Business · Trade · 2 hrs ago
More Canadians are choosing domestic brands, with the shift expected to last
More Canadians are choosing Canadian products, with 53 per cent saying they often or almost always do so and another 29 per cent saying they sometimes do.
The shift gathered pace in early 2025, after U.S. tariffs prompted a wave of support for domestic businesses.
Researchers say the change also reflects a longer-running interest in making values-conscious choices, rather than being only a reaction to trade tensions.
Toronto distributor Genumark recorded its strongest revenue year on record in 2025, up 16 per cent from the year before, though its chief executive cited several reasons for the increase.
Canadian ownership and sourcing have become key factors in some customers’ purchasing decisions, even when products are made abroad.
A business survey found that 48 per cent of small and medium-sized firms that had traded with the U.S. shifted to non-U.S.
customers or suppliers, and 74 per cent of those turned to Canadian alternatives.
The shift may give Canadian brands a lasting advantage, while businesses still face costs from finding suppliers and dealing with changing freight costs.
Fifty-three per cent of Canadians often or almost always choose Canadian products, according to Abacus Data.
Experts say the shift toward domestic brands may last beyond the trade tensions that helped accelerate it.
A report by Environics Research says a decade-long trend toward “conscious individualism” was accelerated, not created, by recent trade tensions.
Toronto-based distributor Genumark recorded its strongest revenue year on record in 2025, with revenue up 16 per cent from the previous year.
Nearly three-quarters of small and medium-sized businesses that shifted away from U.S. trade chose Canadian alternatives, according to a 2026 CFIB survey.
- Who
- Canadian consumers and businesses are increasingly choosing Canadian products and suppliers.
- What
- Support for domestic brands has grown, and experts say the shift may become lasting.
- When
- The shift accelerated amid trade tensions beginning in early 2025; the article was published on October 13, 2026.
- Where
- Canada.
- Why
- Recent trade tensions accelerated a longer-running trend toward conscious individualism and supporting domestic businesses.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
An “Elbows Up” response to U.S. tariffs began, according to the article.
Nearly half of surveyed small and medium-sized businesses that previously traded with the U.S. pivoted to non-U.S. customers and suppliers.
Genumark’s revenue rose 16 per cent from the previous year, its strongest topline year on record.
Ambassatours Gray Line forecast its revenue would finish 10 per cent higher than in 2025.
- Canadian consumers
- 53 per cent often or almost always choose Canadian products
- Canadian consumers
- 29 per cent sometimes choose Canadian products
- Genumark
- 2025 revenue was up 16 per cent from the previous year
- CFIB survey
- 48 per cent of surveyed businesses that previously traded with the U.S. pivoted to non-U.S. customers and suppliers
- Canadian alternatives
- 74 per cent of those businesses made the shift toward Canadian alternatives
- Ambassatours Gray Line
- 2026 revenue forecast 10 per cent higher than in 2025
What people are saying
In our industry, many products simply aren’t manufactured here.
We’re a distributor, not a manufacturer, so the structural issue of tariffs doesn’t hurt us the way it hurts businesses undergoing major restructuring right now.
For many businesses, promoting ‘Canadian-made’ or ‘Canadian-owned’ is an asset in the current context as Canadians are definitely looking to support domestic brands.
These habits have changed for over a year among Canadians, who may be permanently used to shopping with a ‘Buy Canadian’ mindset.
Sources
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