This Is The Best-Tasting Ketchup in Canada, Hands-Down

Do you remember the Great Canadian Ketchup War after Heinz shuttered its 100-year-old Leamington, Ont. factory and French’s stepped in to fill the space? The way Canadians reacted to this series of developments—the immediate boycotting of Heinz in favour of French’s new ketchup offering, the outcry when Loblaws momentarily pulled it from the shelves, Heinz’s eventual return to Canadian production—was perhaps an early indicator of just how seriously we could, and would, rally over the Buy Canadian movement of the past few months. 

And when it comes to ketchup specifically, it’s still a touchy subject: earlier this year when former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made comments about buying Canadian-made ketchup, Heinz took out a full-page ad in the Globe and Mail to emphasize the ketchup it sells in Canada has been made with Canadian-grown and processed tomatoes since the company returned its production to Ontario in 2020. 

But when it comes to our favourite condiment, these food giants aren’t the only game in town. We lined up every major brand label option we could find—many of which are products of Canada, such as Selection and President’s Choice—to see which one comes out on top in the flavour department. You may be surprised at the results. 

Good Food for Good, $8 for 250 mL

Perhaps this is on the organizer of our taste tests (me!),  but the ketchup contenders that were sweetened with anything other than true-blue sugar fared quite poorly, including this date-sugared one. A few editors were confused upon tasting this: Was it HP Sauce? Why did it taste like lime? Why wasn’t it red? While it may be a good pick for someone looking for a sugar-alternative condiment, it’s not a pick for us.  

PC Blue Menu, $5 for 751 mL

There wasn’t a whole lot of love for this Stevia-sweetened option, which multiple testers noted was too acidic for their palates. “This tastes like it comes from a metallic packet,” wrote one.

Selection, $3 for 1 L

“Pretty good? Not offensive?” While this ketchup boasted a bit of a barbecue sauce note and an alarmingly Crayola red hue, it passed muster for most editors—but just barely.

Natural Value Organic, $8 for 591 mL

Another middle-of-the-pack contender that most testers conceded did the job, but lacked some of the vinegar punch required to stand up to all that sugar and salt. “Tastes normal. I wouldn’t be offended if this were served at a restaurant,” wrote one. 

President’s Choice, $5 for 1 L

A few editors noted PC’s standard pick had the most attractive colour and texture of the bunch, but the flavour didn’t quite match: a little too sweet and a little too acidic. 

French’s, $4 for 1 L

“Sweet but…wrong, somehow?” Most editors agreed: French’s tomatoes may be Canadian, but their ketchup is too sweet. 

Heinz, $7 for 1.5 L

Any time an editor really liked a ketchup pick, they immediately assumed it was Heinz. Not a single one of these guesses was correct, though this classic pick was generally well-liked among testers. Sweet, salty and inoffensive; as one editor wrote, “it’s what I expect.”  Perhaps this inoffensive nature is what held it back from first place. 

Great Value, $4 for 1 L

“Sweet…but I really like it anyway?” “This would hit the spot with a Diet Coke.” Something about the slightly artificial taste of Walmart’s value pick really resonated with taste testers, who liked this pick’s sugary note. Price-wise, it’s also a great deal.  

PC Organics, $6 for 575 mL

After commenting on its excellent sweet-and-savoury balance, a few editors assumed this pick was a different well-known brand on this list—the word “classic” was used five times among the tasting notes. “This is comfortingly familiar,” one editor wrote, also noting the true tomato taste came through the strongest in this ketchup. It was the clear winner of the bunch, and a complete surprise.

How we select our products. We’re committed to finding the best and most accessible pantry ingredients, and that means being able to test and judge them fairly: in the same place, at the same time, under the same conditions. This means not every single brand available on the national market is going to make it to our Toronto-based kitchen. Some items are only regionally available in a specific province, while others are priced well out of the average grocery budget. Here’s what we guarantee: at least half of our picks will always be available nationally, we will always include selections from major grocery store chains. And if there’s a pick you really think we missed, we’d love to hear about it: letters@chatelaine.com.