“Made in Canada” misinformation is rampant on social media
What do French's, Canada Dry, and President's Choice all have in common?
As consumers try to navigate the often confusing prospect of buying Canadian during a trade war, platforms like TikTok and Instagram have been awash with text-and-image posts listing out Canadian companies to support, U.S. ones to boycott, and products to swap out.
But as I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of these posts, I’ve found many to be really misleading. In the best case, they leave out the nuance of what makes a product “Canadian,” but sometimes they are just flat-out wrong.
Why it’s happening: This doesn’t seem to be a crafty PR tactic that’s paying influencers to maple-wash U.S.-made products (PR people reading this, please don’t get any ideas). The falsehoods are mostly coming from low-quality accounts chasing engagement on what has become an in-demand topic Canadians are seeking guidance on.
Sometimes these accounts are posting the same images over and over (think Instagram meme accounts that screenshot tweets), but other times they repackage the same questionable info without checking the source.
While we’re at it: Let’s fact-check some of the more common claims:
French’s is owned by McCormick, the U.S. company that also produces Frank's RedHot, Club House, and Cholula. The misunderstanding goes back to 2014, when competitor Heinz closed down a Leamington, Ontario tomato plant it operated for over 100 years. Two years later, the facility was reopened by a processing company called Highbury Canco, which landed French’s as one of its first customers.
However, Kraft Heinz is now one of Highbury Canco’s biggest clients, making products like baked beans, tomato juice, and Classico pasta sauces with local tomatoes. It also makes tomato paste that gets shipped to Montréal, where Heinz Ketchup is now made.
French’s still makes ketchup in Canada, so the “made in Canada” designation fits, but it is no more “Canadian” than Heinz Ketchup. On a related note, French’s flagship mustard boasts that it is made from Canadian mustard seeds, but it is bottled in Missouri and imported back north.
Store brands like President’s Choice, No Name, Selection, and Compliments are owned by the Canadian grocery stores that sell them, but one way they undercut name brands is using whatever supplier will make them cheapest — sometimes that’s in Canada, but sometimes it is imported, and sometimes it is imported from the U.S.
Canada Dry was started in Toronto, but its ownership has passed between various American companies since the 1920s — it is currently owned by Keurig Dr Pepper.
However, it is processed and bottled by Coca-Cola Canada Bottling, a locally operated subsidiary of the American giant. Other brands produced in Canada include Sprite, A&W, Barq’s, Aha, Vitamin Water, Minute Maid, Powerade, and Simply Juice.
PepsiCo products — like Gatorade, Bubly, 7UP, Mug, Aquafina, and Brisk — are also bottled in Canada, though the company says local manufacturing accounts for 88% of what it sells in Canada.
Schick is owned by Edgewell Personal Care, based in Connecticut. Some other Edgewell brands (like Playtex) are also made in the U.S., but some (like Bulldog) are imported from Europe.
Just do your best out there: “Buy Canadian” is a really complicated ask when you have to decide between buying an imported product from a Canadian company (which keeps profits in Canada, but isn’t always passing that along to workers/suppliers) and buying from an American company that manufactures products or sources materials in Canada (which pays local workers/suppliers but sends the profits south of the border). And if the U.S. is the adversary in this trade war, try not to get too down when you can only buy certain stuff from Mexico, Europe, or Asia.
There is also the option of switching to local craft brands, but they skew more expensive and might not be accessible for people who are already struggling with the cost of living.
And keep in mind where you’re getting your info. Is It Canadian? is a well-researched resource — even if it deems a product not Canadian, it breaks down the material sourcing, manufacturing, and ownership so you can make an informed choice.