Canadians remain largely positive about the country’s food system, but fewer believe it is moving in the right direction as affordability pressures, concerns about misinformation and uncertainty surrounding emerging technologies weigh on public confidence, according to new research.
The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity (CCFI) recently released its 2026 Public Trust Research, marking the 10th year of its national study of Canadians’ perceptions of the food system. The findings show that while overall impressions remain stable, confidence in the system’s direction has declined.
Affordability remains top concern
The research found that 57 per cent of Canadians have a positive impression of the country’s food system, unchanged from 2025. However, the proportion who believe the system is moving in the right direction fell five percentage points to 40 per cent, while the share who are unsure rose to 38 per cent.
“Canadians haven’t lost confidence in the food system today, but they’re becoming more uncertain about what comes next,” said Lisa Bishop-Spencer, executive director of the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity. “Trust is still there, but it’s operating in an environment shaped by affordability pressures, a more difficult information landscape, and rapid change.”
Food affordability remains the leading concern among respondents, with 49 per cent identifying the cost of food as a major issue. That figure was unchanged from the previous year and exceeded concerns about inflation, access to health care, the availability of healthy food and the Canadian economy.
The findings suggest that Canadians’ positive views of the food system are increasingly accompanied by uncertainty about its future direction. For organizations across the sector, the results highlight the importance of understanding the factors influencing public perceptions and confidence.
Misinformation presents a growing challenge
Concerns about food-related misinformation increased to 43 per cent in 2026 from 40 per cent a year earlier. Respondents were also slightly more likely to report difficulty determining whether food-related information was true or false, pointing to challenges in assessing the credibility of information.
Farmers remained the most trusted stakeholders in Canada’s food system, with trust in them increasing five percentage points from 2025.
Ashley Bruner, CCFI’s director of research and stakeholder engagement, said the findings underscore the importance of making reliable information accessible and verifiable.
“Providing more information isn’t enough on its own,” said Bruner. “The challenge is making credible information easier for Canadians to recognize, understand, and verify, and ensuring the people and organizations providing it have earned their trust.”
The findings place information credibility alongside affordability as a key consideration for organizations seeking to maintain public confidence. Although Canadians continue to view the food system positively overall, growing uncertainty about the information they encounter presents an additional challenge for those communicating with consumers.
AI adoption rises as comfort declines
Artificial intelligence is also emerging as an area of concern for public trust in the food system. The proportion of Canadians who use AI tools daily to obtain food-related information rose from 10 per cent to 12 per cent, although the increase was described as directional.
At the same time, comfort with AI declined significantly across every area measured in the research. The results suggest that the use of emerging technologies may be increasing faster than public comfort with their application.
The research examined affordability and value, trust and credibility, misinformation and transparency, Canadian food and resilience, and emerging technologies. Together, the findings point to a public trust environment shaped by economic pressures, questions about information quality and changing attitudes toward technology.
For the food sector, the results identify several areas requiring attention as organizations work to maintain public confidence. The research does not suggest that Canadians have broadly turned against the food system, but it indicates that fewer are confident about the direction in which it is heading.
“A strong and resilient food system depends on public trust,” said Bishop-Spencer. “The opportunity is to understand what’s underneath these shifts. That means paying attention not only to what Canadians think, but to what’s shaping those views, where uncertainty is emerging, and what organizations across the food system can do to strengthen confidence over time.”
The full 2026 CCFI Public Trust Research is available at foodintegrity.ca/research.
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