Volume of US Goods Sold at Canada’s Grocery Stores ‘Rapidly Dropping,’ Top Supermarket Says

U.S.-made goods are disappearing from Canadian grocery stores as retailers respond to consumer demand, tariffs, and economic shifts, Empire Co. executives say.

Shoppers at a Sobeys grocery store in Toronto, Canada, on June 26, 2023. The Canadian Press/Graeme Roy

Empire Company Ltd., the owner of a number of Canadian food retailers, said on March 13 that American products as a percentage of total sales have been falling substantially.

“American products we are selling as a percentage of our total sales are rapidly dropping,” Michael Medline, president and CEO of Empire, said during an earnings call. “We have heard loud and clear from our customers that they want Canadian products.”