CALGARY — As retaliatory tariffs on many US goods in Canada draw nearer to fruition, so does the prospect of what this will mean for Canadian consumers.According to the Food Professor, aka Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, an agri-food professor who operates an agri-food lab out of Dalhousie University, the impact, of course, will be on Canadians' wallets, as an increase in inflation rates is likely to occur, including on groceries. "Counter-tariffs imposed by Ottawa are ultimately a tax on Canadians," he states plainly on X, using data from a year earlier when Canada had previously placed counter-tariffs on the US, showing the consequences that had resulted. Back in March 2025, after Canada had placed 25% counter-tariffs on certain US food products, groceries in Canada had spiked to over 3.5% compared to a year earlier in the course of a month..Prior to the tariffs, grocery prices had increased by 2.8% in February 2025 compared to a year earlier."When the Bank of Canada eventually conducted the research, using more than 110,000 products, it found that prices of tariffed goods increased by approximately 6% relative to comparable untariffed goods," stated Charlebois on last year's counter-tariffs."That is not 'no impact.' It is measurable evidence that Canadian importers, retailers and ultimately consumers absorbed part of Ottawa’s 25% tax," he added later.According to Charlebois' graph, which predicted what food inflation would have been in April 2025 if tariffs hadn't been imposed, they would have increased to below 3.5%.."With a new round of counter-tariffs taking effect next week, will food inflation rise again?" Charlebois asks his followers, suggesting the proof is in the pudding.This time around, starting September 8, Canada will be imposing counter-tariffs on several food products which may have an effect over Canadian grocery prices, including American dairy and poultry products, other meat products, honey, etc.Though the official date of the tariffs being applied is September 8, some will be mandated earlier, between September 1 and 7. The tariffs will range from either 25% or 50% dependent on the product.
