Canadian consumers are protesting U.S. trade policy with their wallets, with many pivoting purchases to domestic alternatives of imported products. Fruit and vegetables are among the top targets for substitutes, and Canadian farmers are anticipating some temporary market gains.

“We have had an increase in activity and phone calls from domestic buyers hoping to secure and lock down the asparagus crop for this year,” Mike Chromczak, an asparagus and watermelon farmer in Ontario told Agri-Pulse.

President Donald Trump slapped new 25% tariffs on U.S. imports from Canada in March – reduced to 10% for energy products and potash. At the time, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lashed out at what he called “very dumb” tariffs, urging shoppers to convey their frustration to Washington by buying Canadian products and avoiding U.S. imports.

The call seems to have been answered. Monthly polling from the Canadian Produce Marketing Association shared with Agri-Pulse showed that across the first quarter of 2025, almost half of Canadian consumers said they are only buying Canadian products or prioritizing Canadian products over U.S. imports.

Only a quarter said they are not considering product origin in their buying habits.

This pivot is most prominent in the fresh produce sector, according to CPMA President Ron Lemaire.

“We asked Canadians what is the number one product they are avoiding from the United States,” Lemaire said in an email, “it was fruit and vegetables.”

“For whatever reason, they do seem to be particular about produce at this at this time,” said Chromczak, who also sits on a working group for business and risk management at the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada -- a trade association. 

He attributed the heightened consumer reaction around food to a Canadian connection and appreciation for domestic farmers.

Chromczak, is hoping that the spending shift will give farmers more leverage in business relationships to secure higher prices this growing season.

Almost all Canadian agriculture exports to the U.S. are covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, meaning they are exempt from the new 25% U.S. duties for now. Accordingly, Canadian farmers have managed to sustain U.S. demand for the more than $40 billion in annual agriculture exports, while also adding new domestic demand.

This increased demand could give Canadian farmers leverage to push for higher prices from wholesalers and retailers, Chromczak said, which has been in short supply in recent years as big retailers have squeezed farmers to cut costs. But Chromczak said producers will need to wait and see how the season plays out.

Public ire over the tariffs could wane over time, Chromczak reasoned, and he wonders for how long families will continue to prioritize domestic products if it means paying more for groceries.

 It’s easy to be “in the know” about agriculture news from coast to coast! Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news. Simply click here.

“That enthusiasm, it wanes over time,” Chromczak said. Ultimately, he noted, consumers are driven by taste, quality and price, but he added, “we will capitalize on it while we can.”

Canada’s federal elections are also slated for next week. The tariffs have been a galvanizing political force ahead of the election, but once the elections are over, it is unclear whether and to what extent the fervor will linger.

Minister of agriculture for the Canadian province of Alberta, RJ Sigurdson, also told Agri-Pulse in a recent interview that he thought the public outcry over the tariffs would be temporary.

“I believe we can get over that,” Sigurdson said. “I think that would disappear extremely fast, as long as we can get to more of a definitive answer on both the USMCA and these looming additional tariffs that are kind of sticking out there right now.”

For his part, Trump has toned down his threats on Canada in the last weeks of the election. He has refrained from referring to Canada as the 51st state and scaled back talk of annexation.

But he is still threatening higher tariffs. On Wednesday, he told reporters in the Oval Office that he could hike the 25% duty on vehicles coming from Canada.

“We don’t really want Canada to make cars for us, to put it bluntly,” Trump said.

At least outwardly, however, Canadians are projecting that they’re buying local for the foreseeable future. CPMA’s polling shows that among Canadians that have altered their buying habits, 69% say they’re willing to keep it up for “as long as it takes.”

“Most Canadians who have altered their buying habits are in it for the long haul,” Lemaire said, “at least until the threat of tariffs is removed.”

But even if the U.S. tariffs and the resulting frustration among Canadian consumers delivers a short-term win for Canadian farmers, Chromczak stressed that in the long-term, ensuring frictionless trade between the U.S. and Canada is a better path to prosperity.

“There needs to be economies of scale and market access on both sides of the border,” Chromczak said – not least because neither country can meet all of its domestic produce needs without imports.

“For me personally, I think that maintaining the free trade model is what's most beneficial for consumers as well as farmers,” he added.

For more news, go to: Agri-Pulse.com