How we score Canadian origin
Every product page shows a Canadian score out of 100. This page explains exactly what goes into that number, what the labels mean, and where the limits are.
Last updated: September 7, 2026
What this score is not
The Canadian score is our own assessment, built from publicly available evidence. It is not a regulatory determination. It is not issued, reviewed or endorsed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Competition Bureau, or any other authority. It is not the same thing as a “Product of Canada” or “Made in Canada” claim on a package, and we do not use those phrases as our own verdict about a product. If you need the official claim, read the label.
What we measure
We break origin into seven signals. Each one is scored from 0 to 100 on its own evidence, then weighted. Manufacturing and inputs carry the most weight because they are what most people mean when they ask whether something is Canadian.
| Signal | Weight | What it looks at |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 30% | Where the product is physically made, and how much of it. |
| Ingredients / Materials | 25% | Where the ingredients or raw materials are sourced. |
| Brand Ownership | 20% | Who owns the brand, and whether that owner is Canadian. |
| Headquarters | 10% | Where the business is actually run from. |
| Canadian Workforce | 6% | Whether the people making it are employed in Canada. |
| Packaging | 5% | Where the product is packed and filled. |
| Design & R&D | 4% | Where the formula, recipe or design work happens. |
How the number is calculated
- We only average the signals we found evidence for. A signal with no source behind it is left out rather than guessed at.
- The less of the product we can evidence, the lower we cap the score. Under a third evidenced caps the score at 55. Under 60 percent caps it at 80.
- If we cannot evidence where the product is manufactured, the score is capped at 40 and the product is labelled origin unverified, whatever the other signals say.
- Every product page shows the coverage percentage and a confidence level so you can see how much of the picture we actually have.
What the score bands mean
The band is a plain summary of how strong the Canadian evidence is. It describes our confidence in the ties to Canada, not a percentage of Canadian content.
| Band | Score |
|---|---|
| Very strong Canadian ties | 90 to 100 |
| Strong Canadian ties | 70 to 89 |
| Some Canadian ties | 45 to 69 |
| Limited Canadian ties | 20 to 44 |
| Imported | 0 to 19 |
What the origin labels mean
Alongside the score we show a short label describing the pattern of evidence. Where we know the plant, we name the city and province.
| Label | What it means |
|---|---|
| Canadian-made, mostly Canadian inputs | Manufacturing is substantially Canadian, most inputs are Canadian, and the brand is Canadian owned. |
| Canadian-made, all Canadian inputs | Everything we can evidence points to Canada, for both the manufacturing and the inputs. |
| Canadian-made, domestic & imported inputs | Manufacturing is substantially Canadian. Inputs are a mix of Canadian and imported. |
| Canadian-made, imported inputs | Manufacturing is substantially Canadian. Most inputs come from outside Canada. |
| Partly assembled in Canada | Part of the assembly happens in Canada, but not the full build. |
| Packaged in Canada | The Canadian step we can evidence is packaging, not manufacturing. |
| Canadian inputs, made abroad | Meaningful Canadian ingredients or materials, but the product is made outside Canada. |
| Designed in Canada | Design or R&D happens in Canada. Production does not. |
| Canadian-owned brand, imported | A Canadian owned brand selling a product made elsewhere. |
| Imported | No Canadian production we could evidence. |
| Origin unverified | We could not find credible evidence of where the product is manufactured. |
Why we avoid the regulated phrases
“Product of Canada” and “Made in Canada” are not descriptive phrases. They are claims with thresholds behind them, and they belong to the company putting them on a package.
- For non-food goods, the Competition Bureau expects a Product of Canada claim to mean at least 98 percent of total direct costs were incurred in Canada, with the last substantial transformation here. Made in Canada sits at 51 percent and has to carry a qualifying statement about imported content.
- For food, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency expects Product of Canada to mean all or virtually all of the ingredients, processing and labour are Canadian.
- We audit neither. We read public sources. We have no access to a manufacturer’s cost accounting, supplier contracts or bills of material, which is what those thresholds actually turn on.
So our labels describe what our evidence shows, in our own words. When a company makes its own origin claim, we show it separately and attribute it to the company. Read the Competition Bureau’s guidance on product origin claims and the CFIA origin claims guidance if you want the rules in full.
Where the evidence comes from
Manufacturer websites, corporate filings and about pages, industry and economic development directories, certification bodies, retailer product data, and news coverage. Every scored signal on a product page carries the quote we relied on and a link to the source, so you can check our work instead of taking our word for it.
Sources go stale. Companies move production, change suppliers and get acquired, sometimes without announcing it. A score reflects what we could find when we last reviewed the product, not a live audit of the supply chain.
Corrections
If a score is wrong we want to fix it, and we would rather hear it from you than leave it up. Brands can send us sourcing information, supplier declarations or plant details and we will re-score against it. Shoppers can flag anything that looks off.
Send us a correction and tell us which product and what you believe is wrong. Corrections are free, and correcting a score has nothing to do with whether a brand has ever paid us for anything. See our disclosure page for how that separation works.