Grocery stores help shoppers buy local but expert says U.S. boycott likely won’t last – Okanagan

At Lakeview Market in Kelowna, B.C., many labels are being changed to help answer questions staff are fielding these days.

“A lot of customers have been asking where we get our products,” said Barb Hill, the store’s co-owner. “We decided to put some Canadian stickers, Canadian flag stickers on our local products, Canadian-sourced products.”

The family owned store has  prided itself on buying local for decades but it thought the stickers would help shoppers navigate their choices in trying to buy Canadian-made goods.

“I hope it comes out positive,” Hill said. “I hope as Canadians we come closer, support more Canadian.”

The shift in shopping habits comes in response to the looming risk of U.S. tariffs that, if implemented in early March, could be as high as 25 per cent on many Canadian goods entering the United States.

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The current patriotic support is being driven in large part by emotions, according to Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, director of Agri-Food Analytics Lab, which conducts research on food distribution at Dalhousie University.

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“I think a lot of people just feel insulted and feel quite angered by what has happened,” Charlebois said.

He pointed to what unfolded in Mexico a few years back as a comparison to what is now happening in Canada.

“In Mexico, they went through what we’re going through right now because of the wall,” Charlebois said. “Donald Trump asked Mexicans to pay for the wall and that was their 51st state moment, if you will.  Now we are going through our own 51st state moment.”

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Grocery stores across the country are jumping on board the patriotic purchasing push by helping customers identify Canadian-made products. But according to Charlebois, the current boycott of U.S. products will likely not last for long.

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“Every now and then, there’s an event going on and people feel very patriotic. But these events don’t last because the economics of food are pretty powerful,” Charlebois said. “People end up looking for the best buys, the best deals, and often, really, some of these products are not Canadian.”

Whether the shopping shift is long term or not, many agreed that it still serves an important purpose.

“I think it is fantastic,” Hill said. “I think we should all be aware where our groceries come from.”

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