Where Do Your Loyalties Lie?

 Where Do Your Loyalties Lie?

- jim Young

“You can’t buy happiness, but you can live in Canada. And that’s pretty much the same thing.” - anon

I recently saw a post on Facebook calling for Canadians to boycott products made in the U.S. Given the current state of affairs between Canada and the U.S. I thought this was not a bad idea. The post listed a number of substitutes for commonly purchased groceries to help make wise choices when grocery shopping.

A disclaimer on the list stated “Some products still to be vetted.”

So before sharing I set out to “fact-check” the list as I usually try to do anyway. On a separate topic I wonder why so many people, on the one hand, accuse me of being a “sheep” and just go along with what everyone else says and then on the other hand make fun of me for attempting to “fact-check” for false information? Is it wrong to want to be right?

It took considerable time to research this data but I wanted to be sure it was at least reasonably accurate. 

There were a few changes that I found necessary to make, although I am not suggesting these were anything more than minor oversights on the part of the original poster. 

I applaud the OP for the effort made. Creating the original list was the hard part. I have only expanded on it as I hope you will too. 

Even so, I feel the following disclaimers are called for in my version of the list.

It should be known that some of the products I am suggesting Canadians boycott may actually be made in Canada but are manufactured by an American company. I have tried to highlight those to the best of my ability. If you are uncertain - check the labels.

Likewise, some of the suggested alternatives, while manufactured in Canada may also be manufactured in the U.S. and I have tried to indicate which ones those are. Check the labels.

It should also be known that many, but not all of the suggested substitutions are manufactured by companies that are 100% Canadian owned. I did NOT take it upon myself to identify those as I felt it was too easily subject to error. This list, as was the original list, is intended only as a guide. You might have to do some of your own research if you want more in-depth information or are unsure about the accuracy of what I have presented here.

A good place to start is by checking the labels.

If I have made any mistakes or missed anything (E.&O.E. as lawyers like to say) please let me know and I will make every effort to correct it.

Let’s take a look at a few specific examples. 

MAYONNAISE

Realistically there is no chance in hell that I am going to be able to convince my wife to give up her Hellman’s Mayonnaise for this boycott. My Shirley is willing to give President’s Choice or Compliments Mayonnaise a shot, but only if absolutely necessary. 

Fortunately, we found a loophole. As it turns out, while Hellman’s is an American company, it was founded by a German immigrant and is now owned by a British Multinational Company. While Hellman’s is manufactured in the U.S., it is also manufactured in Europe AND Canada - yay Canada! Even better, Hellman’s mayonnaise which has been made in Canada for over 75 years is manufactured with free range eggs from Canadian chickens and Canola oil invented AND manufactured in Canada. How’s that for Canadian content? It is also packaged into jars that are made with 100% recycled plastic. If that’s not enough to justify buying Hellman’s Mayonnaise, my wife has German ancestry in her family and I have British ancestry in mine.

I think my wife gets a pass to continue to enjoy her Hellman’s egg salad sandwiches.

However, if you prefer to purchase your mayonnaise from 100% Canadian Companies, you may want to choose President’s Choice or Compliments brands.

HOT SAUCE

I didn’t fare so well with my hot sauce. Unfortunately Frank’s hot sauces are all American. On the plus side, I’m not as loyal to the Frank’s brand as my wife is to Hellman’s and there are plenty of other Canadian Hot Sauces to choose from such as Dawson’s Hot Sauce and a whole slew of Compliments and President’s Choice Hot Sauces which include a Louisiana and Buffalo variety.

KETCHUP

Ketchup has long been a source of contention with Canadians. When Heinz, (an American Company) announced in 2013 that it was moving all of its ketchup manufacturing plants out of Canada, Canadians quickly reacted to the news by switching to French’s Ketchup. French’s was also an American Company but was manufacturing their ketchup in Canada with Canadian tomatoes employing Canadian workers.

Some Canadians even went further by switching to President’s Choice and Compliments which were all of the above BUT also 100% Canadian Companies.

In 2020, the Heinz Company, unlike Trump, recognized they had made an error in underestimating Canadian resolve and came back to Canada with their tails between their legs. So your choices now include Heinz and French’s Ketchup with American companies that manufacture ketchup made by Canadians with Canadian Tomatoes or the better choice of President’s Choice and Compliments with Canadian companies that manufacture ketchup made by Canadians with Canadian Tomatoes.

ORANGE JUICE

Things like orange juice and oranges are a little tricker since oranges simply don’t grow in Canada. We kind of have a gun to our heads here. But oranges grow in more places than just Florida. Oranges also can be imported from places like Mexico, South America, South Africa and Spain.

Tropicana Orange Juice is manufactured in the U.S. and imported into Canada. Oasis and SunRype Orange Juices, however, are made in Canada with imported oranges but I’m not sure where their oranges come from. FYI - SunRype also manufactures orange juice in the U.S. so, as always - read the label. As a last resort, although not made in Canada, Arthur’s Orange Juice is made in England and not the U.S.  

EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS

You don’t have to be fanatical about it to make a difference. Some people are very brand loyal and not likely to make a switch on some of their favourite commodities and that’s Okay. You don’t have to feel guilty about it.

It’s much better that you make the effort to support as many of the Canadian alternatives as you can than get frustrated and not participate in the boycott at all.

And let’s face it. You may not always have this list handy to help you make your choices. Here’s a couple of suggestions for what to do if you don’t have your list handy.

The first is one that I’ve been harping on all along - “read the label”. If you can’t find a “made in Canada”option, at least pick a “made in almost any other country than the U.S. option”. 

The other is, when in doubt about which brand to select, if there’s an option for President’s Choice or Compliments - go with those. Almost all (if not all) of their products are manufactured by a Canadian Company that employs Canadian workers. And as a bonus - they’re very likely to be a little cheaper too.

Purchasing from a Canadian company that manufactures their products in Canada using Canadian raw materials is always the best option but not always possible or practical. Keep in mind that many American manufacturers have plants operating in Canada or use Canadian Private Label Manufacturers to make their products. These facilities employ Canadians and sometimes use Canadian raw materials which still makes them a viable option over U.S. made imported goods.

Any little bit you can do to ensure we as Canadians are supporting Canadian Businesses as much as we can, will go a long way to help our fellow Canadians during what appears to be even tougher economic times ahead of us.

The goal isn’t to crush the United States (not that we could) but only to get them to sit up and take notice that Canadians will not kow-tow to Trump’s unreasonable demands. Hey, it worked with Heinz Ketchup!

Many of Trump’s supporters defend Trump as president for his business savy which is questionable at best.

Let’s see if Trump is as smart a businessman as Heniz CEO Scott Stratten who said, “the company's decision to leave Leamington in the first place was a misstep, as it inadvertently tapped into Canadians' dormant sense of patriotism. People think Canadians are passive or pushovers, but Canadians are very loyal versus patriotic.… We are just not all caps yelling about it until something happens.”

That miscalculation cost Kraft Heinz.

My wife has family members in the United States that are Americans born and bred. They and most Americans like them, are not our enemies even though Trump seems hell bent on making enemies of us all.

While Trump is busy building walls, all we as Canadians really want to do is mend fences.

And as one final note, in the interest of full disclosure I would like to point out that my book “Let’s Ask Santa” (written by a proud Canadian Author, me) is available on Amazon.CA

However you should be aware that the HardCover version is printed in the U.S. BUT the paperback version is printed in Canada. You know which one to order.

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To print or download this list of Suggested Canadian Products to help support Canadian business, click here.