Loblaw stores fined for misrepresenting imported products as Canadian
· Toronto Sun
Two Ontario grocery stores owned by Loblaw have been fined for falsely portraying imported food as Canadian.
This comes as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) probes major grocery chains accused of misleading consumers by mislabeling items as Canadian and using maple-leaf imagery in signage.
Visit sportnewz.click for more information.
The CFIA listed five food businesses that faced penalties for misrepresenting the public, including a Real Canadian Superstore in Ontario and a Fortinos in Etobicoke – both operating under the Loblaw Companies Limited banner.
The stores were each fined $10,000 for occurrences in October 2025, months into the “Buy Canadian” movement that surged across the country due in large part to Trump’s tariffs that made many Canadians rethink and shift their purchasing power.
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
However, over the past year, the CFIA noted it has seen an uptick in complaints “related to country of origin claims on food labels or in advertisements, including some related to Product of Canada,” a CFIA spokesperson said in an email to the Toronto Sun .
“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,” they continued.
“The CFIA has guidelines to help industry accurately label food grown, raised and made in Canada. To promote clear and transparent product labelling the CFIA reminded the food industry and importers of their responsibility to ensure that their labels are accurate and not misleading consumers in Canada.”
What Loblaw had to say
Loblaw issued a statement to the Sun confirming the CFIA’s findings and noting they take their labelling responsibilities seriously.
“We are committed to meeting regulatory requirements and making sure customers can trust the information they see in our stores,” a spokesperson said in an email.
“With thousands of products on our shelves, many sourced from different regions throughout the year, information can change quickly. While we work hard to keep everything current, there are times when signage may not be updated as quickly as inventory is replenished,” they noted.
The spokesperson added that the incidents were “isolated cases, but we’re reinforcing our processes across our stores to help prevent this from happening again. We’re sorry for the error and any confusion it may have caused.”
Sobeys being probed; other food companies fined
The CFIA also confirmed it is investigating labelling and advertising practices overseen by Sobeys’ head office.
The agency did not disclose details due to privacy laws, but it revealed that information would be made available if any enforcement actions are taken, including suspensions and cancellations of food business licences, notification of charges laid, any prosecutions, and/or any administrative monetary penalties.
Three additional companies were fined for misrepresenting food as Canadian: Oxford Frozen Foods (Atlantic), which was served with a $10,000 fine for deceptive blueberry labelling; Fresh in The City Inc. (West), which was penalized $7,000 for misleading banana bread claims; Meatex Farms Ltd. (West), which received a $10,000 penalty for deceptive labelling of imported ghee products.
“The CFIA uses a wide range of enforcement tools to encourage industry to comply with federal regulations and will take the appropriate action to protect Canadians from misleading claims, reinforcing its commitment to a transparent and trustworthy market.”