadian in a store in the center of Toronto Loblaws since the beginning of the year.
While nine out of 10 products remained at the same price, and approximately two percent decreased in the price – Market He discovered that the regular price of hundreds of products has increased since governments made the call to buy food made in Canada. Some are of Canada’s most emblematic brands, including Tim Hortons, St-Hubert, Swiss Chalet and Chapman’s.
Market He spoke with several economists who said that it is impossible to know with certainty if a premium is applied as the demand rises in the home for Canadian products, because many factors, such as the processing of an element and if it is affected by the American taxes, are at stake when it comes to prices. They reached different conclusions on whether the demand for Canadian products could explain the price increase. The manufacturers say it is the supermarkets who decide the price and the shopkeeper, Loblaw, denies increasing the prices of the groceries due to the demand for Canadian buying.
But Colin Mang, an assistant economy professor at McMaster University, said it is clear that people want to buy Canadian products. It points out a recently published survey of 9,788 Canadians made by Caddle for the University of Dalhouseie in Halifax, which found that approximately 60 percent of respondents were willing to pay a premium for Canadian products on US alternatives.
According to Mang, that gives retailers an opening to increase prices.
“Consumers, when they see that little Canadian flag next to the product, I think that really increases their desire to have that product,” he said. “There is this great ‘Buy Canadian’ movement and Canadian manufacturers and retailers are ready to take advantage of that. They can collect higher prices.”
What Tim Hortons products did you get more expensive?
Loblaw, which has several groceries of groceries, which include any steering wheel, forts, independent Canadian superstore and Canadian and Zehrs, said it began to implement the Maple Leaf logo online and in stores in early February to indicate if the products were prepared in Canada.
Market I discovered that between February 3 and February 10, multiple Tim Hortons products in the Loblaws store increased in price.
A mixture of hot chocolate jumped from $ 15.99 to $ 17.99. The same mixture of hot chocolate of Tim Hortons also increased in price twice in voilà, a food delivery platform owned by Sebeys that operates in the GTA, at the end of March and early April.
Two different sizes of French vanilla capuchin mixtures increased by 50 cents and one dollar respectively in Loblaws. Later in the year, on March 31, the Vailas of Café Hortons Caramel Toffee also rose from $ 12.99 to $ 13.49 through voilà.
Michael Von Massow, a professor at the University of Guelph who studies the economy of food, described the “unfortunate” moment. He said that coffee has become more expensive due to a weaker Canadian dollar and its vulnerability to climate change, which is causing production problems.
Mang said that he believes that supermarkets increased the price due to consumer demand, because the price of raw cocoa was decreasing during February increases, and although transport costs may have increased marginally, wages remained stable.
Michael Oliveira, communications director at Tim Hortons, said Market In a telephone interview that retailers establish the price in the store, not in the manufacturer.
Oliveira refused to explain how Tim Hortons determines the price she suggests that she uses retailers or if that has changed the suggested price, instead of pointing out that coffee and cocoa products are in or near the historical maximums in terms of cost.
Manasvi Thakur, a sovereys spokesman, described the idea that the price increase was the result of the demand for “blatantly false” Canadian products and said “there is always volatility within the cocoa and coffee sectors.”
Thakur added that when a supplier presents an increase in costs, there is an integral process to validate those changes before adjusting prices.
In an email, Loblaw said that the cost of ingredients, labor and more prices factor. The company explained that while coffee pods ‘prepared in Canada’ are roasted and packaged in Canada, beans import and have seen significant cost increases during the past year.
What St-Hubert and Swiss Chalet products became more expensive?
Two St-Hubert products, a chicken and tour cake, and a chicken cake with a Swiss chalet increased at $ 7.99 to $ 8.99 between March 10 and March 16 in the Loblaws location.
“I think I could probably attribute that more to an increase in Canadian demand,” said Stuart Smyth, a professor at the Department of Agricultural Economics and Resources at the University of Saskatchewan.
He said that rates would probably not affected these products at that time.
Von Massow said he did not believe that any of the products would require many imported ingredients or would be subject to significant rates, but added that it is not clear to identify why the price increased.
While the president of the United States, Donald Trump, launches a commercial war against Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urges Canadians to buy products manufactured in this country and consider not taking vacations in the United States.
Speaking on behalf of ST-HUBERT and Swiss Chalet, Josée Vaillancourt, communications director of ST-HUBERT, said that in an email the company has not increased the price of these products and would not share details on how it determines a price, describing it as a “long and complete exercise that we do not take slightly.”
Vaillancourt said that retailers finally decide the price seen in the store and said that most have policies that prevent suppliers and retailers from discussing retail prices.
She said that prices monitoring in a store does not indicate an increase or decrease in the total market, noting that errors happen.
Loblaw did not specifically approach the price increase of these products in their email to Market.
What Products from Chapman obtained more expensive?
Some products from the Canadian ice cream manufacturer Chapman’s also increased in the Loblaw location, although the company says in early March that it would absorb immediate cost increases due to tariffs and maintain stable prices.
But Market I discovered that although some Chapman ice cream products really decreased in the price, three sugar -free Chapman products increased the price: vanilla ice cream, vanilla ice cream sandwiches and double Dutch ice cream increased from $ 7.99 to $ 8.49 in the loblaws on March 25.
Pascal Thériault, an agronomist and economist from McGill University, said the price of ingredients such as sugar has fluctuated, and Mang pointed out how other dairy products have increased in price, all of which may have affected the cost of Chapman’s products.
Von Massow said he believes that the store may have increased the price with the ice cream demand that grows as the warmest climate approaches.
Ashley Chapman, director of operations of the company, said that occasionally receives emails from frustrated customers on higher prices given the promise of Chapman. While understanding why people can feel annoying or confused, he said that the retailer dictates the price in the store. He said that Chapman’s products would see a “huge” price increase if the company did not absorb the cost of tariffs.
He also said that buyers should not assume that an increase in supermarket prices is “disastrous.”
Chapman, the only national brand of Canadian property ice cream in the country, says that consumers will not pay higher prices for ice cream this season, despite the fact that the commercial war with the United States will increase its operational costs. The company says it will have to go from American suppliers, some of whom have had relations with decades and find new international contracts for various materials for ice cream.
He said that supermarkets may be counting the fact that prices will probably fall between May and September, which is when manufacturers such as Chapman are investing more money in promotional strategies and prices to compete with each other and match the greatest demand for ice cream during the summer.
Loblaw did not specifically approach the price increase of these products in their email to Market.
Mang said people may be willing to pay more to ‘buy Canadian’, but that does not mean they want to see an increase in the price.
“People care to pay higher prices,” he said.
Thériault said that customers should try to buy ingredients and foods that involve less processing to save money and avoid fluctuating prices.
