The Trade War Is Back. Is Buy Canadian Back Too?

Here we go again with Canada-U.S. trade tensions! 

More escalation. And once again, more attention is being paid to buying Canadian. 

We’ve been here before. When this all started back in early 2025, the reaction was strong and many Canadians took action immediately. Our flag started appearing on shelves, consumers were quite vocal about avoiding U.S. products altogether, and brands rushed to make their Canadian credentials as visible as possible. 

Then, by the spring of 2025, some of that intensity started to wane. 

Pragmatism set in. 

Let’s not forget that Canadians are feeling the squeeze of rising costs all around them, and they have to make some hard decisions when it comes to many of their essential purchases. We see this consistently in our broader research on economic confidence and the Canadian shopper. People are paying very close attention to value, comparing their options and making trade-offs. 

So now that trade tensions have escalated again, an obvious question is: is Buy Canadian coming back too? 

Our latest Leger research, conducted August 28-30, 2026, suggests there is certainly still a lot of interest there. Nearly two-thirds of Canadians (64%) say they plan to look more actively for products made in Canada given the current trade tensions with the U.S. Half say they will look more actively for products from Canadian-owned companies, while 45% say they plan to avoid U.S.-made products. 

And perhaps just as telling, only 10% say they do not plan to change what they buy at all. So even if some of the initial elbows-up intensity has faded, the trade war is clearly still affecting how Canadians are thinking about their purchases. 

Those are pretty significant numbers. 

But here’s where I think it gets more interesting. 

I mentioned pragmatism earlier, and the economic pressures Canadians are facing are important here. When we asked what would have the greatest influence on whether they switch to a Canadian-made alternative, price came first at 67%, followed by product quality at 56%. Made in Canada was important at 45%, but it certainly didn’t replace the fundamentals.

And when we asked how much more people would actually pay for a comparable Canadian-made product, about 4 in 10 were willing to pay at least some premium. But almost half would only choose Canadian if it was the same price or cheaper than the U.S. alternative, and only 9% would pay more than a 10% premium. 

So what does that mean for CPG brands? 

For me, it raises more questions than answers. 

Is Canadian origin truly driving a change in behaviour, or is it more of a tie-breaker once price, quality and performance are taken into account? 

How much of the current reaction is being driven by renewed trade tensions? And if things settle down again, does some of that sentiment fade with it? 

There’s also the question of fatigue. Canadians have been hearing about tariffs, Buy Canadian and elbows up for well over a year now. Does continuing to emphasize Made in Canada strengthen a brand, or at some point does the message simply start to blend into the background? 

Of course, not all Canadians are reacting the same way. 

Younger Canadians remain much more driven by price, while older Canadians put considerably more weight on whether a product is made in Canada. In fact, Made in Canada is a top switching influence for 60% of Canadians 55+, compared with just 25% of those aged 18-34.

That is a pretty big gap, and another reminder that a national headline number will only take a brand so far. 

For U.S. and international brands, the questions may be even more important. 

How strong is your existing brand equity? Is it enough to overcome a renewed preference for Canadian alternatives? How much protection do trust, quality, product performance, or simply years of habit provide? And at what point does a tariff-related price increase become enough to make someone reconsider a product they may have been buying for years? 

When we asked Canadians what they would do if tariffs increased the price of a U.S.-made product they regularly buy, half said they would look for a Canadian-made alternative. 

And the potential impact varies considerably by category. If a comparable Canadian product were available, 88% said they would be likely to switch in food and beverages, compared with 84% for household cleaning products, 83% for personal care, and 81% for over-the-counter health and wellness products. 

But I’d be careful about assuming any one of those numbers tells you what will happen to your brand. 

The trade war is fluid. Consumer sentiment is fluid. And what people say they intend to do in response to a political or economic event does not always translate neatly into what they do when faced with an actual choice at the shelf. 

That’s why I think the more useful questions for CPG brands are becoming very specific: 

What is happening in my category? With my consumers? At my price point? Against my competitors? And is it changing? 

We already know that Made in Canada matters. 

The bigger question is when it matters, for whom it matters and how much it matters before price, quality and habit take over.

Navigate the CPG landscape with confidence. Connect with our team to uncover the insights, strategies, and solutions you need to stay ahead of shifting consumer priorities and navigate the complexities of today’s trade war.