Guest Article: Canadian Food Trends, by Leger Communications

Feb 5, 2020

Leger knows Canadians. Research conducted at the beginning of the New Year reveals that Canadians have eaten a wide variety fruits and vegetables in the last twelve months (even Brussels sprouts!). The top veggies? Staples like potatoes, carrots, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. The most popular fruits were apples, followed closely by strawberries and grapes. And we certainly buy local when we can. Eight-in-ten of us believe the fruit and veggies grown in our own provinces are of top quality, and when these locally grown items are available, eight-in-ten of us prefer buying them. (We don’t always do this, of course. Price is still an important factor – especially when household income levels fall below the $80K mark.)

We’re still experimenting with plant-based meat products. While many of us have tried them this past year (42%), more than half of us have not (55%) – unless you’re under 35, in which case most of you have (59%). It’s not exactly surprising, though; tofu aside, this product category is still relatively new. Besides, we’re still a nation experimenting with our dietary life choices. More than half of us (52%) followed some kind of diet last year, be it a Moderation Diet (37% – and by far the most popular one), or something more extreme, like one that cuts out red meat entirely (8%), such as veganism (2%).

Alcohol has been a common indulgence, too: eight-in-ten have consumed wine (67%), spirits (63%), and/or beer (62%) this past year, with beer (at 57%) being the most frequently selected alcohol – especially by men (68% vs. 46% among women) – followed by wine (white and red being consumed in equal measure, and by men and women alike). Twenty-nine percent of us have consumed cannabis, but not surprisingly, it’s a percentage inversely linked to age (42% of those 18-34 consumed it this past year vs. just 11% of those 65+). Smoking it was the most common method of consumption (19%), but edibles – only newly minted as a legal option this past October – wasn’t far behind (14%).

Leger is the largest Canadian-owned market research and analytics company, with more than 600 employees in Canada and the United States.