Amidst the ever-evolving Canada-U.S. trade war, a Victoria grocery store has sworn off produce from south of the border.
Over the past three weeks, Urban Grocer has removed almost all of the U.S. fruits and vegetables from its shelves, following a dip in the sale of American-grown products.
This began after the Fort Street store started using small tags to illustrate where its produce is grown. Not long after, management found shoppers were buying the 200 American products it offered far less than they used to.
“As soon as this Trump (tariffs) hit, it was like a light bulb went off in ... people,” said the store's general manager Gary Innis. “People are just pissed right off that this has happened.”
Some items saw stark dips in sales.
“Prior to all of this, one of our most popular spinach was Popeye Spinach. We used to sell 60 to 80 bags a day of that stuff,” said Innis. “In the last week that we had it, we sold two bags. That’s a message.”
With the help of the store's produce manager, Innis decided to wean Urban Grocer off U.S. produce. By Monday (March 17), all of the store's American produce will be replaced with alternatives from Canada and places farther afield, like Morocco, Argentina, Mexico, Japan and Europe.
“I'm very proud of that team for what they've accomplished in such a short order,” said Innis. “As a result of that, we're getting really good feedback from our customers.”
To avoid raising prices, Urban Grocer has absorbed the extra cost incurred as a result of ordering produce from countries farther away than the U.S. It is now seeing less profit per item sold, but the general manager explained the store is making more money, as it has seen an uptick in customers since steering clear of U.S. produce.
“It has not hurt us at all,” he said. “We're growing our overall sales by catering to new customers that want to come to us.”
Recent studies seek to explain this recent shift in consumer behaviour.
A 2025 Hill and Knowlton survey found that 79 per cent of the 1,500 Canadians it polled agree supporting local businesses feels more important than it did last year. Fifty-five per cent of these people ranked patriotism and Canadian pride as one of the top motivations for choosing Canadian-made products.
Another survey, this one from the Angus Reid Group, found 78 per cent of the 3,310 Canadians it polled are committing to buying more Canadian goods in response to the proposed U.S. tariffs, while 59 per cent are likely to boycott American products.
While Innis recognized Urban Grocer’s move alone won’t affect President Donald Trump's decision to keep tariffs in place, he plans to continue the store's boycott of American produce for the indefinite future.
“We are all strong patriots,” he said.
