{"id":873135,"date":"2026-08-27T08:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T08:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/873135\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T08:52:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T08:52:10","slug":"loblaw-to-restore-country-of-origin-countertariff-labels-amid-renewed-buy-canadian-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/873135\/","title":{"rendered":"Loblaw to restore country-of-origin, countertariff labels amid renewed \u2018Buy Canadian\u2019 push"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Shoppers browse goods in the produce section of a Loblaws in Toronto.Chris Young\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

At a Loblaws grocery store in Toronto on Tuesday, Matthew Avenins and his girlfriend Sarah Baldwin took care to select produce from Canada.<\/p>\n

Keeping their dollars at home is their way of protesting, Mr. Avenins said, a practice they have pursued since early 2025, when U.S. President Donald Trump launched his trade<\/a> war against Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more that we can support our own economy, the better. The less reliant we are on the U.S., the better off we\u2019re going to be,\u201d he said at the Loblaws on Dupont Street in the city\u2019s west end. <\/p>\n

The couple also abandoned their March travel plans to attend a music festival in Houston, to further avoid supporting the U.S. <\/p>\n

As Loblaw Cos. Ltd. recently learned, escalating tensions have reinvigorated the \u201celbows up\u201d movement that has led Canadian consumers to avoid U.S. travel and prioritize buying Canadian goods.<\/p>\n

Initially, Loblaw was among the retailers that lent its support to the cause, slapping a \u201cT\u201d symbol on shelf labels to identify U.S. products that were subject to Canada\u2019s retaliatory tariffs. <\/p>\n

The Big Guide to Canadian Shopping<\/a><\/p>\n

By last fall, after Ottawa had pulled its countertariffs, the \u201cT\u201d markers were removed, Loblaw spokesperson Youmna Rab said. Signs indicating the country of origin of products were removed last week, she said.<\/p>\n

However, public pressure from the renewed \u201cBuy Canadian\u201d trend has pushed the national grocer to bring back the labels that identify where grocery items are sourced from \u2013 and to restore its \u201cT\u201d signage as Canada\u2019s new countertariffs roll out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are reinstating the T symbol on shelf labels for products sourced directly from the U.S. that are affected by tariffs. Customers will begin to see the T symbol appear as affected products are identified and shelf labels are updated,\u201d Ms. Rab said in an e-mail. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs Canada enters another period of trade uncertainty with the United States, we are once again taking steps to give customers clear information about products affected by tariffs and make Canadian products easier to identify,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n

Inside the Loblaws grocery store on Dupont Street on Tuesday, red Maple Leaf tags lined the shelves. A sign hanging above stacks of broccoli said \u201cProduct of The U.S.A.\u201d in the bottom left corner, while across the aisle a similar sign above another stack of broccoli displayed the Canadian alternative. <\/p>\n

David McLachlan, 64, was at the store to pick up his daughter after she finished a shopping trip. <\/p>\n

Opinion: Premiers now lead the charge in the trade war. Ottawa must recognize that<\/a><\/p>\n

When Mr. McLachlan buys blueberries for his cereal, he said the first thing he checks is if they are Canadian grown. Mr. McLachlan said he\u2019s been resolute in buying Canadian since Mr. Trump first threatened tariffs last year, and he won\u2019t buy any American produce \u2013 even if its cheaper. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to pay more for Canadian stuff every time. I\u2019m voting with my wallet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ellen Goddard, agricultural economist and professor emerita at the University of Alberta, was not surprised Loblaw reintroduced the labelling measures, especially after the \u201cshocking\u201d Canada-U.S. trade deal collapse on Friday. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was probably a surprise to Loblaws, and they probably thought, \u2018Oh dear, this is not the time that we want to be seen to be not providing information to allow people to support Canadian purchasing,\u2019\u201d she said, noting grocers don\u2019t want to risk losing trust with consumers. <\/p>\n

Prof. Goddard said updating produce labels, signs and flyers to display the country of origin is a logistical \u201cnightmare\u201d for grocery stores. <\/p>\n

To ensure products, such as strawberries and peaches, are stocked consistently across a national grocery chain\u2019s stores, retailers often have to quickly source products from different countries, including the U.S., she explained. <\/p>\n

Andrew Coyne: The whole world is watching as Canada stands up to Trump<\/a><\/p>\n

The company\u2019s earlier move to stop displaying countries of origin was likely designed to eliminate the risk of any labelling mistakes, Prof. Goddard said.<\/p>\n

Loblaw has previously been punished for inaccurate labelling by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which has cracked down on Canadian grocers for \u201cmaple washing,\u201d a phrase that describes products being inaccurately or misleadingly identified as Canadian. <\/p>\n

In March, the agency announced<\/a> it imposed $47,000 in fines on five business for the practice since April, 2025, including two $10,000 penalties in January on grocery stores owned by Loblaw. A spokesperson for the company apologized at the time. <\/p>\n

Back at the Toronto Loblaws parking lot, Stephanie Turner loaded shopping bags into her car. She said she sometimes travels to three grocery stores in one day to get all of her food and ensure that its all Canadian. <\/p>\n

She said she makes a point of buying Canadian to show her friends and family that people can band together to fight against U.S. tariffs. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to support our friends and merchants here to make sure that Canada remains the amazing country it is,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Shoppers browse goods in the produce section of a Loblaws in Toronto.Chris Young\/The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":873136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,43,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,44,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,41,39,42,40,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-873135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-headlines","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-news","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=873135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/873136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=873135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=873135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=873135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}