Check out the “Made in Canada 2025” applications, available on Google Play (Android) and Apple devices. Find Canadian businesses as an alternative to US goods. App includes such sections as Automotive, Food Products, Home Renovations, Travel, Technology, Gardening, Pet Products and a whole host more.
Check out this page frequently for new ideas for buying Canadian and new businesses that you can support.
$25 with 25 in ‘25
Each of us can do a lot to spur on Canadian pride and focus our spending, as much as possible on Canadian goods. This is not an effort to harm the American economy, but they have chosen to try to stifle us, so we need to show our pride in Canada and do what we can to support Canadian businesses.
The $25 with 25 in ’25 project can go a long way to helping. Let’s examine the numbers.
We have roughly 40 million citizens. If only one in ten decided to do what they could to support Canada, that’s 4 million people, one at a time.
The $25 project sets a target of spending $25 every week on Canadian goods that replace goods imported from the US.
Let’s look at barbeque season. Our BBQ sauces largely are imported. However Red River Coop sells Coop Gold products and Sobey’s sells their brands, prepared in Canada. Buy two bottles of sauce at $3.50 each. Substitute Lay’s and Tostitos chips with locals like Old Dutch or La Cocina. Two bags at $4.00 each. If you buy Reesor’s and Ziggy salads, you are buying Canadian, but not if you buy Reser’s salads. Same with Uncle Bob’s popcorn from Ontario, instead of Uncle Bob’s (different company) from the US. Two salads at $6.50. Total Canadian purchases: $28. The $25 target is easy.
Now, do the same next week. Yes, it gets harder and harder, but it’s worth it to support Canadian.
The $25 per week switch, when you join with 24 friends or family members, is $625 per week, or $32,500 per year throughout 2025. Almost one salesclerk’s annual salary.
If 10% of Canadians did the same as you, that’s $5.2 billion! One strong Canadian makes a difference.
$10 substitute for USA every shopping trip
An alternative to the $25 challenge is simpler, particularly if you are a single person or senior who shops alone.
Simply buy $10 worth of Canadian goods to replace $10 of US goods you otherwise would have bought.
Amazon Prime costs about $10 per month. Similarly, Disney Plus or Paramount, and so on. Consider cancelling one of those memberships. There is no benefit to Canadian workers for streaming services. Combing Amazon Prime memberships with a friend saves money and no driver loses a job if you continue to shop, using your friend’s enrolment.
Breakfast cereals mostly are made in the US. Even brands made in Ontario, like most Kellogg’s cereal brands, are not shipped west, so if you live in the prairies, change your breakfast habit from cold cereals to fruits, eggs, some veggies, sliced seafood, and other healthy Canadian options.
Treat your dog or cat to a healthy Canadian pet food option.
Watch where your cleaning supplies and automotive accessories are made.
If you must buy American, reduce the cost of your items by joining with friends who also intend to shop for the American product, buy case lot and save per unit. Note the saving and donate it to a Canadian cause.
Buying groups
On this website, we have set up forums and discussion groups where you can organize and keep track of your own buying groups. These groups can be open to others, or you, as administrator of your group, can close them to people of your choosing.
Buying groups can share shipping costs when you buy Canadian goods or may even be able to negotiate or take advantage of bulk buying discounts. We bought Uncle Bob’s popcorn recently, and saved on the multiple buy option and on shipping charges.
So long as you are under the de minimus rule for imports from other countries, you may find incredible deals around the world. Ali Express is one Asian site that offers wonderful bulk purchase pricing.
One less week per season in USA
Many snowbirds own property in the southern US and find it difficult to give up their winter home. You don’t need to. Just spend one less week for each two months you would normally spend down south, and you will spend 12.5% less in the US.
Do you normally take day trips to the US? Calculate how many days you spend, on average, each year and reduce the number of days by 10%, spending those extra days in Canada destinations.
Bringing back alcohol duty-free? Make sure it is produced in Canada (Crown Royal), or Mexico, or some other country rather than the US. It won’t reduce the amount you spend, but it will reduce the amount that America profits from us.
Change your produce buying habits so that you are cooking meals from in-season produce from other countries like Mexico. Skip the American zipper-skin oranges and buy Moroccan oranges. Buy only Mexican avocados, not Florida ones. Be sure your grapes are Chilean, not American. Bring back duty free stuff like this that can be bought in the US cheaply (if you must buy there), but support non-American companies in the process.
One specialty item from another country every trip
Being One Strong Canadian does not mean that we have to be only Canadian supporters. There are many other countries that trade freely with us on many products, including the European Union countries. Many of these sell unique products in Canada, but many more have items that are often available domestically.
On your next shopping trip, look for European goods, or if you travel to the Caribbean, Australia & New Zealand or Asia, pick up one item specific to that country that may have a counterpart in the USA array of goods in our stores. It may only be a $20 item, but with tens of thousands of travellers doing the same, totals reach into the millions.
https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/is-resurgent-canadian-patriotism-real
Write positive reviews of Canadian companies
Even when you don’t regularly purchase outside your local shopping area, when you buy local, write positive reviews of that business. Those reviews increase the company’s visibility wherever people are when they search, which means you are opening up potential sales for Canadian companies across Canada.
Outreach to individuals in other countries to develop connections
In the 1950s, pen pals were the rage with younger people. These overseas connections sometimes endured for decades. Today’s pen pals can be instantaneous connections via the Internet. Reach out to overseas individuals and develop relations, learning about things you can import from their country, while informing them about Canadian specialties. Who knows? Maybe your next import will be an overseas friend looking to move to Canada.
Get involved in something that identifies us as separate from the US
Get involved in Canada. In Winnipeg, Folklorama celebrates ethnic diversity of our province every August, with cultural pavilions representing over 40 nations of origins of our people. While this is a spectacular and informative two-week event, there are scores of other ways to get involved in our country’s uniquely Canadian world.
Evey province has food festivals. Every province has local support groups. Every province has a need for services from English as a second language, to helping hands for seniors. Every province has individuals who need our help, even if it just involves visiting occasionally. Reach out and you will be the beneficiary of wonderful opportunities to hear about others’ lives, up close and personal.
Maybe you have an idea of your own that you think will help other Canadians. Start it yourself or use this platform (or others like it) to encourage others to take up your cause.
Make money by being Canadian
GoFundMe has been a great success at starting or supporting businesses and ventures, and even funding worthwhile charities, but it also has its own failings.
Consider opportunities to invest small amounts in Canadian ventures. Perhaps you will be a founding funder of some spectacularly successful company, just because you took the time to spend a few dollars that you might have spent on American goods or a visit to the US.
Combine streaming & subscription services
Do you need Paramount, Disney, Amazon and numerous other streaming services?
We examined how often we used each of these American services and opted to cut back to just Disney, since that was where most of our quality viewing occurred. Then we added a British service, to create cultural diversity. There are tons of great streaming services that are not American. We even went to Vivaldi for our search platform.
We cancelled our Amazon Prime, opting for Temu. Using orders only from Amazon.ca (I know, we are deluding ourselves into thinking this is Canadian and supporting Canadian jobs) through a friend, we were able to join a group of our friends and share the one Amazon Prime delivery package. We saved money and cut back on US content.
Stop eating at McDonalds, Wendy’s and Burger King
We now only eat fast food at a few local, Canadian eateries. Tim Horton’s, of course. Montana’s (Canadian with an American name, just like Outback is US, with an Australian name). Harvey’s is Canadian too. A&W is our favourite, since it broke off from the USA burger place of the same name decades ago.
Lobby government and business for a favourite cause
Politicians respond to pressure. They want to stay in office, and none want to appear disloyal to Canada right now. So now is the perfect time to lobby them to support a favourite Canadian cause.
Ask suppliers if they use USA labour
Sometimes, the American impact is subtle or hidden. A supposedly Canadian company may outsource their labour to US contractors. They may use call centre services (e.g. Internet or cable TV) based in the US, may ship repairs to the US or may have moved their primary operation to the US.
Ask, if you are uncertain whether patronizing a supposedly Canadian company is actually supporting an American one. And spread the word when you find out. Use your social media, usually based in the US, to promote Canadians.
This may not result directly in helping a Canadian business, but it will encourage companies to refrain from outsourcing or using American labour when Canadians can do the work just as well, or better.