Read time: 3 mins

The ‘buy Canadian’ sentiment remains very strong, with a majority seeking Canadian products.

Key Takeaways

  • Since February, an increasing number of Canadians are using their buying power to avoid American, and to support Canadian products.
  • Over half find it easy to correctly identify Canadian products, and most trust both manufacturers’ and grocery stores’ labelling of Canadian products.

With the ongoing trade war with the United States, residents are increasingly trying to support Canadian, with seven-in-ten (68%; up 5 points from February) actively seeking out Canadian products when shopping, and over half (56%; up 3 points) looking at labels to avoid products made in the United States. In addition, a minority of Canadians are using their spending power to avoid buying American, ranging from two in ten who have cancelled a planned trip to the U.S., to two in ten who have deliberately sought out Canadian entertainment. One in ten have cancelled an American streaming service. Just two in ten have not done any of these activities, showing how pervasive the ‘buy Canadian’ sentiment remains. Results are consistent across regions of the country.

In the Last Few Weeks, Canadians Have…

In the last few weeks, Canadians have..

When asked how easy or difficult it is to correctly identify Canadian products at grocery stores, those who are actively seeking Canadian products said they generally find it easy, with over half saying it’s easy to do so, though a quarter have difficulty and two in ten are neutral.

“Canadians feel strongly about supporting our country’s products, and manufacturers are clearly heeding the call, by helping shoppers to identify products from Canada,” said Narrative Research CEO Margaret Brigley. “Though given how strong the desire is to buy Canadian, there is still room to help consumers to more easily identify Canadian products.”

How Canadians buy Canadian

Trust in labelling is higher for products labelled as Canadian by the manufacturer or grower, with 68% trusting these labels, along with 60% who trust labels created by grocery retailers. Again, results are very similar across the country, and do not vary significantly by any other demographic parameters.

The Questions Asked

In the last few weeks, which of the following, if any, have you done?

  • Sought out Canadian products (e.g. at grocery stores)

  • Looked at the labels of products to avoid products made in the United States

  • Cancelled a planned trip to the United States

  • Sought out Canadian entertainment content (music, movies, shows, podcasts, radio, etc.)

  • None of the above

[If sought out Canadian products] How easy or difficult is it to correctly identify Canadian products at grocery stores?

  • Extremely easy

  • Somewhat easy

  • Neither easy nor difficult

  • Somewhat difficult

  • Extremely difficult

For the following, how much do you trust or mistrust labels identifying Canadian products …

  • Labels directly on products created by the manufacturer / grower

  • Labels on shelves created by the grocery retailer

  • Completely trust

  • Somewhat trust

  • Neither trust nor mistrust

  • Somewhat mistrust

  • Completely mistrust

Results are from an online survey conducted in partnership between Narrative Research and the Logit Group. The survey was conducted between April 9 and 12, 2025 with 1,230 Canadians, 18 years of age or older from the Logit Group’s online Canadian Omnibus. Data were weighted based on the 2021 Census, by gender, age, and region to reflect actual population distribution.

For more information, please contact:

Margaret Chapman, COO & Partner, Narrative Research – 902.493.3834, mchapman@narrativeresearch.ca or Sam Pisani, Managing Partner, Logit Group – 416.629.4116, sam.pisani@logitgroup.com.

Narrative Research is a non-partisan, 100% Canadian-owned research company, certified as a Women Business Enterprise (WBE). Narrative Research provides clients with state-of-the-art research and strategic consulting services.

The Logit Group is a leading North American data collection and market research execution company headquartered in Toronto, conducting large-scale projects for a variety of well-known research agencies and brands. Logit employs industry-best technologies.