Guidelines for Product of Canada and
Made in Canada Claims

"Product of Canada" Claims

A food product may use the claim "Product of Canada" when all or virtually all major ingredients, processing, and labour used to make the food product are Canadian. This means that all the significant ingredients in a food product are Canadian in origin and that non-Canadian material is negligible.

The following circumstances would not disqualify a food from making a "Product of Canada" claim:

  1. Very low levels of ingredients that are not generally produced in Canada, including spices, food additives, vitamins, minerals, flavouring preparations, or grown in Canada such as oranges, cane sugar and coffee. Generally, the percentage referred to as very little or minor is considered to be less than a total of 2 per cent of the product.
  2. Packaging materials that are sourced from outside Canada, as these guidelines apply to the Canadian content and production or manufacturing of the food product and not the packaging itself.
  3. The use of imported agricultural inputs such as seed, fertilizers, animal feed, and medications.

For example, a cookie that is manufactured in Canada from oatmeal, enriched flour, butter, honey and milk from Canada, and imported vanilla, may use the claim "Product of Canada" even if the vitamins in the flour and the vanilla are not from Canada.

The claim "Canadian" is considered to be the same as a "Product of Canada" claim and any product carrying this claim must meet the criteria for a "Product of Canada" claim described above.

Generally, products that are exported and re-imported into Canada would not be able to make a "Product of Canada" claim.

The only exception would be if the product:

  • meets the "Product of Canada" criteria, and;
  • is ready for sale when it leaves Canada (fully packaged and labelled) and is subsequently returned to Canada without undergoing any processing, repackaging or re-labelling (e.g., perhaps because of an ordering error).

This is because all content, processing and labour still occurred in Canada.

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