U.S. President Donald Trump’s percolating trade war may be causing stock markets to roil and allies to reconsider their economic relationships with the U.S., but Dalhousie University professor Sylvain Charlebois sees opportunity in the chaos for Canadian food manufacturers.

According to a consumer-data survey conducted by Caddle in collaboration with Dalhousie, the “Buy Canadian” movement will have a significant effect on purchasing decisions in a year already fraught with the U.S. president’s tariff salvos. And food brands should be preparing to pounce amid the uncertainty, Charlebois says.

“I see opportunity, opportunity, opportunity,” the director of the Dalhousie Agri-Food Analytics lab said on Thursday during an online seminar presenting the survey results. “There are openings everywhere because of the branding issue, the brand quality, the brand loyalty issue, because of pricing, because of the made-in-Canada momentum. … So this is good news actually for manufacturers out there looking for an opportunity. This is it, this is your moment, take advantage of it.”

In the survey, Value Shopping in Canada: Trends Shaping Consumer Habits in 2025, conducted from Feb. 11 to 12, three quarters of respondents said buying Canadian had become more important in the four weeks leading up to the questionnaire with 44% saying much more and 31% saying somewhat more important. Additionally, 57% of participants put a focus on made-in-Canada products among their top-three significant trends expected to shape grocery shopping in 2025, making it year’s most popular expected trend.

“A lot of people are looking for good deals, but this survey was actually conducted during a very interesting period with tariffs and everything that’s going on right now,” Charlebois says. “So the consumer psyche has been severely impacted by geopolitics.”

Elevated costs of living are affecting Canadians’ consumer choices with nine out of 10 respondents seeking out discounts or deals while grocery shopping and three quarters choosing items based solely on price. Ninety percent of participants expect increases in food prices during the year.

Cost is indeed king with 36% of Canadians saying it is the most important factor in how they perceive value, but product quality (27%) and country of origin (10%) also hold double-digit sway in the category.

“Looking into the year ahead on what’s going to be influencing these decisions, definitely made in Canada, or at least not American,” says Jared Kligerman, VP of brand partnerships at Caddle. “At least not American will certainly be a massive driving force for us in the year ahead, as will the value.”

The survey also found brand loyalty to be eroding amid cost pressures with eight in 10 participants saying they’re willing to switch brands for a better deal. Fifty-seven percent had discounts or promotions among their top-three reasons for switching brands, while quality and Canadian-made products were each in 33% of respondents’ top-three reasons for making a switch.

“Everything is negotiable for consumers,” Charlebois says. “This is clearly a picture showing that our market is filled with nomads. Nobody’s loyal to anyone anymore.”

While the state of North American politics might be colouring consumer appetites for Canadian products, it’s not necessarily affecting where they will make their purchases. Discount retailers (35%) and traditional grocers (21%) are the top-two locations Canadians are visiting in search of the best value, but American retailers Costco (18%) and Walmart (12%) round out the category’s top four.

“Going back to this buy Canadian phenomenon we’re going through right now, clearly, based on these results, people may be walking away from a lot of American products, but they’re not walking away from American retailers, for sure,” Charlebois says.

Value Shopping in Canada is a representative custom survey of 3,011 Canadian consumers using data weighted by age, gender and province. Caddle offers rewards through its app, such as rebates and grocery savings, when users engage in surveys or leave ratings and reviews.