With the threat of trade tariffs imposed by the United States, many Canadian consumers are taking a closer look at where their food (including seafood) comes from. The problem is origin statements on labels can be confusing and sometime difficult to know if a product is of Canadian origin.  

Let’s breakdown the situation. 

Firstly, it’s important to understand that the government doesn’t require an origin label for Canadian products that are produced (i.e., farmed, fished) and/or processed in Canada. However, they do allow companies to voluntarily make a Canadian origin claim and provide guidance on how to do so.  

Some slight differences in the wording for these voluntary Canadian origin claims exist that consumers should be aware of:  

If you see “Product of Canada” on a label, it means that “all or virtually all major ingredients (at least 98%), processing, and labour used to make the food product are actually Canadian. For seafood, this translates to fish or seafood produced or caught in Canada or within Canadian waters and processed in Canada using Canadian ingredients. Also note that if you see the claim “Canadian” the government deems this to be equivalent to a “Product of Canada” claim.  

If you see “Made in Canada”, this only means the last substantial transformation (ie processing) occurred in Canada, even if some ingredients are imported. For seafood, this could look like a fish that is imported from another country but processed in Canada. The guidance for these labels also states that the claim should include a statement to indicate if the seafood was made with imported or both imported and domestic products, such as “Made in Canada from imported ingredients”. However, these types of statements are often in fine print, as shown in the example below. And most importantly, the true origin – where the seafood was caught or harvested doesn’t actually have to appear on the label. In fact, 2023 Seafood Progress results found half the major Canadian retailers profiled don’t label any of their seafood products with the true origin.  

But wait – Canadian seafood could be hiding under the guise of another country of ‘production’.  

Here’s where it gets a bit trickier. By law, any imported prepacked seafood must be labelled with the “country of origin” and by the government’s definition, this refers to where the food was last substantially transformed (i.e. processed), not its true origin. Due to the global nature of seafood trade, fish and shellfish are often caught or harvested in one country/region then processed in another. For example, an Atlantic Halibut caught in the Gulf of St. Lawrence by a Canadian fishing vessel may be exported to China for processing into fillets, then imported back into Canada with a label that says, “Product of China”. 

This labelling rule makes it difficult to support Canadian fishers and farmers, because the label doesn’t necessarily identify the true origin.  

This is why SeaChoice has been advocating for years for the law to require seafood labels to be more detailed and provide the true origin of seafood. This is the only way we will ever be able to know for certain where our seafood comes from. 

So, how best to support and buy Canadian seafood? 

Apart from looking out for the “Product of Canada” voluntary claim to know that you are supporting both Canadian produced and processed seafood, SeaChoice recommends you buy directly from Canadian fishers and harvesters. Two companies that SeaChoice recommends are Afishionado Fishmongers for those based on the East coast and Skipper Otto for those in central Canada and the West coast.

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