Business Brief: Faux Canada – The Globe and Mail

Good morning. Canadian shoppers who turn over a jar of jelly to check where it came from are finding it isn’t their jam after all. Below, more on the rise of “maple washing” in grocery stores.

Also on our watch today: GFL’s takeover rejection, Nvidia’s widening scandal and rising inflation south of the border.

In focus

How ‘maple washing’ challenges consumers and businesses

Complaints about maple washing – dressing up food as Canadian when it isn’t – have climbed sharply this year, according to a Globe analysis by Mariya Postelnyak and Susan Krashinsky Robertson of Canadian Food Inspection Agency data.

Of the 675 complaints about origin claims it has received since November 2024, when U.S. President Donald Trump won a second term, the regulator found about 30 per cent had merit.

Thought for food

• 441: complaints filed between January and early October, up 53 per cent from 288 in all of 2025
• ~130: cases of non-compliance the CFIA has recorded this year, up 73 per cent from last year
• 205: complaints since November 2024 that the agency found had merit
• 233: complaints that lacked information or were sent to other parts of government
• 0: fines that came out of those 205 cases
• 12: companies that got stiffer warnings and fines after on-site inspections

What’s behind the spike?

The data can’t tell us whether shoppers are reading labels more closely or companies are mislabelling more often, but it might be both. The trade war made “buy Canadian” a habit for many households; more than a year and a half later, they’re still checking. That’s dedication! Industry experts see the rise in non-compliance as a sign that companies can’t keep up with demand for Canadian food, partly because domestic ingredients are hard to find, my colleagues write.

The defence

Spokespeople for Empire and Loblaw said grocers that stock tens of thousands of products will make signage errors, and that they fix them fast. A Metro spokesperson said the company had checked its records and was “not aware of any warning” from the CFIA.

The supply chain challenge

Some in the industry say Canada makes it harder than it should be to buy Canadian. Products made with mostly Canadian ingredients can lose their “Product of Canada” label because of small amounts of imported inputs, said Kristina Farrell, chief executive of Food and Beverage Canada, whose group wants the rules changed. And when companies source more domestically, costs will often rise. Building Canadian processing capacity and supply chains requires significant upfront investment, while shoppers remain highly price-sensitive, said Gurpreet Brar, PwC Canada’s consumer markets and agriculture leader.

Building maple muscle

The industry is pinning its hopes on Ottawa’s new Food Security Strategy, which promises just north of $3-billion over 10 years to build up domestic capacity in areas such as greenhouses and cold storage. “If we want to see more Canadian-made products on grocery shelves at competitive prices, we need to make Canada a more competitive place to manufacture food and beverages,” Farrell said.

Top stories

Backed by Beijing: China is dismissing claims it spied on Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang. The scandal threatens to derail not only the artificial intelligence-led stock market boom but also a tenuous trade truce between Beijing and Washington, writes James Griffiths, The Globe’s Asia correspondent. Shares in the AI giant have tanked this week, but Nvidia investors might not take long to make peace with the affair, Gus Carlson says.

Mind your business: Prime Minister Mark Carney said he will tell Chinese President Xi Jinping when they meet privately next week that foreigners shouldn’t interfere in Canadian affairs. He made the comments yesterday as he prepares for a meeting with Mr. Xi next week at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen. It will be Carney’s second visit to China since taking office.

Going for gold: Barrick Mining Corp. has filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its initial public offering of a minority share in its North American business as it attempts to win back the confidence of investors spurned by repeated setbacks. The Toronto-based miner said last night that it had filed its S-1 registration form with the U.S. regulator – the first step for a company planning a public stock offering.

Repayment plan: Automaker Stellantis says it has offered to repay money the federal government gave it to retool an auto plant in Brampton, Ont. – which it then sold to defence company Roshel Inc. Stellantis said it cannot disclose the amount because of confidentiality provisions in the agreement. Ottawa is not pleased.

Charted

U.S. consumer prices increased more than expected in October, driven by higher costs for food and accommodation, leaving the Federal Reserve on course to raise interest rates next month. Affordability was a driving force behind the blue wave that washed over Washington in the midterms earlier this month.

Quoted

Democrats plan to fight back against tariffs – but can they get Republican support? Adrian Morrow reports.

Up next

More files we’re following today

Before the bell: Stocks are trading on both sides of the border today, but bond markets are closed for Remembrance Day and U.S. Veterans Day. Notable earnings include CAE, Cargojet, CGI, Franco-Nevada., Power Corp. of Canada and Bird Construction.

Waste watch: GFL ‌Environmental shares are spinning after the country’s largest trash collector said it had ended its review of unsolicited bids to take the company private for more than US$20-billion. GFL did leave the door ajar for potential suitors, Andrew Willis writes.

Morning update

Global markets climbed as investors looked past mounting expectations of further Federal Reserve interest rate rises and focused on a renewed wave of AI optimism after strong results from CoreWeave.

Wall Street futures were in positive territory, while TSX futures followed sentiment higher.

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.32 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.41 per cent, Germany’s DAX gained 0.68 per cent and France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.38 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.31 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng eased 0.98 per cent.

The Canadian dollar traded at 70.31 U.S. cents.