Wanderings – Counter tariff soup or profiteering?

Canada is one of only two countries in the world to have imposed reciprocal or counter-tariffs on American products, in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods six months ago. It was a reasonable action in response to tariffs placed on Canadian goods. It’s also not the first time that Canada and the U.S. have levied tariffs on each other. The U.S. hits us, we hit back, one country blinks, and the cycle repeats. This time, however, the tariff shots keep being lobbed across the border, without end. But is it working? More importantly, are we getting hosed by profiteering?

Canadian leaders were rallying the troops with phrases such as “Buy Canadian” and “Support Local” as the tariff war began. The LCBO was ordered to ditch American booze – but not American beer because we own part of that. Grocery store chains proudly told customers to look for the maple leaf for Canadian products.

The Canadian government put in place counter-tariffs on American goods, strategically hitting industries in Republican-leaning states, such as those producing whiskey, wine, certain foods, and sports equipment. Again, retailers applaud “Buy Canadian” and put little Ts on the shelf so consumers know what products had counter-tariffs on them. This is why a jar of Bick’s pickles is more expensive than before, as is Campbell’s Tomato Soup, and many other foods we like that come from the U.S. But how much of this increased expense is counter-tariffs, and how much is profiteering?

Tomato soup and grilled cheese are a great comfort food for lunch – at least it is in my household. Buying a can of the tomato soup is more expensive than ever.

One store, which is part of the largest grocery conglomerate in Canada and therefore has a very high amount of buying power, has the can of soup for about 20 per cent more than what the normal price was pre-tariff. There’s a T on the tag, and the can is over $3! While I support Canadian products as much as possible, the other brands of tomato soup do not compare to the original brand. Walking through the aisles, there are lots of tags with “T” on it, all with the prices increased.

Another store, a discount chain which – while national as well – has a much smaller footprint and therefore less buying power, has the same can of soup at the price it sold it for pre-tariffs. The discount national chain was half the price of the first national chain, and with no “T” or maple leaf tag.

A check of other chains found a wide variety of prices, more so than what normally happens with soup, or pickles, or other things tariffed or not tariffed. Tomato, tomahto.

There has always been a question of the supply chain of retailers, especially with brands owned by the same conglomerate, why with trucks passing all the stores in a row, are prices in one town or chain different than another related store next door. This counter-tariff situation just amplifies those questions.

A real kicker to all of this is the bigger national chain had soup on sale this past week with no “T” or maple leaf symbols on the price tags. How can they offer that product so much cheaper, even with the counter-tariff in place? But it’s still not as cheap as the regular price at the discount store. Is that retailer taking less profit? Retail conglomerate math is now on par with government math – both are difficult to wrap your head around. Or is this profiteering?

We don’t just need symbols on our price tags to say what is a tariff and what isn’t. Retailers need to be transparent about what price increases are tariff (and by how much) and what portion is pure profit. Then we can truly make informed decisions on where to spend our money.

This column was originally published in the August 20, 2025 print edition of the Morrisburg Leader.