Multinational food and beverage firms push Canadian-made products amid tariff spat

Simon Laroche, president of Kraft Heinz Canada, is photographed in the company's Toronto office, on Thursday, July 18, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Amid a “buy Canadian” push inspired by trade tensions with the U.S., some multinational food and beverage companies are working hard to highlight their Canadian-made products.

Canadian viewers of the Super Bowl over the weekend may have noticed a new ad from Kraft Heinz. The ad, set in the company’s Montreal factory, was put together in less than a week, said Simon Laroche, president of Kraft Heinz Canada.

The factory employs more than a thousand people and has 42 production lines, he said.

“Brands like Philadelphia cream cheese ... Kraft peanut butter, Heinz ketchup, Kraft salad dressing or Kraft singles, even Classico pasta sauce. All of those brands are made in Canada by Canadians, and people didn’t know that,” said Laroche.

“We make 70 per cent of what we sell in Canada, in Canada.”

After U.S. President Donald Trump announced he intends to implement sweeping tariffs on Canadian imports, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would retaliate with tariffs of its own.

Now, the two sides are in the midst of a month-long truce. But in the meantime, many Canadians are looking for ways to support domestic businesses that could be hurt if tariffs do come into play.

It’s a good time for brands to promote Canadian products, said Rachel Thexton of Thexton Public Relations.

But consumers looking to shop patriotically are finding it’s not cut-and-dried, she said.

There are several different labels depending on how a product was made, and many international companies such as Kraft Heinz make products in Canada, so brands are clamouring to prove their Canadian-ness to shoppers in the grocery store.

“They’re certainly investing a lot in this,” Thexton said.

Multinational brands are likely concerned their sales could suffer because they’re not seen as Canadian, said Thexton.

Other large U.S.-based food companies with a manufacturing footprint in Canada include Hershey, PepsiCo and its subsidiary Frito-Lay, and Mondelez International, the maker of Dad’s cookies, Oreos, Ritz crackers and other well-known snacks.

Many big-name alcoholic drinks are also manufactured in Canada. Molson Coors, which was formed through the merger of Canadian company Molson and American company Coors, brews a slew of beverages domestically including its namesake beers as well as Blue Moon, Arizona Hard Tea, Miller and Rickard’s.

The company has nine brewing locations across the country, employing thousands of people, said spokeswoman Alex Sockett in a statement.

“While we are a global business, the vast majority of our beers and beverages are made in the market in which they are sold.”

In recent comments urging shoppers to seek out Canadian-made products, Trudeau noted that when the country was in a trade tiff with the U.S. in 2018, Heinz ketchup was on the chopping block.

“The example from last time was Heinz’s ketchup being replaced by French’s ketchup because French’s was still using Canadian tomatoes in its ketchup,” Trudeau said.

The Chicago-based multinational food company was quick to respond. Though it closed its Leamington, Ont. factory in 2014, it returned to producing ketchup in Canada in 2020, and now its ketchup is again made with Canadian tomatoes.

“We wanted to make sure that Heinz was not going to be the example,” Laroche said.

Kraft Heinz is currently looking at its packaging, aware that shoppers are looking for labels indicating a product’s Canadian-ness, said Laroche. Some, like Philadelphia cream cheese, are getting a packaging refresh soon, he said.

It’s also working with retailers on stickers, flyers and other ways to highlight Canadian-made Kraft Heinz products, Laroche said.

However, he understands it’s easier said than done for Canadian shoppers to figure out what it even means to buy Canadian.

“The truth is, the entire supply chain in North America is very integrated,” he said.

U.S.-based food and beverage companies aren’t the only ones working to reassure Canadians they’re buying local products.

Dr. Oetker Canada, whose parent company is located in Germany, put out a press release last week saying it’s committed to domestic manufacturing, and that most of its products are made in Canada using locally sourced ingredients. It said its London, Ont., facility employs 430 people and uses 53,000 pounds of Canadian cheese daily.

Lactalis Canada, which is owned by French parent company Lactalis, launched a guide for shoppers that includes information on what the labelling on their products means, such as “Made in Canada,” “Product of Canada” and the blue cow logo for Canadian dairy.

Yoplait Canada is also under French ownership, having been newly acquired by dairy co-operative Sodiaal. The brand put out a statement saying that for more than 50 years its products have been made in Quebec with milk from local farms.

Thexton expects brands will continue to spend in the short term on ads, marketing and other ways to push their Canadian connections, whether they’re Canadian-owned or multinationals with a manufacturing presence in Canada.

It’s up to shoppers to decide whether those efforts resonate, said Thexton.

“I think it is going to be a bit of a turning point,” she said.

— With files from Tara Deschamps

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 12, 2025.

Rosa Saba, The Canadian Press