Beyond the Checkout: How Trade Tensions and Consumer Shifts Are Rewriting Canada’s Food Economy

Tuesday, Jan 27, 2026

1:30pm - 3:30pm

Lecture by:
Dr. Sylvain Charlebois

This presentation examines how trade tensions and consumer boycotts, especially during the U.S.-Canada trade war, have disrupted food supply chains, impacted grocers and farmers, and spurred policy shifts. It also explores new consumer trends as Canadians respond to growing economic and geopolitical uncertainty.

About Dr. Sylvain Charlebois

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Visiting Professor at McGill University and a Professor in food distribution and policy in the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University.

Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. He is one of the world’s most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability with over 775 published peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Charlebois is also an editor for the prestigious Trends in Food Science Technology journal. He co-hosts The Food Professor podcast, discussing issues in the food, foodservice, grocery and restaurant industries and which is the most listened Canadian management podcast in Canada. Every year since 2012, he has published the now highly anticipated Canadian Food Price Report, which provides an overview of food price trends for the coming year. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, nationally as well as internationally. He has testified on several occasions before parliamentary committees on food policy-related issues as an expert witness. He has been asked to act as an advisor on food and agricultural policies in many Canadian provinces and other countries.