Not all things are as Canadian as they seem

Friday, January 30, 2026

Written by Hanna Lee Copy Editor, Digital News

Good morning. Shoppers still looking to buy Canadian may hit a few snags at the grocery store. While certain products may appear to be Canadian at a quick glance, a closer look reveals their American roots. More on that below. We'll also break down why U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, will be in Italy for the Winter Olympics, and get a behind-the-scenes look at the search for a Canadian crypto fugitive by our fifth estate team.

THE LATEST

Bombardier says it is in contact with the federal government after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened a 50 per cent tariff on Canadian aircraft, saying his administration will "decertify" those planes.
Trump also says he will announce his pick to replace Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell this morning, whose term expires in May.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will take to the stage today in what could be one of the most important speeches of his political career as he fights to keep his job.
Sad news for slush lovers: Minute Maid is discontinuing its frozen juice line, citing a lack of consumer demand, effectively ending the category in Canada.

Think you're buying Canadian? That grocery item may actually be from the U.S.

While many products at the grocery store may come with patriotic packaging, some are actually American imports, with the truth buried on the back, according to a Marketplace investigation.

What's happening: One example is Habitant's pea soup, a French Canadian classic. It bears the phrase "Designed in Canada" on the front — but the back reveals it's a U.S. product. One viewer, Bob Bastien, said, "It seems as though Campbell's is trying to sell us a lie," referring to Habitant's owner. (Campbell's said it added the phrase to show the product was made by its Canadian team based on Canadian preferences, but that it was phasing the phrase out.)

Why it matters: Some call the practice "maple washing," and intentional or not, shoppers have complained to Marketplace that it's misleading. There are also different terms for different purposes. For example, "made in Canada" means the product's "last substantial transformation" was in this country, and not that its ingredients are necessarily Canadian, said food economist Mike von Massow. Want to make sure you're buying Canadian? Look for the words "product of Canada." That means virtually all the ingredients, processing and labour are Canadian.

Marketplace has more

Why members of ICE will be in Italy for the Winter Olympics

A unit of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will deploy to Italy for the Winter Olympics, angering some Italians and local officials. But it turns out it's not as unusual as you'd think.

What's happening: Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, is a unit within ICE that focuses on cross-border crimes, and it frequently sends its officers to overseas events to help with security. These officers are separate from the ICE arm at the forefront of immigration crackdowns in U.S. cities; there's no indication those officers are being sent to Italy.

Is this new?: No. ICE has been present at major sports events in both the U.S. and abroad, including at the previous Olympic Games. Those have been part of global partnerships related to human and drug trafficking. But the recent fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis have raised people's awareness of and concerns about the federal agency. HSI investigators in Milan will be stationed at a control room in the U.S. Consulate, working in a support role with other American law enforcement agencies.

Read more: Tensions with the Trump administration are making some Minnesotans want to join Canada.

Get the full story here

BEHIND THE SCENES

The international search for Canada's crypto fugitive

Ioanna Roumeliotis
Co-host of CBC News's the fifth estate

The schemes were so sophisticated, experts say only a genius could pull them off. But as we followed the trail of a young Canadian math whiz-turned-crypto fugitive, I was struck most by how a young man’s once-bright future was getting dimmer by the day.

Andean Medjedovic, 23, disappeared four years ago after allegedly stealing a staggering $65 million US in cryptocurrency. Why did he do it? How much of it was youthful bravado that went too far? And where has he been? His former high school Reach for the Top coach told us he had a healthy ego and breezed through high school, graduating when he was just 14. By 18, he had completed his master's in pure mathematics.

We also obtained court documents that outlined Medjedovic’s globe-trotting trail and it pointed us to Bosnia. We flew there, tracked down extended family members and went to Medjedovic’s last known address. We learned police had been there, too — but they couldn’t find him.

We had reached out to Medjedovic many times. A few weeks ago, he finally replied, and in a story full of twists and turns, his response was yet another surprise.

Watch “Canada’s Crypto Fugitive” right now on YouTube, or tonight at 9 p.m. ET on CBC-TV, streaming on CBC Gem.