Canadians’ plans to stick to buying Canada-made and produced products aren’t stopping, and a new survey suggests a majority say if given the choice between paying more to buy local, they’d do so.
The survey, conducted by Hill & Knowlton on behalf of Interac Corp. questioned 1,500 Canadians at the start of February.
A total of 79 per cent of Canadians polled said they agree that supporting local businesses feels more important than it did at this time last year, and 80 per cent said they’re likely to choose Canadian-made products over imported ones.
“We’re in a really exciting moment. Many Canadians are trying to make sure that they spend their dollars at home,” said Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB.)
Kelly notes buying Canadian is also not always easy due to cost, with some items more expensive due to the time of year or production costs compared to buying something from the U.S.
But the survey found even though some items may cost more, most Canadians are willing to spend more money to keep that buy Canadian with 53 per cent willing to pay $5 more to buy a local product.
Another 33 per cent said they were willing to spend $10 extra.
The Interac survey isn’t the only one showing an increase in Canadians focused on products made in Canada.
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Recent data from Angus Reid that sampled 3,310 Canadians from Feb. 16 to 18 showed 85 per cent either already have or plan to replace U.S. products with domestic producers.
In addition, 78 per cent said they’re committed to buying more Canadian products overall, with 59 per cent saying they’ll boycott U.S. products.
Yet buying Canadian isn’t as easy as just grabbing an item with a maple leaf on it, and 40 per cent have struggled to verify a product’s origin.
“It is a bit confusing because sometimes there are U.S. brands that are made in Canada and sometimes there are Canadian products that are marketed to customers around the world and so they don’t have the Canadian maple leaf on them,” Kelly said.
The CFIB says they’ve produced special signage for its members to promote shopping local and at independent business, but Kelly added they’ve noticed more customers asking stores for additional help.
“Consumers are asking a lot more of retailers to try to highlight which products are Canadian-made, to make it simpler for consumers to sort through the maze that is the supply chain,” he said.
Since tariffs against Canada were threatened, Canadians flocked to social media for help on sourcing Canadian-made goods, while business owners looked at getting rid of American-made products, like U.S.-imported alcohol, or labelling items that are strictly Canadian.
They’ve also worked to help each other determine what items are or aren’t Canadian.
There are some ways to try and determine if an item is Canadian or if it may include ingredients or materials that were from the U.S.
For non-food items, Canada’s Competition Bureau places a “higher threshold of Canadian content” at 98 per cent for anything labelled as “Product of Canada.”
When it comes to food, items with “Product of Canada” mean all or virtually all major ingredients, processing and labour used to make it are Canadian.
Meanwhile, “Made in Canada” claims for non-food items are subject to a 51 per cent threshold, but must include a statement that indicates the product contains imported content.
With food, this label must include a qualifying statement that shows “the last substantial transformation of the product occurred in Canada, even if some ingredients are from other countries.”
Tariffs continue to loom over Canada, but it’s yet to be seen if they will come to fruition when various deadlines pass, but Kelly said he’s hopeful whether they happen or not, the “buy Canadian” movement continues.
“Let’s hope that this trend continues, that this isn’t just a short-term flash point because we’re in a dispute right now,” he said.
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