Canadian grocery suppliers and independent retailers are holding back concerns about their business partners because they fear damaging those relationships, an early review of the country’s new grocery code of conduct has found.
The hesitation is one of the challenges identified in a report covering the first five months of implementation, according to a Canadian Press report published by Yahoo Finance on July 22.
The voluntary code took effect at the beginning of 2026 and is intended to encourage fair business practices between grocery retailers and suppliers. All major grocers are among its members.
The Office of the Grocery Sector Code of Conduct found that suppliers were reluctant to raise issues involving large grocery chains. Independent retailers were also hesitant to flag concerns about their suppliers.
Karen Proud, the code’s president and adjudicator, acknowledged the difficulty and said the office has been working to build trust with participating businesses.
In May, it began accepting anonymous submissions. That allows members to share concerns without identifying themselves, although it also restricts the office’s ability to follow up.
Confusion over how concerns are handled
The review also found that some members misunderstood the office’s role, treating its submission portal as a way to obtain a response to an individual complaint.
Instead, the portal gathers information that helps the office identify recurring issues and broader patterns. Those findings guide its actions and outreach, the report said.
Proud said businesses seeking to resolve a specific dispute need to try to work it out with their commercial partner. The office is educating members, holding seminars and explaining what falls within the code’s scope.
The code grew out of disputes over fees imposed on suppliers by large retailers. The issue intensified in 2020, when Walmart Canada and Loblaw introduced supplier fees to help fund infrastructure investments.
Mike von Massow, a food economist at the University of Guelph, said the initial expectation was that the code would establish boundaries that helped businesses resolve disagreements themselves. He said adjusting to the system would take time for retailers, manufacturers and suppliers.
Participation and confidence remain priorities
Proud said 200 businesses across the food supply chain had joined the code. Smaller businesses have been less likely to participate, and the office is working to increase enrolment.
Some may be waiting to see how the code develops, while others may not know enough about it to join, she said.
Henry Chambers, senior vice-president of Canada and the Americas at consulting firm Sentinel, said members need confidence that reporting concerns will not expose them to retaliation. He argued that future reports should publicly identify breaches when sufficient evidence accumulates.
Chambers said Canada’s implementation was progressing faster than comparable early efforts in the United Kingdom and Australia. The Canadian code received 14 complaints between July 2025 and May 2026, while he said the U.K. adjudicator waited two years for a manufacturer to make contact.
