Quebec produces 70% of the world’s maple syrup. But not all of it is the real deal, at least according to one class action lawsuit.
The case started back in April 2026, after Radio-Canada’s Enquête aired an investigation into a Montérégie maple syrup operation run by Steve Bourdeau, doing business under names like Érablière Steve Bourdeau, Le sirop Angela and L’Érabeille. Lab testing cited in the lawsuit found the syrup contained less than 50% actual maple syrup, with the rest made up of cane sugar or syrup sourced from outside Quebec, despite the cans being labelled “pur” and “du Québec.”
According to Enquête’s hidden camera footage, Bourdeau boasted about selling hundreds of thousands of cans a year to grocery stores across Quebec and Ontario, at prices as low as $4.99, a number considered implausibly cheap for legitimate, pure Quebec syrup.
The lawsuit now names Metro, Sobeys, Loblaw and Épicia
An amended version of a lawsuit, filed August 3, 2026, adds four grocery chains as defendants alongside Bourdeau’s company, 9227-8712 Québec Inc.: Metro, Sobeys Group, Loblaw Companies and Groupe Épicia, which runs the Val-Mont grocery stores where lead plaintiff Maude Fraser-Jodoin bought her syrup.
Metro’s side includes Metro, Metro Plus, Super C, Food Basics, Adonis, Marché Richelieu and Marché Ami. Sobeys operates under IGA, IGA Extra, Rachelle Béry, Marchés Tradition, FreshCo, Marchés Bonichoix, Foodland and Farm Boy. Loblaw’s banners include Maxi, No Frills, Freshmart, Loblaws, Provigo, Real Canadian Superstore, T&T and Pharmaprix.
The amended filing argues these chains should have caught the problem well before Enquête did. It points to a 2016 MAPAQ inspection report showing an Adonis location in Brossard, operated under Metro, had sold syrup from Bourdeau’s operation that failed to meet Category A maple syrup standards after a complaint alleged it tasted like molasses. A separate MAPAQ report from 2025 flagged similar non-compliance issues with Bourdeau’s syrup sold at the Val-Mont location on Mont-Royal, operated by Épicia.
What you could be owed
According to Canadian law firm Slater Vecchio, the proposed class covers anyone in Canada who bought a can of Bourdeau’s maple syrup since October 5, 2010, a group the lawsuit estimates could run into the hundreds of thousands, or possibly millions, of people.
If authorized by the courts, the suit is asking for a full refund of the purchase price, or a reduced price as an alternative, plus compensatory damages and at least $100 per class member in punitive damages.
As per a CBC report, several grocery chains had already been offering refunds for Bourdeau’s syrup in the weeks after the Enquête story aired, but the lawsuit argues that’s not enough on its own, since a class action would also allow for punitive damages and interest that a simple refund program wouldn’t cover.
What happens next
The case still needs to be authorized by the Quebec Superior Court before it can officially move forward as a class action, and there’s no claims process yet. Anyone who bought maple syrup from Bourdeau’s operation, whether at one of the named grocery chains or elsewhere, can leave their information at slatervecchio.com to stay updated as the case develops.
AI tools may have been used to support the creation or distribution of this content; however, it has been carefully edited and fact-checked by a member of MTL Blog’s Editorial team. For more information on our use of AI, please visit our Editorial Standards page.