Amid the patriotic chest-thumping and sincere efforts of Canadians to do right by their country in the face of the on-again, off-again U.S. tariffs, the humble little Maple Leaf has been working overtime.

Perhaps nowhere more so than at the grocery store, where shelves are emblazoned with red maple leaves to indicate that certain products are, to some extent, Canadian.

But does it mean what shoppers think it means? Why do some Canadian products have a maple leaf sticker or shelf talker, while oth…