Canadian shoppers to see higher costs amid trade war: ‘No alternative’

Some retailers say due to their profit margin, they have 'no alternative' but to pass on the costs resulting from the trade war with the U.S. onto consumers.

Amid the ongoing trade war with the U.S., Canadians could see prices increase further as tariffs and counter-tariffs continue to weigh on everything from pantry staples to beauty products.

Companies like Loblaw and Walmart are reporting that they will need to increase prices for consumers, with the former noting that their pre-tariff inventory is set to run out, meaning those items will start seeing an increase.

A spokesperson for Loblaw told Global News that the increase could be up to 25 per cent, depending on the product and tariff amount, and applies “entirely to products coming from the U.S.”

Loblaw CEO Per Bank said in a post on LinkedIn on Wednesday that it had been aggressive in marking which products were affected by tariffs, which amounted to slightly more than 1,000 items.

But he warned in the post that the total will rise to more than 3,000 in the next week or two, and could reach 6,000 products within the next two months.

The company said in a statement this still amounts to less than 10 per cent of the more than 80,000 items the company sells across numerous stores including Shoppers, Loblaw and No Frills.

But Bank said in his post that customers would notice changes in categories including natural foods, pantry staples and health and beauty products.

As the trade war continues, companies say they are trying to mitigate prices by sourcing out products from other countries, especially with consumers looking for items not from the U.S.