New ‘Canadian’ Labelling Irks Industry

(Toronto Sun – Christina Spencer)

New federal standards for when a product may be marketed as “Made in Canada” have stirred confusion among some businesses and complaints from a national consumer group.

The standards, which take effect July 1, state that a consumer good can only be labelled or advertised as a “Product of Canada” if virtually all of its content originates in this country. It can be marketed as “Made in Canada” if 51% of its content is Canadian – provided the advertisement or label also carries a qualifying phrase such as “from imported products” if any components come from elsewhere.

The new standards replace a previous rule, which stated simply that any product – whether a toy, a car, a computer or any other non-food good – could be advertised as Canadian if 51% of its content and manufacturing took place here. No qualifier was needed. Read more here.