Maple washing is what happens when a grocery store uses the maple leaf to raise prices on a product that is not Canadian. Dr. Sylvain Charlebois has seen it in person: oranges labeled as Canadian, manager apologizes, next day the same shelf has the same oranges correctly labeled as Egyptian and priced 15 percent lower. That is not a mistake. That is the whole point.

What does it feel like to realize the buy Canadian movement you threw your trust behind quietly became a pricing tool? Canadians were patient in the spring when grocers scrambled to pivot and find new sources. By August and September, the patience was gone and the complaints to the CFIA were substantial enough that fines finally started landing.

Five or six retailers. $47,000 total. The highest single fine was $10,000. Dr. Sylvain Charlebois puts that in plain terms: that is roughly what it costs a large grocery chain to clean the floor mats at the front entrance for a month. The conversation the fines started is worth more than the fines.

Topics: maple washing grocery stores, Canadian food mislabeling, buy Canadian trust, grocery store fines Canada, consumer food labeling

GUEST: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois | @‌foodprofessor

Originally aired on 2026-03-26