Current Projects

Economic impacts of tax policies designed to reduce sugary drink consumption in Canada

If we tax unhealthy beverages, do people in the beverage industry lose their jobs?

Consuming a lot of sugary drinks is bad for your health.^[1][2] One of the best ways to reduce consumption of these beverages is to tax them,^[3] similar to what we have accomplished in tobacco and alcohol control.^[4] But what happens to the businesses that sell these beverages after a new tax is implemented? From manufacturers to distributors to retail stores and restaurants, many people have a stake in the sale of sugary drinks. Critics say that these policies lead to people losing their jobs, but the evidence is not so clear.^[5][6]

Two Canadian provinces have implemented tax policies to reduce demand for sugary drinks. In 2021, British Columbia removed provincial sales tax (7%) exemptions for most carbonated beverages,^[7] and in 2022 Newfoundland and Labrador implemented a $0.20/litre excise tax on some sugary drinks.^[8] Opposition to the policies was swift, with job loss at the forefront of critic’s concerns.^[9][10] The Newfoundland and Labrador policy was repealed in 2025,^[11] with affordability and job loss cited as reasons for its demise.^[12][13]

So, did people actually lose their jobs in response to these Canadian sugary drink taxes? Or have the critics simply repeated a narrative that is not supported by the data? This projects seeks to address just that by asking the following questions: (1) what were the most prevalent media narratives surrounding jobs during the tax policymaking processes in the two provinces, and, critically, (2) did the policies lead to significant job losses within the beverage industry?

This project is funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. The principal investigators are Dr. Daniel Zaltz and Dr. Dylan Spicker. It is scheduled to conclude in Winter 2027.

A mixed-methods examination of corporate political activity related to restrictions on food marketing to children in Canada

Can you think of a melody from a cereal commercial from your childhood? How about a cartoon character?

For generations, foods and beverages have been marketed directly to children, and we now know that this can have lasting impacts on our brand loyalty, dietary preferences, and indeed overall health.^[1] It doesn’t surprise people to learn that the majority of foods (really, almost all) marketed to children are not very healthy, often times loaded with salt, added sugars, and saturated fats.^[2] But what may be more surprising to learn is that in Canada, large corporations spend hundreds of millions of dollars to market junk food to kids,^[3] and they disproportionately target those from lower-income, racialized, and minoritized groups.^[4]

So what is being done to curb this direct marketing of junk foods? Since 2016, there has been increasing interest and motivation from the Canadian government to implement restrictions on marketing to kids,^[5] just like what has been done in several other countries around the world.^[6] While there may be public support for these restrictions, prior research revealed that large corporations have effectively lobbied to stall the legislation.^[7][8]

Marketing restrictions continue to be discussed within the federal government, but we still have not seen anything come to fruition. Are industry lobbyists still at work? Are there other barriers to passing these laws which, if designed well, can have a significant positive impact on children’s health? We don’t know what has been going on since the last investigation of lobbying against food marketing restrictions in Canada, which examined data through 2019. In this study, we have made broad requests under the Access to Information Act to better understand exactly who and what was discussed between industry representatives, consumer groups, and the federal government regarding marketing restrictions, covering the time period from 2019 through 2025.

We are now in the process of cataloguing, coding, and characterizing these data which were primarily retrieved from Health Canada. Results from this study will provide evidence of the specific strategies used by large corporations to lobby against marketing restrictions. The data comprise the largest and most comprehensive known tranche of lobbying communications related to food policy in recent history, and may very well be used to improve civic engagement in future policymaking processes.

This project was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health (CIHR) through a Catalyst Grant: Moving Upstream - Structural Determinants of Health - Commercial Determinants of Health Inequities. The principal investigator is Dr. Mary L’Abbé. Data collection and reporting for this project has completed. Additional analyses of the recently-collected tranche of documents is ongoing through Spring 2027.