Choosing Canadian Doesn't Mean Choosing Chains!

What the Canadian media is getting wrong on the Buy Canadian movement amid tariff threats.

If you’re new here, welcome! Foodie Town is all about supporting local here at home in Canada but also wherever we roam. We never want to feature a big commercial chain restaurant because the most interesting menus are at the locally owned. The small guys who support their local farmers and reinvest in their own community.

So when we venture around our food scenes in Canada, we want to make sure you’re getting the most interesting places to eat. The menus by locally owned restaurants reflect the time and place you’re visiting. Chain menus are virtually the same the world over…so what’s the point? People like the familiar? Ya boring!

In the latest game of will he or won’t he, Trump has paused the tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The last month has been wild with Trump halting the TikTok shut down (that he set in motion) after only hours. Now he’s done the same with the Canadian tariffs placing a 30 day pause on Tariffs he set in motion on February 1st.

Watch my latest reel about this very topic and all the comments:

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Over the weekend the Canadian media covered the Buy Canadian movement that has been sweeping our nation. Now, more than ever, Canadians are looking to support Canadian made & owned. But I found it strange that some media started to suggest going to Boston Pizza, Cactus Club, Second Cup, East Side Mario’s etc. instead of supporting locally owned and operated non chain restaurants.

I find something inherently wrong with media telling Canadians to spend our money at chains that bring in $100 million + per year rather than a mom n pop shop where our dollars make a bigger difference. For every dollar spent at a locally owned business, .60 cents is then reinvested within that same community. Chains are tied to certain suppliers and don’t have a lot of wiggle room to switch or create a menu item for a local festival (take for instance the Okanagan Hot Chocolate Festival or the Apple Festival)

The locally owned are more creative with opportunities to connect to local farmers, wineries, breweries and makers of all kinds.

So when you decide to spend your money, understand that you really are voting for what kind of community and world you want. Do you want to invest in your local food scene and local economy? Or do you want to become a statistic on the spread sheet of a chain restaurant when they balance out how much of a bonus the CEOs deserve that year?

I know where I’ll be spending my dollars. I hope to see you at a locally owned small business too! Tariffs or not! Wherever you are in this world. Choose local.