Require country of origin labelling
Petitioners ask the House of Commons to require country-of-origin labelling on all food and consumer goods sold in Canada, with clear, consistent labels visible on packaging and online. The government responds that regulations already require origin statements for many imported foods, set font/readability rules, and that the CFIA enforces labelling and handles complaints.
Why we would sign this petition
- Provides clear origin information so consumers can make informed purchase decisions and choose products by country of origin.
- Standardizing content, format and visibility (including online) would reduce inconsistent, hard-to-read labels and lower the risk of misleading information.
- Applying the rule to all food and consumer goods creates consistent expectations across stores and online, simplifying comparison shopping.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- The petition overlaps with existing rules that already require country-of-origin statements for many imported foods, so it may duplicate current requirements.
- Extending mandatory labelling to all consumer goods would create compliance costs and administrative burdens for businesses, especially small firms.
- Enforcing uniform labelling online and across imports could be complex and resource-intensive for regulators, delaying effective implementation.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the House of Commons Due to changes in Canada’s relationship with the United States and other major trading partners, many Canadians wish to make purchase decisions based on where a product originates; Country of origin labelling is currently only required on a subset of products available to Canadian consumers; Country of origin information that is currently provided is inconsistent both in content and in format, with many labels being of such small print as to be ineffective; Country of origin information is often not available at all for products sold online; and Consumers are therefore unable to make informed purchase decisions, and may be misled by manufacturers and other producers; We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to require country of origin labelling of all food products and consumer goods sold in Canada, such labels to be clear, consistent, and easily understood by the average consumer, and such country of origin information to be visible and available regardless of whether the product is sold from a physical location or online.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Health Signed by Maggie Chi Canadians have been clear that they want to support Canadian businesses and buy Canadian products and our Government is working with provinces, territories, and industry associations to promote clear and transparent product labelling. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is reminding the food industry and importers of their responsibility to ensure that their labels are accurate and not misleading consumers in Canada. Accurate labelling creates a fair marketplace that benefits both consumers and businesses. It is the food industry’s responsibility to ensure that all food products they sell in Canada meet Canada’s legislative requirements. This includes products that are produced in Canada or imported. It is mandatory for the following imported foods to state the country of origin on their label: wine and brandy, dairy products, honey, fish and seafood products, fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, meat products, maple products and some processed fruit and vegetable products. All foods must indicate on the label that they are imported. This information can be provided in one of three ways: the name and address of the Canadian company with the country of origin of the product the name and address of the foreign manufacturer the statement "imported for" or "imported by" followed by the name and address of the Canadian company The Safe Food for Canadians Regulations and the Food and Drug Regulations set out the requirements for font type sizes used in food labelling, and this information must be clear and readily discernible. CFIA takes food mislabelling seriously and took action in every case of non-compliance and the implicated companies took corrective actions to address the cause of the error. This has included reviewing the labelling processes in place at the retail location, raising awareness of the importance of accurate labelling, issuing letters reminding the business of their regulatory responsibilities, and following up to verify that corrective actions have been taken. If a food business is found to not be meeting their legal requirements the Agency would take this into consideration in determining further enforcement actions. Inspectors follow CFIA’s Standard Regulatory Response Process to determine the appropriate response for non-compliance to regulatory requirements. CFIA selects the appropriate compliance and enforcement actions based on a range of considerations including, the degree of risk, the harm caused by the non-compliance, the compliance history of the regulated party, whether there is negligence or intent to violate federal requirements, and responsiveness to resolving the issue. The CFIA takes labelling issues seriously and wants to know about products that consumers think are labelled in a misleading manner. More information about how CFIA takes action to address complaints can be found here: 6 things the CFIA does to keep Canada’s food supply safe. Consumers and industry are encouraged to report these to CFIA through our food complaint or concern web page. Canadians can learn more about how to identify Canadian food with our quick reference guide about the different words or symbols they may find while grocery shopping – some mean the food has Canadian content, while others mean it meets a Canadian standard for quality, or organic content.