Soup company sees sales surge as shoppers buy Canadian to protest tariffs

Hearty soups, beans and chilis aren't the typical tools of rebellion, but for many Canadians the red maple leaf on cans from Sprague Foods has become a patriotic rallying point.

The family business in Belleville, Ont., is marking its 100th year. Its owners said in that time the biggest events they've had to weather are World War II, the COVID pandemic and now the U.S. tariffs.

"This is a nationalistic version of shopping," said Keenan Sprague, vice president of the company and the fifth generation of the family to work there.

"People feel that they only have so much power to deal with the current administration and one of the few things they can do is ... use their dollars to send a message to show their displeasure with what the U.S. is looking to do to the Canadian economy."

The long-threatened U.S. tariffs became official on Tuesday with the imposition of punishing 25 per cent taxes on most Canadian goods. Officials on this side of the border retaliated with counter tariffs on American products.

But the emotional roller coaster the Spragues have been riding took off long before the ongoing tariff fight. It started with U.S. President Donald Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, followed by a low of stalled business across the border, then the high of a Canadian push to buy local.

In the weeks since Trump first started threatening tariffs, the company said traffic to its website has spiked to 20 times normal levels. The company's social media accounts have exploded, and it's seen a surge in sales.

Trump as a soup salesman

Keenan said company inboxes are peppered daily with emails from consumers, all sharing the same message: "I am now on a mission to buy as [many] Canadian products as I can, and I'm so happy I found your product. I'm telling my friends, I'm telling my family."

In a strange way, the U.S. president has helped people discover soups that have been sitting on store shelves the whole time, Keenan said.

"Donald Trump has done more to market our products, at least in Canada, than any of our efforts combined," he said.

Keenan's father, Rick Sprague, is the company's president. He said they've even received hand-written letters from thankful buyers, and he's never seen anything like it — despite working in canning for the past 60 years.

"I feel it's like one of the best times of my life to be here in this industry, and to be Canadian and making food for Canadians," Rick said.

But the experience hasn't been stress-free.

Sprague Foods has been working hard to build up its U.S. customer base, and Keenan said even the prospect of tariffs was an "extreme challenge."

Several big projects the company had been working on with American partners have been paused while they wait to see just how big of a bite tariffs could take out of the bottom line.

Time for Ontario to 'get buff'

Those struggles are being felt by businesses across the country and across the border, according to Daniel Tisch, CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.

He said the instability has caused both American and Canadian companies to delay or outright cancel essential investments.

Tisch said he believes the days of leaving the economy at the mercy of one major trading partner are over.

"If it's going to get tough, Ontario has to get buff," he said.

"This is a crucial moment for Ontario and Canada ... We have to stand on our own two feet and look ourselves in the mirror and make the changes we need to do to make our economy more competitive and more productive."

Lessons learned on the hockey rink

Ahead of a trade show in the U.S. this week, Keenan said he was suddenly in the position of potentially having to convince retailers to pay more for Sprague soups.

His dad offered a simple track to success — ignore the ups and downs and stick to what the Spragues have done for generations — offer a better product.

Compared to their American competitors, the company is small and nimble, Rick explained.

And they have another all-Canadian advantage.

"I grew up playing hockey ... and we're tough," Rick said. "Sometimes we come through, and people might not think we will. We've done that throughout our history in this company, and I'm very confident that we will now."

As for the flags on the company's cans? Keenan said it might become an even more important ingredient going forward.

"I wouldn't be shocked if we decided to blow it up even bigger," he said.