Dozens of Canadian supermarkets have been exposed for hiding ‘Made in USA’ labels on produce amid Donald Trump’s tariff war.
An investigation conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and CBC found that around 45 grocery stores across the country were mislabeling American made products as Canadian.
The phenomenon, known as ‘Maple Washing’, has outraged shoppers who believed they were boy boycotting American goods in support of the Buy Canadian movement.
The movement sprung up in response to the president’s rhetoric around Canada and the tariffs he imposed.
Shopper Stacy Dineen told CBC that she buys Canadian food as much as possible, or will buy products imported from outside the US.
‘Trump’s comments about annexing Canada, wanting to make us part of the United States, boy, that really kind of lit something,’ she told the outlet.
But Dineen, like many shoppers, found herself frustrated not being able to trust the product’s being marketed to her.
‘It makes me feel misled,’ she told the outlet. ‘At this point, I have run out of patience for it. It feels – at the very least, it’s careless.’
An investigation conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and CBC found that around 45 grocery stores across the country were mislabeling American made products as Canadian
Shoppers shared their outrage over the ongoing issue, as many Canadians found attempts to boycott American products more difficult with the deceptive labeling
CFIA and CBC’s investigation uncovered that from November 2024 to mid-July, the CFIA received 97 complaints regarding product country-of-origin claims.
Of those investigated so far, 32 percent of the complaints came from a company violation with most stemming from bulk produce, CBC reported. The violations investigated have been corrected, according to the outlet.
The term ‘Maple Washing’ was coined earlier this year as trade war tensions grew, and tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration led many Canadians searching for homegrown products.
Dineen found herself in Sobeys grocery store shopping for organic broccoli under signage that said ‘product of Canada’.
But when she inspected further, the tag on the product said ‘produce of USA.’
CBC investigated other stores operated by Sobeys, Loblaws, and Metro in Toronto and found similar issues.
‘At each store, one or more country-of-origin shelf signs in the produce section stated the accompanying product was a “product of Canada” or Mexico, but the product’s sticker or packaging said it was a “product of USA”,’ the outlet reported.
CFIA and CBC’s investigation uncovered that from November 2024 to mid-July, the CFIA received 97 complaints regarding product country-of-origin claims
Dineen found herself in Sobeys grocery store shopping for organic broccoli under signage that said ‘product of Canada.’ Only when she inspected further, the tag on the product said ‘produce of USA’
Dineen, like many shoppers, found herself frustrated not being able to trust the product’s being marketed to her. ‘It makes me feel misled,’ she said
Sobeys was found to have labeled products such as almonds and avocado oil with Canadian flags and ‘Made in Canada,’ which resulted in an April case that eventually led to no repercussions for the chain.
‘We don’t grow almonds in this country. Those should not meet the Made in Canada threshold,’ Mike von Massow, a professor in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Guelph.
While some errors can be attributed to human error and short staffed grocers, shoppers are growing tired.
In a statement to CBC, a spokesperson for Sobeys said: ‘Fresh produce can change week-to-week and unfortunately mistakes can happen from time to time.’
Sobeys, Loblaw and Metro told the outlet that they strive for accurate country-of-origin signage, and noted the difficulty of dealing with large amounts of inventory.
A Reddit thread, simply called ‘Maple-washing Safeway,’ exposed an example of dishwasher tablets with ‘Product of USA’ on the back with a Canadian flag stuck next to its pricing label.
‘Just another post about shady practices by grocery stores. Local Safeway thinks we can’t read,’ the post said.
A Reddit thread, simply called ‘Maple-washing Safeway,’ exposed an example of dishwasher tablets with ‘Product of USA’ on the back with a Canadian flag stuck next to its pricing label
Food labelling expert Mary L’Abbé said that in just six months the Buy Canadian Movement had shoppers losing their patience
One user fumed: ‘There needs to be penalties for misleading consumers!’
‘Why are Canadian entities that are supposed to protect Canadian consumers not giving out massive fines and forcing and mandating changes in significant ways to various corporations that abuse Canadian consumers time and time again?!’ another raged.
‘It’s beyond absurd, it is ignorant, insulting and allows those massive corporation to take advantage of Canadian consumers without repercussions in any significant way to help prevent it from happening again to alleviate the concerns of Canadian consumers of being pick pocketed by them over and over.’
‘I’ve noticed Loblaws doing this too. They mark them as Canadian because “the store brand is Canadian” but the product wasn’t made in Canada,’ a comment pointed out.
The Buy Canadian Movement has not only been a contentious topic for outrage caused by maple-washing, but also for the cost of non-imported goods.
Food labelling expert Mary L’Abbé said that in just six months the Buy Canadian Movement had shoppers losing their patience.
‘It’s important to Canadians, and I think they have a responsibility to their consumers who expect them to interpret the regulations correctly,’ said L’Abbé, a nutritional sciences professor emeritus at the University of Toronto.
‘I think the retailers have to step up to the plate and actually get their act together.’
‘It’s important to Canadians, and I think they have a responsibility to their consumers who expect them to interpret the regulations correctly,’ said L’Abbé (pictured), a nutritional sciences professor emeritus at the University of Toronto
Dineen said: ‘Why would you put a Maple Leaf on a product that very clearly is imported? It just erodes the trust. It just makes you think, “OK, so that’s meaningless.”‘
Canada recently removed its retaliatory tariffs on US goods in August, signaling a major thaw in trade tensions between Canada and the US.
The move aimed to reset trade talks between the two countries, and should lead to lower tariffs on Canadian goods entering the US.
The move came a day after Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Donald Trump spoke by phone for the first time since the two countries missed a self-imposed deadline to reach a trade agreement earlier this month.
In March, Canada imposed counter-tariffs of 25 percent on a wide range of US products after Washington slapped duties on steel and aluminum.
Canada rolled back retaliatory tariffs to match US exemptions on goods covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada trade deal, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced
President Donald Trump announced a range of tariffs in April. It kicked off a tariff war with Canada. But Canada removed many of its retaliatory tariffs on US goods, marking a major thaw in trade tensions between the two countries
Carney said the rollback, starting September 1, will match US exemptions on goods covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada trade deal (USMCA).
However, Canada’s 25 percent tariffs on US autos, steel, and aluminum will remain in place for now — costs that will be felt more acutely by Canadian consumers than American ones.
In July, former President Trump announced he would raise U.S. tariffs on Canada to 35 percent, citing both the rise of fentanyl and Canada’s reluctance to cooperate with the U.S. as factors in his decision.
The Trump administration later exempted goods covered by the trade deal.
