Editing Heinz (section)

===Canada===
[[File:Highbury Canco Leamington 01.jpg|thumb|The former Heinz plant, [[Leamington, Ontario]]]]

Heinz was established in Canada in 1908 in a former tobacco factory in [[Leamington, Ontario]] (known as the Tomato Capital of Canada). Most products shipped from Leamington have bilingual English and French labels for distribution throughout Canada, but a substantial amount of product is sent from there to the US. Ketchup is the main product produced there, and the city has been a center of tomato production. The factory also produces Canada Fancy (Grade A) tomato juice, mustard, vinegar, baby food, barbecue sauces, canned pastas, beans, pasta sauces, gravies and soups. Heinz Canada is the major supplier of single-serving and flexible-packaging condiments for most fast food chains in Canada. Leamington is the largest tomato-processing region per acreage in the world. The Leamington plant usually processes more than 250,000 tons of tomatoes per year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tomato growers, Leamington processor at odds over price class proposal {{!}} Better Farming |url=https://www.betterfarming.com/online-news/tomato-growers-leamington-processor-odds-over-price-class-proposal-60729 |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=www.betterfarming.com}}</ref> Heinz Canada's head office is in [[North York, Ontario]]; it also has operations in [[St. Marys, Ontario]]; [[Montreal]], Quebec; and [[Calgary]], Alberta.

On November 14, 2013, Heinz announced that the Leamington facility, the second-largest in the company, would close sometime in May 2014. Ketchup processing operations were to be consolidated at the company's US locations. Over 800 local jobs were lost due to the town's largest employer ending operations there. A local effort began in an attempt to save the 105-year-old Leamington plant, and it included creating a [[Facebook]] page to gather support.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/heinzfactoryemployeehelpgroup|title=Save the Heinz Factory in Leamington Ontario|work=Facebook}}</ref> On February 27, 2014, the Highbury Canco Corporation signed a letter of intent to acquire and operate the facility.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/heinz-announces-deal-to-keep-leamington-ont-plant-in-operation-1.1706270|title=Heinz announces deal to keep Leamington, Ont. processing plant in operation |work=CTVNews|date=February 27, 2014 }}</ref> In April it was reported that Highbury Canco Corporation had received a one-year license to process tomatoes at the facility, saving some 250 jobs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/highbury-canco-can-process-tomatoes-in-leamington-heinz-plant-1.2606570|title=Highbury CanCo can process tomatoes in Leamington Heinz plant|date=April 11, 2014|work=cbc.ca}}</ref>

As a result of this corporate restructuring and the angry Canadian response, a rival food company, [[French's]], began producing their own ketchup brand using Leamington produce. It marketed the brand with an appeal to Canadian patriotism. This successful campaign, combined with a Canadian grassroots effort on [[Facebook]] encouraging purchasing of the French's product, resulted in Heinz's market share in Canada dropping from 84 to 76%, a significant shift in a mature market.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Hutchins |first1=Aaron |title=Why French's ketchup is here to stay (sorry, Heinz) |url=https://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/why-frenchs-ketchup-is-here-to-stay-sorry-heinz/ |access-date=July 2, 2018 |magazine=[[Maclean's]] |date=November 2, 2017}}</ref> This undesirable development was exacerbated in 2018 when Canadian tariffs were erected against specific American exports, which includes ketchup produced in the United States, in retaliation to the US President Trump's tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum exports.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Freeman |first1=Alan |title=Trudeau wades into U.S.-Canada ketchup war with tariffs on Heinz |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/trudeau-wades-into-us-canada-ketchup-war-with-tariffs-on-heinz/2018/06/29/5440c392-7b23-11e8-ac4e-421ef7165923_story.html |access-date=July 2, 2018 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=June 29, 2018}}</ref> Heinz conducted a belated public relations campaign in Canada to try to counter the public anger against them, a task made more difficult by public sentiment rising to encourage a boycott of American goods in reaction of US President Trump's rhetoric against Canada.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Harris |first1=Sophia |title=Ketchup wars: Heinz defends its image as tariffs kick in on U.S.-made condiment |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/heinz-french-s-ketchup-trade-war-tariffs-1.4728691 |access-date=July 2, 2018 |agency=CBC News |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |date=July 1, 2018}}</ref>