Buy Canadian

I haven't had too much trouble finding locally-produced potting soils at the garden store, but I'm unsure of how to determine quality / value compared to more well-known brands.

A couple years ago I bought a locally-made bag and it had literal plastic garbage mixed in, like someone scooped dirt out of a field and didn't sift it at all. (Admittedly probably only a reflection on that particular product.)

I've also tried PROMIX and it was okay, though a bit expensive for the size of the bags I can find. (It also looks like that one is produced in Quebec but for an American company called Premier Tech.)

Has anyone used any Canadian-made potting soils in their garden? (e.g. For raised planters or pots, etc.)

I know the likely answer is No, but is there a made-in-canada power tools brand where all their tools can use the same battery pack?
I have a couple of Ryobi tools, so I'm hoping that I can find something to replace it

I hope this will be useful for cereal eaters. The full blog post from ShopCanadianStuff.ca is below (no need to visit the site though the post at ShopCanadianStuff.ca has links to buy most of the cereals online):

At ShopCanadianStuff.ca we’ve got the scoop on Canadian made breakfast cereals and I believe this is a complete list. I’m writing about cold breakfast cereals, not oatmeal, porridge, or anything you’d describe as granola (for a partial listing of made in Canada granolas click here).

It is a food category unfortunately dominated by the American brands Kellogg’s, Post and General Mills. There are, however, several made in Canada breakfast cereal options coming from American brands, Post identifies a number of cereals as prepared in Canada, which is a less significant claim than made in Canada, including Shredded Wheat, Shreddies, Raisin Bran, Weetabix, and Barbara’s Bakery Puffins. Kellogg’s makes in Canada Apple Jacks, Corn Pops, All-Bran (“Buds” variety only), 6 out of 9 varieties of Mini Wheats, 2 out of 3 varieties of Krave, two flavours of Vector (Maple and Peanut Butter) and original Froot Loops but not Marshmallow Froot Loops.

Kellogg’s also makes and owns the brand for Kashi Organic Honey Toasted Oat Cereal, all other Kashi varieties appear to not be made in Canada.

All types of Quaker Harvest Crunch and Quaker Oatmeal Squares and Corn Squares cereals appear to be made in Canada in addition to Life Cereal by Quaker.

President’s Choice has a few options which are also reported to be made at Post’s factory in Colburg, Ontario, PC Fibre First and PC Crunchy Cranberry Almond.

Perhaps of most interest to readers, this brings me to two Canadian owned companies making breakfast cereals in Canada. First is Farm Girl which offer Rainbow Hoops, Honey Os, Cinnamon Crisps and Chocolate Puffs. Second is Truely Cereal which offer Cocoa, Fruity, Chocolate, Peanut Butter, S’mores, Cinnamon, Blueberry Muffin, Maple Donut and Honey. Both Farm Girl and Truely are really gluten free specialty foods with high protein and prices to match. Farm girl does offer discounts for ordering a bundle of 4 boxes or ordering a subscription.

A third Canadian owned company, GoGo Quinoa, makes a breakfast cereal in Canada, called Puffed Quinoa, but I have found that it is almost always out of stock.

An honourable mention of sorts goes to the Canadian Company One Degree Organics Rice Crisps which, I’m told by email from the Company, are produced in the USA and Canada with ingredients from several countries, on their website they actually list the individual farmers supplying ingredients. All their other products are processed in Canada using a mix of Canadian and imported ingredients.

Worth a cautionary note is Nature’s Path which is being listed as Canadian in several online stores, it is a Canadian owned company but none of their cold breakfast cereal varieties (other than granolas) are made in Canada.

Have we missed any made in Canada cereals? Leave a comment or hit the add listing button and add it to the directory.

I am looking for a carpet cleaner machine, but it is ok if works for upholstery as well. I think some of them are also advertised as Steam Cleaner.

The company I see most people recommending, Bissell, is from the USA, and so are most of the other companies I see around except 2:

• Noma
• Dupray

But I cannot find much information on their products online, or reviews of their quality. Noma does not list their product on their website. It appears that none is made in Canada.

Do you have any recommendation on carpet cleaner machine, or where to buy them?

Thank you very much.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/41982296

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/41982969

Located in Barrie, Ontario, Sober Sips is Simcoe County’s first one-stop shop for non-alcoholic beverages, proudly owned by husband-and-wife team Jeff and Shannon.

Located in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Charlottestreet offers a unique collection of apparel and accessories crafted from recycled sweaters.

Based in Eastman, Québec, Sauge and Co was founded in 2019 by a mother of four who wanted to create baby nursery products that reflect her values and are handmade from natural fibres.

If I compare trying to buy as much Canadian product as possible, it was far easier today than a month ago. La Cocina tortillas sit on the top shelf of the tortilla area, Covered Bridge and Hawkins rest in the high traffic chip aisle among the big companies. This store now carries 6 flavours of Sprague soup instead of one.

Some products were always there, but it was a lot less digging today!

I'm looking to self publish a book, and am looking for book printers that print in Canada.

Companies like Mixam & Sure Print & Design are based in Ontario, but they don't advertise that their printing is done in Canada. Is it correct to assume that they do it elsewhere, if they don't clearly disclose where their printing is done?

For use over camp stoves.

This is another one from the CIRA newsletter (if you own a .ca domain, there is a small discount)

From their site:

Here at A River of Yarn, our focus is to provide you with luxury knitting and crochet yarns, tools, and accessories at affordable prices. We believe that you shouldn’t have to spend a fortune to create a beautiful design.

Always with an eye on current fashions, we specialize in offering a variety of brands and sources of yarn, including alpaca, wool, cotton, flax, hemp, and acrylics. Paired with our selection of kits and patterns, we’re sure that you’ll find something that will spark your creativity and let your dreams set sail.

Location:

A River of Yarn is located on one of Canada's National Historic Sites, the Trent Severn Waterway. Accessible by both land and water. You will find us just 5 minutes north of Rice Lake by boat, and 15 minutes south of Peterborough, Ontario, by car.

353 Kent's Bay Road, KEENE, Ontario

Matches Seeds, located in Chapeau, QC, Canada, is a dedicated seed brand that focuses on providing high-quality, locally sourced seeds for gardeners and farmers alike.

Based in Pemberton, British Columbia, Foon Skis prioritize supporting local businesses, including wood mills, fibreglass suppliers, and print studios, in the manufacturing of Foon skis.

This is one of the ones that I saw this one in the CIRA newsletter (if you own a .ca domain, there is a small discount)

I thought the card game was neat, the questions are wholesome. Some photos from the site:

Family edition:

date night (18+) edition:

Other details:

They do local pickup: Spin Énergie location is at 3483 Park Ave, Montreal, Quebec H2X 2H6.

Where it's made:

96% of Happy Tears products are designed and manufactured in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Shipping: Domestic orders are delivered in 1 to 5 business days from ship date, and 1 to 3 weeks on international orders.

All the big chains I know are American (Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop). Smaller independent chains will run into supply issues and even pre-ordering probably can't guarantee one.

If you own a .ca domain, you might already have a membership. Otherwise, it's still a nice list of some Canadian businesses.

I'm scheduling out separate posts with a few of the ones that I thought were neat (ex. the Happy Tears card game)

From the Wealthsimple newsletter

Here is an archive of the link, for future reference and to not give amazon clicks: https://web.archive.org/web/20250407150744/https://www.amazon.ca/s?srs=120919709011&lid=kfxhu3q36u15

For example is the Canadian Tire card just a Visa or MasterCard in disguise?

I'm switching to interact for as many transactions as I can but I would like to be able to cancel my visa if there's an alternate.

I've been doing the 'buy Canadian' thing for a few years now. I actually enjoy the game of trying to find cool folks making cool stuff and I know that there are others like me just like there are people who lack the time or inclination to do the research.

I also think it can be tricky for people looking at starting a business to be able to identify a need.

So what's a product you don't know of a Canadian alternative to?

Personally, it's cast iron cookware. Meyer makes great stainless stuff, but there isn't a single foundry making cast iron cookware in Canada. I've actually started emailing a few to see if I can find a Canadian foundry that would be willing to batch produce cast iron skillets. Finding a local brand already doing it would be a LOT easier!