Mario Canseco: British Columbians rethink grocery bills as Trump tariffs loom

It is fair to say that Canadians have assembled a united front after U.S. President Donald Trump first uttered his threats related to tariffs and his overtures about the annexation of Canada. We have seen renewed support for premiers who have chosen to openly discuss and implement retaliatory measures, and many Canadians are seeking to avoid American goods and services

The idea of “Buying Canadian” may make sense, but many British Columbians are unaware of specific limitations. When we asked the province’s residents about the proportion of fruits and vegetables Canada is importing from the United States, the responses were way off from reality.

Just over a third of British Columbians (36 per cent) identified that somewhere between 21 and 40 per cent of the fruits Canada imports are American. The confusion is worse for vegetables, with 16 per cent of British Columbians knowing that somewhere between 21 and 40 per cent of the vegetables Canada imports are from the United States.

Upon learning the reality of Canada’s current reliance on American produce—36 per cent of fruit imports and 67 per cent of vegetable imports—British Columbians become uneasy. More than half of the province’s residents (55 per cent) are “not too confident” or “not confident at all” that Canada’s food supply and security will not be restricted by the current dispute over tariffs with the United States.

In stark contrast, British Columbians are more likely to endorse the actions of local food producers, with 54 per cent saying they are “very confident” or “moderately confident” that they will be able to increase production if the food supply is hindered by the actions of the Trump Administration.

Even before the tariff threats materialized, British Columbians were already concerned about rising grocery costs. This month, majorities of the province’s residents report paying more for fruits (78 per cent), vegetables (75 per cent), beef (73 per cent), chicken (71 per cent), cereal (61 per cent), prepared frozen meals (60 per cent) and bread (also 60 per cent).

Just what makes us mad when we notice a heftier bill at the counter has gone through a dramatic shift. Just under three in ten British Columbians (29 per cent) primarily blame the actions of governments, while 25 per cent think global political conflicts are affecting supplies, and fewer point the finger at the actions of supermarket retailers and grocery stores (18 per cent), and climate change (11 per cent).

These findings represent a significant fluctuation from what we learned in May 2024. Back then, elected officials were still regarded as the main culprits, but British Columbians were more likely to point the finger at supermarket retailers and grocery stores (24 per cent) than global turmoil (13 per cent). Our views are no longer dominated by COVID-19 or reports of a vessel stuck in the Suez Canal. British Columbians are already bracing for the impact of the second Trump presidency.

“Nature still offers her bounty,” read U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt during his first inaugural address in 1933, in an attempt to calm a public suffering from a severe economic downturn. Almost a century later, British Columbians ponder a different matter: whether our wallets will stretch enough to cover the cost of non-American alternatives.

At this point, 62 per cent of British Columbians tell us that they do not mind paying more for fruits and vegetables if they originate in the province. Those who voted for the BC NDP are more likely to feel this way (74 per cent) than their counterparts who supported candidates from the BC Green Party (56 per cent) or the Conservative Party of B.C. (53 per cent).

There is no clear consensus on how far we will go. Just over a third of British Columbians (34 per cent) are willing to pay up to 10 per cent more for non-American sources of food, with just over one-in-five (22 per cent) ready to pay 11 per cent to 20 per cent more. A higher expenditure is only welcomed by 14 per cent of British Columbians, while a slightly larger proportion (18 per cent) say they would not pay a penny more for food that is not from the United States.

When it comes to grocery prices, the collective anger expressed towards supermarket retailers and grocery stores has subsided, supplanted by a sense of dismay over a crisis manufactured on a whim by a foreign head of state. In any case, more than seven in ten British Columbians think the federal government (78 per cent) and the provincial government (73 per cent) can do a lot to help lower the cost of the food we eat. With a federal vote looming, parties seeking to capitalize on anti-American animosity would be wise to establish a framework for rebates and assistance.

Mario Canseco is president of Research Co.

Results are based on an online survey conducted from March 15-17, 2025, among 801 adults in British Columbia. The data has been statistically weighted according to census figures for age, gender and region in British Columbia. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.