Across all survey respondents, 43.5 per cent always or often shopped local, a 10-per-cent hike compared to last year. Prices of different vegetables at a Loblaws store in Toronto, on May 31, 2023.Ammar Bowaihl/The Globe and Mail
Gen Z shoppers are the most likely to buy local food and also the most likely to dip into savings or borrow to cover the grocery bill, said a survey published Tuesday.
The survey of 3,000 Canadians, published by Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab, found 53.5 per cent of respondents born between 1997 and 2012 said they “always” or “often” opt for local – a rate 10 per cent higher than the national average. Around 38 per cent of these young Canadians also draw from savings or borrow money to pay for groceries.
On the surface this might seem like a paradox, said Sylvain Charlebois, lead author of the report and director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab. Local food can often be more expensive than non-local options, such as imported food.
But Gen Z’s tendency to value local even when funds are tight mirrors a Canadian trend toward food sovereignty, even when it comes at a cost, he added.
“Right now, the dominant paradigm is local.”
Canadians in general were more likely to buy local today than six months ago, according to the report.
Across all respondents, 43.5 per cent always or often shopped local, a 10-per-cent hike compared to last year. After Gen Z, the next in line were boomers. Those born before 1946 were the least likely to say they always or often bought local food.
The report tied this sentiment to two factors. The first is seasonal availability: It is a lot easier to find Canadian produce in the spring compared to the winter. The second is a pro-Canada movement spurred by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.
The second factor has played out since Mr. Trump took office and first threatened to end free trade with tariffs on Canadian goods. Vertical farms – which grow crops in large warehouses close to cities – reported a boom in sales, grocers added Canadian flags to shelves and new Canadian suppliers, and liquor stores pulled U.S. brands off the rack.
It also affected how Canadians check for labelling. According to the survey, more than 55 per cent of Canadian consumers often or always check packaging for where the food is grown or produced, topping how often Canadians check food for product recalls or genetic modification.
And it is a marked shift in how Canadians – especially the youngest respondents – are thinking about groceries and food production, said Mr. Charlebois.
When the previous report was published in October, respondents focused on affordability and food inflation. And while this remained a major concern in the latest edition – beating child care, utilities, housing and transportation as the number 1 inflationary concern among respondents – the rise of eating local is now a serious consideration, too, said Mr. Charlebois.
This refocus played out in other areas, too, he added. Trust in all of Canada’s food institutions rose compared to October, with the strongest gains for independent grocers. Trust in major retailers – which have faced scrutiny through the affordability crisis – also increased.
“Last fall, we were exiting the food inflation storm,” said Mr. Charlebois. “People were thinking about prices and consumer trust was impacted.”
But local food is a nebulous term, said Jennifer Clapp, a professor of food, agriculture and environment at the University of Waterloo. She was not involved in the Dalhousie report.
An item can be marketed as Canadian even if many of the ingredients were sourced elsewhere, she said, or if the factory is owned by a large U.S. corporation.
However, should this consumer sentiment drive meaningful government action, it could have a lasting impact on Canada’s agricultural industry, she added. Especially if these values come from Gen Z.
“There is a lot more interest in having our own independent food system that is more resilient,” she said. “Especially if we can’t trust one of our biggest trade partners.”
The federal Liberal election campaign dedicated a section of its platform to fostering food security. Promises included buttressing financial support for farmers, investing $200-million to build out domestic processing capacity and continuing to back Canada’s supply-managed sectors of dairy, poultry and eggs.