In 2014, Burger King bought Tim Hortons in a merger that formed Restaurant Brands International; a primarily American company, though headquartered in Toronto alongside Tim Hortons (for tax purposes). Both then and now, RBIs primary assets/interests are in America.
Tim Hortons is a fully owned subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International. Restaurant Brands International is a public company traded on the NYSE and TSE with its headquarters in Toronto. A Brazilian investment company 3G Capital owns 32% of Restaurant Brands International via "3G Restaurant Brands Holdings LP".
Does that make it a Canadian company? Who the hell knows. It sure doesn't feel like it, even if it does technically have a Canadian HQ. I guess theoretically it means they pay their corporate tax in Canada. But, realistically, they probably are using various tax dodges to avoid paying much of anything.
IMHO they stopped being Canadian when they switched to hiring the cheapest TFW's they could, while championing how Canadian they are in all their advertising. Being Canadian is more than having your HQ in Toronto and sticking a maple leaf on everything.
Like Letterkenny says, if there's one thing you Yanks have sorted, it's your shopping. I will very much miss clothes shopping there because that really was a big savings.
I work at a pet food manufacturer in Wisconsin, and we sell our products in Canada. We've been fielding lots of questions and feedback contacts from our Canadian customers saying they won't feed our products anymore. I get it, and I'm in full support of anyone who boycotts us. In my department, both of the people I report to are right wing, Trump-voting idiots who didn't think about how this affects us directly.
This makes my job harder, but hit us where it hurts. I will sit back and laugh as the leopards eat their faces. I truly hope the company as a whole survives as is, but I am prepared if we don't. Fuck around and find out.
Fairly sure the grocery store cartel will say something like "Due to the tariffs on limited American imported goods. We are forced to raise our prices.
as an aussie, this is all so fucked up… we have basically nothing here that’s canadian, but i’m certainly switching all my shopping and services away from US brands in solidarity (RIP vegemite :p)
global solidarity against the fucking bully
at the very least, anyone could be next… but even without that somewhat selfish take, canadians don’t deserve any of this
I wish more international trade was based on who shared our values, vs. what's cheaper. Aussies, Canadians and Kiwis all share values far more than Canadians do with Americans, despite the close proximity and shared culture.
I think Canada imports some Aussie and Kiwi products, like some wines, some fancy honeys, etc. But, unfortunately, both Canada and Australia are mainly resource-based economies these days, and export a lot of raw resources to be processed into goods in other countries.
Okay I'm not Canadian (or USian for that matter), but it's common for big companies to have many production facilities and many product lines, so similarly packaged and named products are made in different countries and nobody pays any attention. Common example in my country is that since like two decades ago, Põltsamaa Felix was acquired by the Norwegian company Orkla, they'll make some things here in their Estonian facility (in Põltsamaa, the town the company was named after) and then they'll make some in Latvia or Lithuania, some in Sweden, etc. Unless you look at the package AND it states the country, you'll have no idea.
I hate how deceptive names can be. You just think by default "oh this must be Canadian then". So much homework to figure out the truth with all these conglomerates
At the very least, this should provide an incentive for Canadian brands to prominently display flags on their packaging. And, the fairly dysfunctional government should at least be able to agree to pass a law forbidding non-Canadian brands from claiming to be Canadian.
With billions at stake, there are bound to be companies that bend the rules and claim to be Canadian because 10% of the product comes from Canada, or something. But, at least it would be a step in the right direction. And hey, if those flags stay on for years after this spat, that's a good thing too. We should be buying more locally, for environmental reasons if not economic ones.
I know it's not a real option for many, but for those who can afford to I'd also recommend shopping local for groceries as much as possible. We need to stand together in the face of these tariffs, but I don't love the idea of Loblaws and co. standing to gain so much from the struggles of the public yet again.
Check out local grocery stores and smaller chains like Co-Op if they operate in your area for Canadian made goods. Look and see if there's a local farmers market you can buy staples like eggs and produce from. It's the little guys that are likely to face an existential threat from all this international non-diplomacy.
Absolutely! This is the year where I finally sign up for a CSA. (I'm not a good cook and have always been a bit intimidated but apparently most come with recipes and honestly, all the AI has made me a lot more confident in my ability to "find" a few recipes with whatever random ingredients.)
I am not as against AI as your typical lemmy user, but I think LLMs generating recipes might sometimes not work the best? Especially if you are limiting the ingredients. If your on-hand ingredients typically wouldn't be combined, it might hallucinate and spit out the recipe for some food crime creation. Maybe you've had a different experience though?
Oh, definitely not worth blindly trusting but I've had pretty good success when grabbing whatever is on sale at the grocery store or in excess in my pantry.
That being said, I use it as a planner, not in a "what can I make with what's on hand." So, a CSA box would have the stuff that I'd plan around! I haven't tried more off the cuff but I rarely cook that way.
I know basic food safety so I'm only worried about a bad meal but of the last ten meals I made based on ai, a couple are going in my standard rotation and all but 1 worked out well. (The 1 being just fine.)
Have to make sure it’s a real farmers market though and not one that just buys bulk and resells calling them farm produce, often at a considerable markup.
Honestly at least where I live the difference between farmers markets and grocery stores isn't that big anymore. Given, I live on an island where non local stuff has to be shipped and the prices raised because of that, but I've been preferring the quality of local veggies way more. Though understandably if you're struggling to make ends meet, I see why even a few dollars would make a difference.
You've pointed out an aspect of this that has escaped too many. You don't fight nationalism with more nationalism. This trade war can only result in stronger trade partnerships with other nations.
I just came back from groceries, and I went in with every intention to not by anything from the USA. Much to my surprise, I'd say 90% of what I usually buy are products grown and made in Canada! The rest were from Spain, India, etc.
A few were made in Canada using domestic and imported ingredients, so I'll be looking for all Canadian alternatives.
Orange juice was the only American product, and was a "one last time" purchase.
FYI, oats, most legumes and beans, and tomato products are nearly all Canadian.
Old Dutch All Dressed is really good too! I get the sour cream and cheddar every once in a while. It's weirdly addictive. I also grew up on their ketchup chips.
As an American, honestly just avoid those brands in general. Not because they're American made, but many of them are already shit to begin with. Maybe it's shrinkflation, or all the wacky chemicals, or the way they treat their workers.
So take this opportunity not only to be patriotic to your Canadian country, but to also improve your own standard of living and buying better quality foods.
Don't forget the mid-terms in 2026. The damn Democrats better wake their asses up, take back the House and Senate, and start helping the dumb bastards in the red states or this shit will continue.
For anyone scrolling, add Rustica to the frozen pizza list. Siwin for excellent dumplings. Cheemo for perogies. I've just found them in the past few months and they're all really well made.
I've been pleasantly surprised at how Canadian my stuff already is. It makes sense, I guess - shipping costs something, and I look for deals.
The really hard thing will be fresh, perishable goods, so I've spent the last several years moving onto all-pantry recipes. Detergent is also weirdly American, although Tru Earth is Canadian.
Unfortunately, shipping is insanely cheap. That's why to make a T-shirt you get cotton grown in Egypt, shipped by a huge container ship to Indonesia where it is turned into cotton yarn. That yarn is then loaded back onto a huge container ship where it goes to Bangladesh to be turned into a T-shirt. Then, it's loaded onto a huge container ship to be sent to the US for people to buy. All that shipping only adds $2 to the total cost of $12 or so, and then it's sold for like $20.
Depends on weight, too. Textiles are really light per value (and if it's Egyptian cotton maybe this is a nice shirt, even). A can of potatoes is quite different in that respect.
But yeah, shipping is still reasonably cheap. Which is good - not everything can be made in Canada, or like textiles made here at reasonable cost, and it gives us the option to not use the US as long as our ports have enough capacity.
It's good that shipping is cheap in some ways. The problem is that it's cheap because it uses the absolute worst kinds of fuels that are incredibly polluting. The fact that shipping is incredibly cheap is a major reason why the climate is changing.
International cargo container shipping is only about 2% of global CO2, but that's still 10% of all transportation-related output coming from shipping alone. Imagine if every 1 in 10 vehicles you saw on the road was a little boat, that's how much international shipping contributes to CO2.
You shouldn't convert everything to EVs overnight. EVs aren't the answer, public transport and alternative transport like biking is the answer. A nasty deisel-based bus almost certainly contributes less to climate change than 30 personal EVs, especially if you consider the entire life cycle.
Transport is going to be the hardest thing to convert to not use fossil fuels, because the biggest advantage of fossil fuels is the massive energy density of the fuel. An EV has to lug massive batteries around with it everywhere it goes, but a gasoline car just needs a relatively small fuel tank. For small personal vehicles it might be possible to accept the compromise, but it's going to be a lot harder to get rid of fossil fuels for buses, trains and especially airplanes and ships. So, the answer there is not to switch to EVs, it's to reduce the use as much as possible. Stop flying around the world. Stop ordering things from overseas. Stop driving personal vehicles and take public transit.
Right now, the biggest sector contributing to global CO2 is electricity and heat production, but solar and wind are getting so cheap that it's just a matter of time for those to be converted. You don't even need to give incentives, the cheapest solution is now the cleanest. The energy density of the fuel doesn't matter in those cases. But, transport's going to be a harder problem, and it's the one we should be working on now.
Those are some grim coffee options. If your store carries jumping bean (mine does) they're from Newfoundland. There's some good rosters you can buy online like Detour. Of course if you're in a city like Vancouver Montreal or Toronto you have endless local rosters but even smaller towns will usually have one or two good ones.
I actually get mine only from a local coffee shop. I'd rather drink less and buy better local quality anyway. I have a subscription and they deliver once a month. It's nice!
Any recommendations? I do kicking horse or ballzacks but its like $15-20+ per bag of beans, its a bit crazy now. I'm willing to try any alternative that has enough caffeine and tasts halfways decent.
Yeah, the "president" there is Dave Nichol, who was a former president of Loblaws. A lot of it is just marketing, but Nichol actually did personally taste and approve things with the President's Choice label. The Loblaws test kitchen was actually right next to his office. These days it's just the Loblaws premium in-house brand, and my guess is that a lot of it is made in America, shipped to Canada, branded as "President's Choice", then sold in the monopolist's store.
Rob Loblaws month never ends. I wish I could find frozen avocado somewhere else, do you know any other store that carries it? That's the one thing I'm stuck on. I mostly shop at the local Polish grocery store.
I buy bagged whole avocados like crazy when they go on sale, cube them and place them on parchment paper lined tray spaced out and put that in the freezer. once they are frozen solid bag them up in a ziploc and chop the next cpuple avocados ans repeat. They have to be frozen not touching each other or they form a giant clump.
BioSteel was bought by a conspiracy theorist/Guru type last year that also owns Canadian Protein. For anyone that needs proof just lookup the owner and his social media.
Just went grocery shopping. It was actually easier to figure out what was made in the US than I expected. Pretty much everything was labeled with the origin and where they were imported from (if they were imported).
The other thing I learned is that the US cornered the junk food market lmao.
Also I did buy one item from the US which was broccoli. If someone finds broccoli not from the US let me know :D
Then I don't know what you expect. You can't grow broccoli in Canada in the winter and you can't ship fresh vegetables over from halfway around the world and expect them to stay fresh.
I don't think it's crazy to expect some to come from Mexico. According to 10 minutes of Googling, Mexico produces a lot of broccoli and we get a lot of produce from Mexico already.
From my most recent grocery trip, the lettuce and limes I bought were all from mexico.
The one product I needed tonight from this list doesn't like it is listed correctly. PC mustard is product of USA. I passed on it and bought French's because it at least uses Canadian mustard seed. And fuck Galen Weston anyway.
I'm just saying that because we produce a shit ton of seeds in Canada so unless you go out of your way to buy mustard produced in Asia, you're getting Canadian mustard seeds in your mustard.
All well and good, I just highly doubt it is common knowledge that the US, a country with a much larger population and much more hospitable growing conditions than ours, apparently grows no mustard seed for all the mustard they produce for both countries. French's goes out of their way to note their use of Canadian ingredients on their bottles, likely as a result of our last little go round with the US. We could really stand to see more of that right now, since our supply chains are so intertwined. With a lot of products, we have to choose what combination of Canadian ownership, manufacturing, or parts/ingredients, if any, that we're willing to accept. Knowing at a glance is a pretty big advantage. Wish we'd get some help from more stores on that front.
This list is the equivalent of French's "proudly made in Canada" Ketchup response to the Heinz boycott from a couple years back when they've decided to close their Ontario factory. French's still being just another US company, that did not close it's Canadian plants at the time.
Also it's full of shit products and seems to push galen's stuff mostly, when there's so many smaller, local alternatives.
Many American brands I've never even heard of. And Nestlé is Swiss, not from the US.
Seriously. I understand you waving the flag pointing out the lowblaw connection (I noticed it too and I haven't shopped at lowblaw or their counterparts more than a dozen times in the last 2 years), but people need alternatives.
Even ONE option would be helpful, otherwise you are just making this shit seem even more hopeless.
How can I provide you a list of local products specific to your area? I live in the more French part of Montreal, Le Plateau, and everything is full of products from France and Quebec. Highly irrelevant to what you likely have in say Toronto.
I used to live in the Junction and would frequent three non-galen stores in the area (a local butcher, Sweet Potato and Stari Grad) and never encountered either the listed US or Canadian brands, unless I had to go to the no frills in the area for cheap TP.
This list is simply stupid. It's an infatuation with big consumer brands and outdated products. Very typical of North America.
Just try. Instead of whining uselessly. A single Canadian made product you enjoy. You don't have one? Then you are the problem.
You don't want people buying big name brands. You say everyone else is stupid. Fucking pull your weight then.
I'm sitting on the can and I can see 'true earth' brand toilet cleaner is made in Canada. They have laundry soap and dish soap too.
And I know my fancy Lush shampoos and stuff are super local, if you can afford it.
And just in case laundry detergent isn't on the tariff list I have Okazu miso chili oil on my counter at all times.
And Matty Matheson has a brand of kraft dinner that's pretty dang good and not that much more expensive than KD.
So what about you? Gonna keep whining about a shitty list or are you gonna post something helpful? If everyone else in this thread did the same thing we'd have something to work with.
I think their point was "don't just buy Canadian, but local" which means the unless you live near each other, their recommendations won't help. This is generally more impactful advice.
But I appreciate your point that we want to make it easy to avoid American products, to lower the bar so more people do it; so listing national brands makes that much more useful.
Their point was to whine. If we need to buy local and OP's intention is not just to piss and moan they could give a single example, or link to a list, or start a little data base.
Even just list some tips to start figuring it out for yourself, like "go to your fridge and take out the most expensive/most used items. Find the label and figure out where it's from. If it isn't from Canada do a google search for "local mayonnaise" or "Ontario made cheese", or "Toronto hot sauce" and start looking for alternatives. They aren't the single only person living in Montreal on Lemmy, and even if they were, their recommendation could lead others to search in a different way for what they need.
I'm not disagreeing with anything said, I'm trying to encourage the whiners to also contribute, as I have been as I whine about whiners. It should be a requirement.
I think there is still value in their reminder that Galen Weston isn't forgiven, despite being Canadian; so don't get so caught up in our passion to switch to Canadian brands that we end up giving our money to someone nearly as bad.
I still don't really think them listing a single example (or many) would prove anything, or be meaningfully useful. I wouldn't mind hearing some of their experience in looking for local, so people know what to expect, but I don't think we need to be upset that they didn't.
In other words, I think they are contributing, even if their tone is perhaps not ideal for moving people to action.
Wait, what do you mean YOPLAIT?!?
That brand still exists? I remember seeing it in Spain during the early 90s and then disappearing there. I thought it was a Spanish brand since I haven't seen it outside that country. TIL.
yoplait canada is not owned by general mills anymore. they closed on the deal to sell it back to the french company they bought it from just last week. src
Sadly Lowblaw and the other Grocery mafia are just going to hike the price of the domestic options to the same price as the US and start wailing about the gas tax and COVID supply chains.
I'm calling it now. Watch those fuckers. You'll see.
As someone in the US, I will be avoiding large US brands as much as possible as well. All the pain that nazi cockgoblin has and is going to cause makes me really sad.
Last I checked, Tim Horton's is owned by Restaurant Brands International, which came to be as a merger between Tim Horton's and Burger King. They are headquartered in Toronto. Their majority shareholder is a Brazilian investment company though.
I will always check the origin of a product. EU, USA, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea are always a go. Now I will look a bit closer and make an effort to avoid the shithole red states.
Cool to see some brands I already use on here. Speaking of, I kinda thought everyone used Sun-Rype for their juice anyway. I mean, I am biased as I've been by their HQ multiple times so it just feels natural to buy their brand, but still.
Interesting… from that list, the only US thing I currently buy is French’s mustard.
However, I’m still trying to figure out how to boycott US produce — Washington apples and Florida oranges, and all the other stuff Loblaw’s stocks even though there are Canadian and International alternatives.
Maybe Loblaw’s (and the local markets) will start providing more local and South American options now….
You'd hope Canada and Mexico start increasing trade. I wonder if freight trucks are allowed to pass through the USA without incurring tariffs? Probably not as it's customs collecting it?
Having refried bean enchiladas for dinner tonight with Costena beans and enchilada sauce actually. I usually go to the local Latino market a few times a month too.
Can we please not call Tim Hortons Canadian?
Exactly. Restaurant Brands which owns Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes is a US company. Tim Hortons is garbage anyway.
It’s actually Brazilian.
Is that why they're so smooth?
Well if there’s one place you don’t want hair, it’s in your coffee. Hang in there up there we’re rooting for you just south of the border.
Their name is ‘restaurant brands’? that’s so blandly corporate evil
According to Wikipedia they're headquartered in Toronto
In 2014, Burger King bought Tim Hortons in a merger that formed Restaurant Brands International; a primarily American company, though headquartered in Toronto alongside Tim Hortons (for tax purposes). Both then and now, RBIs primary assets/interests are in America.
Ah, good to know. Thanks.
Sorry I didn't make the list, that is dumb.
Who did make it? What is its source?
Nor is Robin Good and Four roses
Tim Hortons is a fully owned subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International. Restaurant Brands International is a public company traded on the NYSE and TSE with its headquarters in Toronto. A Brazilian investment company 3G Capital owns 32% of Restaurant Brands International via "3G Restaurant Brands Holdings LP".
Does that make it a Canadian company? Who the hell knows. It sure doesn't feel like it, even if it does technically have a Canadian HQ. I guess theoretically it means they pay their corporate tax in Canada. But, realistically, they probably are using various tax dodges to avoid paying much of anything.
IMHO they stopped being Canadian when they switched to hiring the cheapest TFW's they could, while championing how Canadian they are in all their advertising. Being Canadian is more than having your HQ in Toronto and sticking a maple leaf on everything.
Plus their food sucks now.
As an ashamed American, I really dig the solidarity and support you guys are showing with your alternative products and boycott lists!
Like Letterkenny says, if there's one thing you Yanks have sorted, it's your shopping. I will very much miss clothes shopping there because that really was a big savings.
thank you! together we stand, divided we fall!
I work at a pet food manufacturer in Wisconsin, and we sell our products in Canada. We've been fielding lots of questions and feedback contacts from our Canadian customers saying they won't feed our products anymore. I get it, and I'm in full support of anyone who boycotts us. In my department, both of the people I report to are right wing, Trump-voting idiots who didn't think about how this affects us directly.
This makes my job harder, but hit us where it hurts. I will sit back and laugh as the leopards eat their faces. I truly hope the company as a whole survives as is, but I am prepared if we don't. Fuck around and find out.
Loblaws will continue to receive none of my money.
Fuck galen. Fuck Presidents choice anything.
They will probably raise their prices AGAIN in times of hardship to make hundred of millions more.
I will not eat their products.
I will eat the rich.
I will shoplift their products though.
but not from a canadian-owned store
Unless it's Loblaws
There are more local options not from PC nor the US that OP didn't list, the most obvious one to me is frozen pizzas.
At least in Quebec, there are so many non-American frozen pizza brands I can't possibly list them all, two of them would be ILIOS and Como's.
Fairly sure the grocery store cartel will say something like "Due to the tariffs on limited American imported goods. We are forced to raise our prices.
Tim Hortons is about as uncanadian as Starbucks, they're owned by RBI, which is owned by 3Com, a Brazilian food conglomerate.
Earth's Own is Canadian and makes pretty good oat milk.
I've already switched to them for a while since it's more affordable than other coffee creamers.
Their Batista oat milk is great too, I legit prefer oat milk to dairy for most things, tastes better in coffee drinks imo.
100% Oat Milk lattes are no joke.
Sold at Dollarama too, for the same price that other stores tend to have on special only.
I like getting their almond milk packs from Costco.
as an aussie, this is all so fucked up… we have basically nothing here that’s canadian, but i’m certainly switching all my shopping and services away from US brands in solidarity (RIP vegemite :p)
global solidarity against the fucking bully
at the very least, anyone could be next… but even without that somewhat selfish take, canadians don’t deserve any of this
Is Vegemite American made? Wow. My SO is Australian and his family would bring him some when they visited. We can only get Marmite here.
This isn't going to be easy but the orange rapist doesn't seem to comprehend that we can hit them where they live.
it’s owned by kraft yeah; i remember a big thing about it being sold in the 90s
we also have marmite, and another one that AFAIK is still aussie called promite (just skip the thermite for eating; that’s different)
Crikey that Thermite can be spicy!
well we ain’t here to fuck spiders after all ay
I wish more international trade was based on who shared our values, vs. what's cheaper. Aussies, Canadians and Kiwis all share values far more than Canadians do with Americans, despite the close proximity and shared culture.
I think Canada imports some Aussie and Kiwi products, like some wines, some fancy honeys, etc. But, unfortunately, both Canada and Australia are mainly resource-based economies these days, and export a lot of raw resources to be processed into goods in other countries.
yeah 100% agree. most of our resources go to china to be processed into the stuff you buy
i’ll buy shit loads of maple syrup and be real happy about it - as expensive as it is here 🥺
Wait...
French's ketchup is Canadian but French's mustard is American???
Okay I'm not Canadian (or USian for that matter), but it's common for big companies to have many production facilities and many product lines, so similarly packaged and named products are made in different countries and nobody pays any attention. Common example in my country is that since like two decades ago, Põltsamaa Felix was acquired by the Norwegian company Orkla, they'll make some things here in their Estonian facility (in Põltsamaa, the town the company was named after) and then they'll make some in Latvia or Lithuania, some in Sweden, etc. Unless you look at the package AND it states the country, you'll have no idea.
Canada Dry isn't Canadian anymore. It was bought by an American company in 2008.
I hate how deceptive names can be. You just think by default "oh this must be Canadian then". So much homework to figure out the truth with all these conglomerates
At the very least, this should provide an incentive for Canadian brands to prominently display flags on their packaging. And, the fairly dysfunctional government should at least be able to agree to pass a law forbidding non-Canadian brands from claiming to be Canadian.
With billions at stake, there are bound to be companies that bend the rules and claim to be Canadian because 10% of the product comes from Canada, or something. But, at least it would be a step in the right direction. And hey, if those flags stay on for years after this spat, that's a good thing too. We should be buying more locally, for environmental reasons if not economic ones.
I know it's not a real option for many, but for those who can afford to I'd also recommend shopping local for groceries as much as possible. We need to stand together in the face of these tariffs, but I don't love the idea of Loblaws and co. standing to gain so much from the struggles of the public yet again.
Check out local grocery stores and smaller chains like Co-Op if they operate in your area for Canadian made goods. Look and see if there's a local farmers market you can buy staples like eggs and produce from. It's the little guys that are likely to face an existential threat from all this international non-diplomacy.
Absolutely! This is the year where I finally sign up for a CSA. (I'm not a good cook and have always been a bit intimidated but apparently most come with recipes and honestly, all the AI has made me a lot more confident in my ability to "find" a few recipes with whatever random ingredients.)
I am not as against AI as your typical lemmy user, but I think LLMs generating recipes might sometimes not work the best? Especially if you are limiting the ingredients. If your on-hand ingredients typically wouldn't be combined, it might hallucinate and spit out the recipe for some food crime creation. Maybe you've had a different experience though?
Oh, definitely not worth blindly trusting but I've had pretty good success when grabbing whatever is on sale at the grocery store or in excess in my pantry.
That being said, I use it as a planner, not in a "what can I make with what's on hand." So, a CSA box would have the stuff that I'd plan around! I haven't tried more off the cuff but I rarely cook that way.
I know basic food safety so I'm only worried about a bad meal but of the last ten meals I made based on ai, a couple are going in my standard rotation and all but 1 worked out well. (The 1 being just fine.)
Have to make sure it’s a real farmers market though and not one that just buys bulk and resells calling them farm produce, often at a considerable markup.
I already shop almost exclusively at the local Polish grocery store. I have no idea what some of the products I'm buying are haha.
Probably mostly just kiełbasa, twaróg and kapusta. A good diet.
Edit: a "t"
All these mysterious pickled vegetables.
Honestly at least where I live the difference between farmers markets and grocery stores isn't that big anymore. Given, I live on an island where non local stuff has to be shipped and the prices raised because of that, but I've been preferring the quality of local veggies way more. Though understandably if you're struggling to make ends meet, I see why even a few dollars would make a difference.
Coca Cola is bad because… It’s owned by an American corporation, despite being bottled in Canada?
Why then are we suggested to buy Great Value? Is it because Walmart is an American corporation but it’s bottled in Canada?
I’ve seen this suggestion a few times before this post. Someone help it make sense.
And even if a company's HQ is in America, their shareholders are probably all over. Personally I'll only worry about the physical supply chain.
In solidarity with Mexico I might just stick with El Yucateco.
You've pointed out an aspect of this that has escaped too many. You don't fight nationalism with more nationalism. This trade war can only result in stronger trade partnerships with other nations.
I buy el yucateco because it tastes better. If America wants me to buy hot sauce made here they need to learn how to make it taste good.
I just came back from groceries, and I went in with every intention to not by anything from the USA. Much to my surprise, I'd say 90% of what I usually buy are products grown and made in Canada! The rest were from Spain, India, etc.
A few were made in Canada using domestic and imported ingredients, so I'll be looking for all Canadian alternatives.
Orange juice was the only American product, and was a "one last time" purchase.
FYI, oats, most legumes and beans, and tomato products are nearly all Canadian.
Unico is a great Canadian brand for tinned beans, tomatoes, etc. I always buy it.
Old Dutch is the best. I grew up on the rippled sour cream and onion. I never got the lays appeal..
old dutch was always what we had when i was a kid. mom wouldn't settle for anything less. it had to be old dutch chips in the box.
it is a minnesota company but their canadian operations is huge, with manufacturing facilities across the country.
They also distribute Hawkins Cheezies… Canadian made
Old Dutch All Dressed is really good too! I get the sour cream and cheddar every once in a while. It's weirdly addictive. I also grew up on their ketchup chips.
Sour Cream and Cheddar is definitely their best imo.
As an American, honestly just avoid those brands in general. Not because they're American made, but many of them are already shit to begin with. Maybe it's shrinkflation, or all the wacky chemicals, or the way they treat their workers.
So take this opportunity not only to be patriotic to your Canadian country, but to also improve your own standard of living and buying better quality foods.
Here is a site to help
https://madeinca.ca/grocery-store-guide/
This link should be much higher, that madeinca website is awesome and offers all kinds of product alternatives.
I can't wait for 2028.
I hope you can vote in 2028
Me too.
Don't forget the mid-terms in 2026. The damn Democrats better wake their asses up, take back the House and Senate, and start helping the dumb bastards in the red states or this shit will continue.
Fantastic list! Where'd you find it?
For anyone scrolling, add Rustica to the frozen pizza list. Siwin for excellent dumplings. Cheemo for perogies. I've just found them in the past few months and they're all really well made.
Someone put it on Facebook. Also https://madeinca.ca/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIMsTBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHfUA9ssZTt4QfpNxuM5q536eWzMf6EDp5tceAGBniYQM7fvyU8uRzSVsoA_aem_trok0y7jrDACjPtQzMGDNA
I shop at my local Polish grocery store. I have no idea what some things are but it feels much better to support them.
I've been pleasantly surprised at how Canadian my stuff already is. It makes sense, I guess - shipping costs something, and I look for deals.
The really hard thing will be fresh, perishable goods, so I've spent the last several years moving onto all-pantry recipes. Detergent is also weirdly American, although Tru Earth is Canadian.
Unfortunately, shipping is insanely cheap. That's why to make a T-shirt you get cotton grown in Egypt, shipped by a huge container ship to Indonesia where it is turned into cotton yarn. That yarn is then loaded back onto a huge container ship where it goes to Bangladesh to be turned into a T-shirt. Then, it's loaded onto a huge container ship to be sent to the US for people to buy. All that shipping only adds $2 to the total cost of $12 or so, and then it's sold for like $20.
Depends on weight, too. Textiles are really light per value (and if it's Egyptian cotton maybe this is a nice shirt, even). A can of potatoes is quite different in that respect.
But yeah, shipping is still reasonably cheap. Which is good - not everything can be made in Canada, or like textiles made here at reasonable cost, and it gives us the option to not use the US as long as our ports have enough capacity.
It's good that shipping is cheap in some ways. The problem is that it's cheap because it uses the absolute worst kinds of fuels that are incredibly polluting. The fact that shipping is incredibly cheap is a major reason why the climate is changing.
Hmm. I actually doubt that's true at this point, except for aircraft. The thing is you can't convert everything to EVs overnight.
You doubt what's true? That transportation / shipping is a major contributor to climate change?
"the transportation sector contributes 20.2% of global CO2 emissions"
https://www.undp.org/policy-centre/istanbul/press-releases/windrose-technology-supports-undp-research-universities-zero-emission-trucks-zets
International cargo container shipping is only about 2% of global CO2, but that's still 10% of all transportation-related output coming from shipping alone. Imagine if every 1 in 10 vehicles you saw on the road was a little boat, that's how much international shipping contributes to CO2.
You shouldn't convert everything to EVs overnight. EVs aren't the answer, public transport and alternative transport like biking is the answer. A nasty deisel-based bus almost certainly contributes less to climate change than 30 personal EVs, especially if you consider the entire life cycle.
Transport is going to be the hardest thing to convert to not use fossil fuels, because the biggest advantage of fossil fuels is the massive energy density of the fuel. An EV has to lug massive batteries around with it everywhere it goes, but a gasoline car just needs a relatively small fuel tank. For small personal vehicles it might be possible to accept the compromise, but it's going to be a lot harder to get rid of fossil fuels for buses, trains and especially airplanes and ships. So, the answer there is not to switch to EVs, it's to reduce the use as much as possible. Stop flying around the world. Stop ordering things from overseas. Stop driving personal vehicles and take public transit.
Right now, the biggest sector contributing to global CO2 is electricity and heat production, but solar and wind are getting so cheap that it's just a matter of time for those to be converted. You don't even need to give incentives, the cheapest solution is now the cleanest. The energy density of the fuel doesn't matter in those cases. But, transport's going to be a harder problem, and it's the one we should be working on now.
No. That it can't be done without emissions.
Biking and public transit for cargo?
Cargo bikes exist, and trains are effectively public transit for cargo.
Those are some grim coffee options. If your store carries jumping bean (mine does) they're from Newfoundland. There's some good rosters you can buy online like Detour. Of course if you're in a city like Vancouver Montreal or Toronto you have endless local rosters but even smaller towns will usually have one or two good ones.
I actually get mine only from a local coffee shop. I'd rather drink less and buy better local quality anyway. I have a subscription and they deliver once a month. It's nice!
Any recommendations? I do kicking horse or ballzacks but its like $15-20+ per bag of beans, its a bit crazy now. I'm willing to try any alternative that has enough caffeine and tasts halfways decent.
This is the one we buy. They have a few shops too which are great. https://www.416-coffee.com/coffee-subscriptions-ontario?srsltid=AfmBOoprLxerAaOUJ2SILgpWiaBigI4HLeHdr34iywyGr-0OtjAO-cKn
maybe we just don't buy coffe for awhile
https://www.coasttocoastcoffee.ca/ Run by a buddy of mine. Excellent coffee
Local roasters are the way if you ha e them.
I'm in Nova Scotia and only drink Just Us - it's roasted here and both Sobeys and Superstore carry it.
Van Houtte is pretty good imo. There is also Napoleon
I can't speak for coffee, but I know several good local tea shops! Still not as convenient as the Starbucks on every corner, sure, but often better.
If Coke etc are canned in Canada do they get tariffs? The Canadian people deserve better than PC cola.
They shouldn't, one of the goals of tarrifs is to encourage production in-country
I quite enjoy seeing "President's Choice" on this list.
Is it prescient, poignant or just apt?
à propos
Yeah, the "president" there is Dave Nichol, who was a former president of Loblaws. A lot of it is just marketing, but Nichol actually did personally taste and approve things with the President's Choice label. The Loblaws test kitchen was actually right next to his office. These days it's just the Loblaws premium in-house brand, and my guess is that a lot of it is made in America, shipped to Canada, branded as "President's Choice", then sold in the monopolist's store.
Rob Loblaws month never ends. I wish I could find frozen avocado somewhere else, do you know any other store that carries it? That's the one thing I'm stuck on. I mostly shop at the local Polish grocery store.
I buy bagged whole avocados like crazy when they go on sale, cube them and place them on parchment paper lined tray spaced out and put that in the freezer. once they are frozen solid bag them up in a ziploc and chop the next cpuple avocados ans repeat. They have to be frozen not touching each other or they form a giant clump.
Ok that's a good idea. Do you cut them up when they are firm or when they are soft? I def could do this.
I like them medium but anywhere before they turn brown
Kicking Horse Coffee is majority owned by Lavazza, an Italian company. Not Canadian, but still better to support than Tim Hortons.
BioSteel was bought by a conspiracy theorist/Guru type last year that also owns Canadian Protein. For anyone that needs proof just lookup the owner and his social media.
PVL is probably a decent Canadian alternative.
Seeing all these American companies earnings go down next report would be glorious.
You were ahead of your time.
But also small businesses will suffer or collapse and that sucks.
Maybe it is more of a, "well now that they're here what's the silver lining"?
Just went grocery shopping. It was actually easier to figure out what was made in the US than I expected. Pretty much everything was labeled with the origin and where they were imported from (if they were imported).
The other thing I learned is that the US cornered the junk food market lmao.
Also I did buy one item from the US which was broccoli. If someone finds broccoli not from the US let me know :D
I just checked the President's Choice broccoli in my freezer and it says "Product of Belgium".
Oh I'm specifically looking for fresh broccoli. Not frozen.
Then I don't know what you expect. You can't grow broccoli in Canada in the winter and you can't ship fresh vegetables over from halfway around the world and expect them to stay fresh.
I don't think it's crazy to expect some to come from Mexico. According to 10 minutes of Googling, Mexico produces a lot of broccoli and we get a lot of produce from Mexico already.
From my most recent grocery trip, the lettuce and limes I bought were all from mexico.
The one product I needed tonight from this list doesn't like it is listed correctly. PC mustard is product of USA. I passed on it and bought French's because it at least uses Canadian mustard seed. And fuck Galen Weston anyway.
You would have a hard time finding mustard that doesn't use Canadian mustard seed...
But a pretty easy time finding mustard that doesn't say it uses Canadian mustard seed, so...
I'm just saying that because we produce a shit ton of seeds in Canada so unless you go out of your way to buy mustard produced in Asia, you're getting Canadian mustard seeds in your mustard.
All well and good, I just highly doubt it is common knowledge that the US, a country with a much larger population and much more hospitable growing conditions than ours, apparently grows no mustard seed for all the mustard they produce for both countries. French's goes out of their way to note their use of Canadian ingredients on their bottles, likely as a result of our last little go round with the US. We could really stand to see more of that right now, since our supply chains are so intertwined. With a lot of products, we have to choose what combination of Canadian ownership, manufacturing, or parts/ingredients, if any, that we're willing to accept. Knowing at a glance is a pretty big advantage. Wish we'd get some help from more stores on that front.
Buy local and donate the difference if you really care. That way Rump doesn't get that 25%, and it's tax free.
I have to see what this tariff war does to prices here first but yes agreed.
Those chips brands are so much better than lays.
Edit: Isn't ms Vickies Canadian too?
I stopped buying Lay’s when they stopped being Hostess.
Miss Vickies originated as a Canadian brand but was purchased by Frito Lay in the 90's.
:(
Damn. Those are the best chips.
Miss Vickie's is now owned by PepsiCo, sadly
So it's a whole Tim's thing
Yes they are.
This list is the equivalent of French's "proudly made in Canada" Ketchup response to the Heinz boycott from a couple years back when they've decided to close their Ontario factory. French's still being just another US company, that did not close it's Canadian plants at the time.
Also it's full of shit products and seems to push galen's stuff mostly, when there's so many smaller, local alternatives.
Many American brands I've never even heard of. And Nestlé is Swiss, not from the US.
Nestle deserves to be boycotted for so many reasons.
Absolutely.
Same as coke company..
Please provide a list then.
Seriously. I understand you waving the flag pointing out the lowblaw connection (I noticed it too and I haven't shopped at lowblaw or their counterparts more than a dozen times in the last 2 years), but people need alternatives.
Even ONE option would be helpful, otherwise you are just making this shit seem even more hopeless.
How can I provide you a list of local products specific to your area? I live in the more French part of Montreal, Le Plateau, and everything is full of products from France and Quebec. Highly irrelevant to what you likely have in say Toronto.
I used to live in the Junction and would frequent three non-galen stores in the area (a local butcher, Sweet Potato and Stari Grad) and never encountered either the listed US or Canadian brands, unless I had to go to the no frills in the area for cheap TP.
This list is simply stupid. It's an infatuation with big consumer brands and outdated products. Very typical of North America.
Montreal's a pretty big city. If you're willing to do it, sharing your local expertise can help a lot of people.
Just try. Instead of whining uselessly. A single Canadian made product you enjoy. You don't have one? Then you are the problem.
You don't want people buying big name brands. You say everyone else is stupid. Fucking pull your weight then.
I'm sitting on the can and I can see 'true earth' brand toilet cleaner is made in Canada. They have laundry soap and dish soap too.
And I know my fancy Lush shampoos and stuff are super local, if you can afford it.
And just in case laundry detergent isn't on the tariff list I have Okazu miso chili oil on my counter at all times.
And Matty Matheson has a brand of kraft dinner that's pretty dang good and not that much more expensive than KD.
So what about you? Gonna keep whining about a shitty list or are you gonna post something helpful? If everyone else in this thread did the same thing we'd have something to work with.
I think their point was "don't just buy Canadian, but local" which means the unless you live near each other, their recommendations won't help. This is generally more impactful advice.
But I appreciate your point that we want to make it easy to avoid American products, to lower the bar so more people do it; so listing national brands makes that much more useful.
Their point was to whine. If we need to buy local and OP's intention is not just to piss and moan they could give a single example, or link to a list, or start a little data base.
Even just list some tips to start figuring it out for yourself, like "go to your fridge and take out the most expensive/most used items. Find the label and figure out where it's from. If it isn't from Canada do a google search for "local mayonnaise" or "Ontario made cheese", or "Toronto hot sauce" and start looking for alternatives. They aren't the single only person living in Montreal on Lemmy, and even if they were, their recommendation could lead others to search in a different way for what they need.
I'm not disagreeing with anything said, I'm trying to encourage the whiners to also contribute, as I have been as I whine about whiners. It should be a requirement.
I think there is still value in their reminder that Galen Weston isn't forgiven, despite being Canadian; so don't get so caught up in our passion to switch to Canadian brands that we end up giving our money to someone nearly as bad.
I still don't really think them listing a single example (or many) would prove anything, or be meaningfully useful. I wouldn't mind hearing some of their experience in looking for local, so people know what to expect, but I don't think we need to be upset that they didn't.
In other words, I think they are contributing, even if their tone is perhaps not ideal for moving people to action.
Hmm. Good point. Thanks.
For mayonnaise, if you’re in Quebec, I strongly recommend MAG.
Yeah but also fuck the PC brand they've been gouging Canadians too.
Just steal the PC stuff. Rob Loblaws.
Wait, what do you mean YOPLAIT?!? That brand still exists? I remember seeing it in Spain during the early 90s and then disappearing there. I thought it was a Spanish brand since I haven't seen it outside that country. TIL.
yoplait canada is not owned by general mills anymore. they closed on the deal to sell it back to the french company they bought it from just last week. src
Yoplait was the gourmet stuff we couldn't afford back in the 80's
It's still here in Canada.
Sadly Lowblaw and the other Grocery mafia are just going to hike the price of the domestic options to the same price as the US and start wailing about the gas tax and COVID supply chains.
I'm calling it now. Watch those fuckers. You'll see.
Can you delete this comment? I bet their AI just scraped it and they're working on implementing this now 😅
😭
As someone in the US, I will be avoiding large US brands as much as possible as well. All the pain that nazi cockgoblin has and is going to cause makes me really sad.
Probably already mentioned, but afaik Tim Hortons is American now
Last I checked, Tim Horton's is owned by Restaurant Brands International, which came to be as a merger between Tim Horton's and Burger King. They are headquartered in Toronto. Their majority shareholder is a Brazilian investment company though.
Fair enough, seems I was wrong.
I will always check the origin of a product. EU, USA, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea are always a go. Now I will look a bit closer and make an effort to avoid the shithole red states.
Cool to see some brands I already use on here. Speaking of, I kinda thought everyone used Sun-Rype for their juice anyway. I mean, I am biased as I've been by their HQ multiple times so it just feels natural to buy their brand, but still.
Tim Hortons? I thought that was owned by the taco bell conglomerate?
Timmie's is owned by Restaurant Brands International, who owns Popeye's and Burger King. They're Brazilian now.
As an American I really miss Liberté yogurt, its been over a decade since I saw it in stores.
Yeah, that was good stuff.
Interesting… from that list, the only US thing I currently buy is French’s mustard.
However, I’m still trying to figure out how to boycott US produce — Washington apples and Florida oranges, and all the other stuff Loblaw’s stocks even though there are Canadian and International alternatives.
Maybe Loblaw’s (and the local markets) will start providing more local and South American options now….
Well it also wouldn't surprise me if the stores stop stocking produce from there.
You'd hope Canada and Mexico start increasing trade. I wonder if freight trucks are allowed to pass through the USA without incurring tariffs? Probably not as it's customs collecting it?
There’s shipping on both coasts though, as well as direct flights. Those should be able to avoid US interference.
ChatGPT answer
Goods from Mexico that are destined for Canada are generally not subject to U.S. tariffs if they are merely transiting through the United States.
But that’s assuming respecting the law which isn’t a US strong point right now.
Yay for Canada! All of those US brands, not one in my home. You’ll be better off without them.
What part of Canada was this list created for?
Loblaws, I think.
Bonus points if you buy any direct from Mexico foods.
Having refried bean enchiladas for dinner tonight with Costena beans and enchilada sauce actually. I usually go to the local Latino market a few times a month too.
Print this and post it at your local grocery store.
Madeinca.ca looks to be a good resource for this kind of thing.
Toothpaste, soap, shampoo, shaving cream and especially razor blades are not food products.
Unless you are a MAGA supporter: in that case surely I have nothing to contribute to your knowledge of the world, so please go ahead.