On 25 April 1947, a group of children walked out of the Wigwam Cafe in Ladysmith, British Columbia, in protest. The price of a chocolate bar had just jumped from 5 cents to 8 cents, and they weren't having it. Within days, the chocolate bar strike had spread across the country: around 200 children marched in Victoria, 300 in Edmonton and 500 in Toronto, and about 60 young protesters took their placards to Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
The boycott didn't last. It collapsed after a newspaper editorial linked one of its supporting groups to communists, and the 8-cent bar stayed. But the story says a lot about how much Canadians care about chocolate, and it still feels familiar when you look at what we pay for chocolate today.
Today, that passion shows up in a different way: in a fast-growing community of craft chocolate makers who turn imported cacao beans into some of the most celebrated bars in the world.
Can Cacao Grow in Canada?
No. Cacao is a tropical understorey tree. According to the San Diego Zoo, it grows within roughly 20 degrees north and south of the equator, needs about 10 cm of rain every month and is mostly found below 305 metres. Even Canada's southernmost tip is more than 20 degrees of latitude north of that belt, and its winters would kill the trees.
So, unlike the countries in our other origin stories, Canada has no cacao farms. If you want to understand how cacao is grown, you have to look to the shaded forests of West Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
How Cacao Reaches Canada
Every cacao bean used in Canada is imported. Statistics Canada reports that the country brought in more than 110,000 tonnes of cocoa beans between January and August 2025. Most of the world's supply comes from the world's largest cacao producers in West Africa, while many small Canadian makers buy speciality beans from Latin America, Madagascar and beyond.
The beans are fermented and dried at origin, packed into sacks and shipped across the ocean. You can follow that journey in our guide to how cacao is transported.
Once the beans arrive, Canada turns them into a lot of chocolate. In 2023, the country exported more than $2.78 billion of chocolate and other cocoa food preparations, and about 97% of it went to the United States (Statistics Canada).
Because Canadian makers depend on farmers thousands of kilometres away, many of them put ethical sourcing at the heart of their business. They buy directly from farms and co-operatives, pay above-market prices and share where each batch comes from. It's a practical way of supporting a fair price for cacao for the people who grow it.
Canada's Bean-to-Bar Movement
Over the last two decades, Canada has become home to a lively scene of bean-to-bar chocolate makers. Instead of melting down ready-made chocolate, these small producers buy raw cacao beans and handle every step themselves: roasting, cracking, winnowing, grinding, conching and tempering.
Controlling the whole process lets them show off the flavour of different cacao varieties and origins. A bar made with beans from one farm in Peru can taste fruity and bright, while beans from Madagascar might bring notes of red berries. For chocolate lovers, it's a chance to taste where cacao comes from, and for farmers, it often means a closer, better-paid relationship with the people who buy their crop.
Top Craft Chocolate Makers and Chocolatiers in Canada
Here are some of the Canadian names worth seeking out, from coast to coast.
Soma Chocolatemaker (Toronto, Ontario)
Founded in 2003, Soma is one of Canada's best-known bean-to-bar makers, with a shop and café in Toronto's historic Distillery District. It makes chocolate in small batches from beans sourced around the world, and its single-origin bars and drinking chocolates have a loyal following.
DesBarres Chocolate (Uxbridge, Ontario)
DesBarres is a small-batch bean-to-bar maker based in Uxbridge, Ontario. It was founded in 2015 by Erik and Ariane Hansen, according to Cocoa Runners, and focuses on letting the character of each cacao origin come through.
Palette de Bine (Laurentians, Quebec)
Palette de Bine is a one-woman bean-to-bar business in the Mont-Tremblant area of Quebec's Laurentians. Its founder made her first batch in autumn 2013 and started out selling at local farmers' markets (Eat North). Her bars are now sold by specialist retailers such as Cocoa Runners.
Hummingbird Chocolate Maker (Almonte, Ontario)
Erica and Drew Gilmour launched Hummingbird in Almonte, Ontario, in 2012. The company buys cacao directly from small farms and co-operatives at better than Fair Trade prices, and its bars have won more than 85 international awards, including a Golden Bean from the UK's Academy of Chocolate (Women of Influence).
Qantu Chocolate (Montreal, Quebec)
Qantu was founded by Elfi Maldonado and Maxime Simard, who met in Cusco, Peru, in 2007. They work with four cacao co-operatives in Peru, travel there twice a year to choose their beans and turn them into chocolate in Montreal's Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood (Tastet).
Epiphanie Chocolate (Calgary, Alberta)
Unlike the bean-to-bar makers above, Epiphanie is a chocolatier: it works with finished chocolate to create handmade filled chocolates, bars and gift boxes. It's a good example of the creative side of Canada's chocolate scene, where flavour pairings and presentation are the main event.
Sirene Chocolate (Victoria, British Columbia)
On Vancouver Island, former travel journalist and photographer Taylor Kennedy makes Sirene chocolate in a small workshop in Victoria. His first bars reached shops in 2014, and he focuses on beans from remote growing regions, such as Madagascar, to support the farmers who grow them (Travel2Next).
A Chocolate Culture Built on Imported Beans
Canada can't grow a single cacao tree, but it has built a chocolate culture that cares about quality, fairness and flavour. From the children who went on strike in 1947 to the small makers roasting beans from Peru and Madagascar today, Canadians have always taken their chocolate seriously.
If you'd like to bring that craft approach into your own kitchen, explore our single-origin cocoa for home baking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can cacao grow in Canada?
No, cacao can't grow outdoors in Canada because it needs a tropical climate within about 20 degrees of the equator and around 10 cm of rain every month. Canada sits far north of that belt, so all of its cacao is imported (San Diego Zoo).
What was the 1947 chocolate bar strike in Canada?
It was a nationwide boycott by Canadian children after chocolate bar prices rose from 5 to 8 cents, starting in Ladysmith, British Columbia, on 25 April 1947. It spread to cities including Victoria, Edmonton, Toronto and Ottawa before collapsing, and the price stayed at 8 cents (Wikipedia).
Where does Canada get its cacao?
Canada imports all of its cacao beans, bringing in more than 110,000 tonnes between January and August 2025. Craft makers often source speciality beans directly from countries such as Peru and Madagascar (Statistics Canada).
How much chocolate does Canada export?
Canada exported more than $2.78 billion of chocolate and cocoa food preparations in 2023, over 411 million kilograms in total. About 97% of those exports went to the United States (Statistics Canada).
Who are the best bean-to-bar chocolate makers in Canada?
Well-known Canadian bean-to-bar makers include Soma in Toronto, Hummingbird in Almonte, DesBarres in Uxbridge, Qantu in Montreal and Sirene in Victoria. Hummingbird alone has won more than 85 international chocolate awards (Women of Influence).
Where is DesBarres Chocolate made?
DesBarres Chocolate is made in Uxbridge, Ontario, not Montreal. The small-batch bean-to-bar maker was founded in 2015 by Erik and Ariane Hansen (Cocoa Runners).
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