Canada will slap a provisional 10 per cent tariff on global imports of canned vegetables to address “immediate challenges” facing the domestic industry, the federal government announced Friday.
Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said in a statement the new tariff will take effect immediately and will remain in place for a maximum of 200 days.
The tariff will not apply to imported canned vegetables from the United States, Mexico, Israel, Chile, and developing countries “in accordance with Canada’s international trade obligations,” Finance Canada said.
“The government is committed to standing up for Canadian producers and ensuring they have the support they need to remain competitive in the face of global challenges,” Champagne said in the statement.
“With the imposition of this provisional safeguard measure, our priority remains a balanced approach that not only provides relief to our canned vegetables sector but also protects food security and affordability for Canadians.”
Conservative agriculture critic John Barlow told Global News the tariff was “a positive step” amid concerns from the industry about potential dumping of canned vegetables into Canada — particularly in response to U.S. tariffs.
Dave Epps, a Conservative MP and Ontario tomato farmer, also voiced support for the measure in an interview.
“Other economies that were selling into the U.S., now at the last minute were looking for homes for their product,” he said.
“It raises all these questions about the quality of it coming in, it raises questions around pricing. So this (tariff) has a lot of industry support.”
Because the U.S. is exempt, the tariff shouldn’t lead to cost increases for consumers, said Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University — unless it stays beyond the 200 days.
“The U.S. is a big supplier of our canned vegetables,” he said in an interview.
“But 10 per cent is actually huge for that category. It’s a cents-driven category, so I suspect they’ll basically stop importing (canned vegetables from affected countries).”
What led to the canned vegetable tariffs?
Finance Canada said the measure was temporary as the government waits for the Canadian International Trade Tribunal to complete an inquiry into whether increased imports of frozen and canned vegetables are harming domestic processors.
The tribunal is expected to conclude its work by Sept. 9, and the ministry said the tariff would be stopped if the inquiry determines Canadian producers were not adversely impacted.
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However, a Finance Canada official told Global News the ministry conducted its own assessment — which included consultations with Canadian vegetable producers and reviewing government import data — to determine the provisional tariffs were necessary to protect the domestic industry.
The official, who spoke on background, said the tariffs would act as “a bridge” toward whatever longterm safeguard the tribunal might recommend, adding the ministry is confident the inquiry will reach the same conclusion as the ministry.
The inquiry was announced by Champagne in March after “a formal request from the Canadian Association of Vegetable Growers and Processors.”
The group — which does not appear to have a website or other online presence with contact information, and was registered with the federal corporation registry as a non-profit on Jan. 20, 2026 — had lobbyists meet with Finance Canada and the Prime Minister’s Office in February, according to the lobby registry.
A Montreal international trade lawyer, Bernard Colas, is listed as the sole director on the corporate filings for the association.
Colas confirmed in an email to Global News that he is the association’s executive director and referred all questions to a media spokesperson who is also a registered lobbyist for the group.
The spokesperson issued a statement Global News they said was attributable to the association, which praised the new tariff.
“Today’s provisional safeguard measures will help stabilize supply chains, support domestic production and processing capacity, and strengthen Canada’s long-term ability to feed itself,” the statement said.
The statement says the Canadian Association of Vegetable Growers and Processors “is the voice of Canadian vegetable growers, harvesters, employees, and processors from coast to coast to coast, working to protect and strengthen the sector from farm to consumer.”
The Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada (FVGC), which has existed since 1922, says it is “the voice of Canadian fruit and vegetable growers.” It did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
An NDP source told Global News on background that, in nearly eight years working on agricultural policy issues for the party, “I’ve never once heard of or met with” the Canadian Association of Vegetable Growers and Processors.
A spokesperson for Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald’s office said in an email that they have heard of the group “but our interaction with them has been very minimal” and no ministerial meetings have taken place.
The Finance Canada official, however, said the association is “a very, very real group” that is “representative of the industry’s needs,” adding it appears to have been formed at the request of other industry groups for the purposes of lobbying for the tribunal inquiry.
A Conservative party source confirmed on background that the association’s purpose was to lobby for the canned vegetable measures.
Charlebois said there is “absolutely a lot of lobbying going on in the food industry right now” as the industry looks for relief from tariff pressures.
“The market conditions have actually changed so much due to tariffs, and you can’t overlook what’s going on in the U.S.,” he said.
“This decision today points to how countries will deal with trading pressures from all over the world.”
Food strategy calls for boosting domestic vegetable production
The tariff comes after Prime Minister Mark Carney launched a new federal food security strategy this month that aims to boost domestic agricultural production and lower grocery costs for Canadians.
The strategy says Canada “relies heavily on imported processed foods, such as for tinned and frozen fruits and vegetables,” despite being a “significant producer of vegetables.”
According to the government, 45 per cent of preserved fruit and vegetables consumed by Canadians are imported, more than half of which come from the U.S. alone. For fresh vegetables, the import dependency rate is even higher at 72 per cent.
The strategy calls for additional investments in greenhouse infrastructure and technology to support year-round growing of fruits and vegetables in Canada, with a goal of reducing dependence on imported crops by 20 per cent by 2032.
Barlow said he was supportive of measures that increase domestic processing, but added real action is needed beyond promises.
“If we really want to defend the produce growers in Canada — vegetables specifically — we have to reduce the red tape and taxes on these businesses to encourage that value added in processing in Canada, and that is really a critical piece we’re missing,” he said.
He can slap 100% on canned veggies, I am still gonna buy EU cans. No preservatives, no GMOs, and I just don’t want to start talking about the inside coating of North American cans.
Food autonomy is critical. I also understand that we want to ensure only quality food enters the country. Considering the US Is removing the few regulations they had concerning pesticides, I would suggest that tariffs should be on the US ones as well. Perhaps I missed it, there are these tariffs imports from Europe as well? Because their pesticides regulations are more stringent than ours, so it would make no sense. I’m not sure where our free trade stands with them specifically in regards to produce.
@William – you’re mostly right, but 8 million Canadians did not vote for this.
Let people choose what they want to buy. If people buy Canadian, then great. If people buy imported goods, then so be it. The markets should decide without the nanny state trying to control every single aspect of commerce to rig the prices on the shelves.
sort of looks like the big dog littlle dog thing. Com’on Donald, let’s chase sticks, huh, huh! OK then, how about tariffs, huh huh….Aren’t you impressed how smart I am?
@ Anonymous you have no idea what you are talking about. The only attempted genocide in the middle east is coming from countries and terrorist puppets of those countries that hate Israel’s very existence and have been attempting genocide since 1948.
Why is Israel, a country that has been committing genocide for years, exempt? Why?
Not that most people would buy anything produced in Israel after Israel’s evil being shown daily.
So Canada isn’t actually producing enough yet to support Canadians but there have been pledges to invest in more greenhouses and ramp up production.
Tarrifs will not be on US products which many Canadians are snubbing. Sounds like someones trying to make appease the toddler down south, but they’re doing it on the sly.
Wow, we are imposing tariffs on tinned vegetables from abroad, but not those from America where over a half come from. To support Canadian producers, I would have done the absolute opposite and put tariffs on American imports and left the rest without tariffs. This is what we Canadians must do if we are to pivot away from the US towards the CANZUK countries and Europe. All this does is start turning the clock back where we are treating American goods on the same basis as our own. I had thought that we had finished with this bloody nonsense. Shame on us!
Some of the L I b t a r d s on here will support Carney until their living in a tent, using food banks and watching their mother turning tricks to buy the crack their obviously smoking.
Ha Ha all the liberal haters commenting. Remember Carney 67% PP 33%. Three more years LMAO.
I don’t buy canned fruit to often, but when I have, they came from Africa. I try not to buy anything from China since they’ve pretty much cornered our markets for decades.
suckers! — what? did you actually think that the economy will improve under yet another liberal, that spends your money like a drunken sailor? come on…. how many times will you fall for the “dont worry, the budget will balance itself. just wait and see….wait a few more terms….i promise, it’ll get better” lol Remember….. this is what Canadians voted for. so, enjoy :)
India and China
but… but… tariffs are bad…. right?…. right?
What domestic industry? Everyone knows all our fruits and veggies come from South America
and the Jungle Book Song “Trust in Me” plays softly in the background with this newest LPC announcement on affordable food for Canadians …..
Why does the government think they can force people to buy Canadian. People will buy products for mostly 2 reasons price and quality that meets their standards if Canadian products don’t meet these consumers will not buy.
To be clear, this is more grocery inflaion.
Guys im a Canadian farmer. The food i produce is not going to be affordable. Full stop.
The price of fuel, fertilizer and chemicals went up by 50% this year across the board.
The price of parts goes up by 10-30% every year.
This will do nothing for the cost of domestic products but sure drive up the cost of imported ones.
A political move that will hurt Canadian consumers the most while doing nothing for the producer. Heck nutrien will probably just jack up the price of fertilizer and chem again over this.
I’m in Newfoundland, canned veggies are usually $3.00-$5 depending on what, but with frozen around $8.00/bag, and fresh at prices like $6.00 for a leek, Canned vegetables are usually cheapest way to get vitamins. I couldn’t imagine how impactful this will be up north, when on the island it’s already unreasonable, or was the decision just about the mainland cities, and making sure farmers don’t have to worry about competition
I admit to being confused. If we are not putting this 10% import tariff on goods from United States, Mexico, Israel, Chile, and other developing nations then who are we imposing this tariff on?
So what was the point of this?
Judge me by the prices at the stire is what Carney said, so let’s just do that. Prices for food staples are very high so Carney gets a failing grade again.
Champagne promised lower grocery prices by Thanksgiving 2023. Nothing was ever realized. Typical for a Liberal making false promises for their own gain.
We don’t need any imports from Israel
We don’t need imports from Israel.
I buy local anyway, and when there is none available to buy, we just tighten our belts and go hungry.
Yep, welcome to the new Canada.
And the cost of food goes up even more.
These liberal clowns really do not get it. Or really care about the suffering of Canadians.
How does adding a 10% tariff improve food affordability?
The great Liberal government rising food costs again a traif is a tax we Canadians will pay
Israel?
Pay more for Canadian stuff that is grown in my area. 🖕Carney
Another LIB virtue signal for the media to pick up on that means nothing. Hey Carney, looks like you’ve carbon taxed them already, so let’s make it even tougher on Canadians.
Probably another scheme to protect a Quebec company gouging customers.
This will do nothing except make groceries more expensive for low income Canadians since this primarily affects Chinese imports.
? Who does it apply to if not the usa, Mexico etc. It should apply to them and protect Canadian produce?
Given who the tariffs apply to they are essentially useless
Makes the LPC look as though they are doing something but won’t make any difference
@Pat what exactly in this article has a right wing leaning?
If this was written by a conservative, it would probably say what countries are actually effected and how that will “help” the Canadian economy.
The entire article is basically Champagne saying “Trust me, Bro”
You must have TDS…
So these tariffs will basically apply to imported canned vegetables from luxembourg?
A reader can always determine when the post is written by a Conservative.
zzz…
I always buy local anyway.
Next week is corn.
Today asparagus.
What a joke. Now watch the prices go up for all vegetables and wouldn’t be easy to say which countries are effected because it sounds like most won’t be but that won’t stop the grocery stores putting the prices up today.
How the hell is a tariff on imported canned foods going to help the Canadian economy or Canadians. Canned foods are at this time for a lot of people, the only source of food they have. This is just going to cause theft of canned food become an issue. What an absolutely absurd thing to do!
Bad idea. Three quarters of the food we consume is imported because we only grow food here in a very short window. This is just a tax on us to support a local industry that cannot sell much more than it already does. Unless Carney is aware of a bumper harvest for July and August, then we all will paying more for months to come.
Great news for the Grocery chains now they can increase canned goods by 30% and blame it on Tariffs just another way to fleece Canadian’s.
What happened to affordability Carney ?
In other words, the extra CO2 in the atmosphere, which has been making plants grow more and get by with less moisture, has increased agricultural yields. And instead of allowing this increased supply to reduce food prices, the government is intervening to protect their friends’ profits and investments.
That will only make food inflation worse. Another bad decision by Carney regime.
Carney needs to stop doing what Trump is doing. Sanctions/tariffs seldom work. Now Canadians will have to pay 10% more for their preferred brands. Way to go – I thought Carney wanted to reduce our food bills…
Article speaks to the countries is “will not apply to” – but doesn’t clarify what countries it does impact.