Canadians pay more for daily protein as whey prices soar amid US trade war

Canadians are facing significantly higher costs for their daily protein shakes as whey protein prices surge amid a trade dispute with the United States. The combination of spiking global demand, tightening supplies, and new import tariffs has made protein supplements much more expensive for both consumers and food businesses.

Food economist Mike von Massow warns that elevated prices for protein drinks and supplements are likely to persist for some time. Everyday consumers, such as Jennifer Mason, are responding to the skyrocketing costs by cutting back on specialized powders and attempting to source their daily protein requirements through whole foods instead.

The trend is mirrored in the United States, where prices for certain whey protein concentrates have jumped nearly 83 percent over the past two years, according to Leonard Polzin, an agricultural economist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Furthermore, some U.S. suppliers have reportedly sold out their inventories for the remainder of the year due to robust demand.

This extraordinary demand is fueled by the booming high-protein food market, fitness influencers promoting increased protein intake, and the rising use of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, which encourage higher protein consumption to prevent muscle loss. Consequently, popular whey concentrates like WPC80 have seen massive price hikes, with WPC80 prices jumping 60 percent in 2025 and rising another 76 percent by June 2026.

Canada imports the majority of its whey protein concentrate from the United States, where wholesale prices have more than doubled over the past year and a half. The situation worsened on September 8 when Ottawa imposed a 50 percent tariff on American whey imports in retaliation against U.S. trade measures, creating additional hardships for local manufacturers and consumers.