Talking about Made-in-Canada in St-Thomas
I spent last weekend in St-Thomas, Ontario. Why, you ask? Excellent question.
A few weeks ago, I was contacted by my new friend Freddy from the CAW Local 2168 through Facebook (gotta love that!) He was asking me if I had information about what products are made in Canada, for a local trade show they were participating in. Their theme was Made in Canada Matters, which is a campaign really close to my heart! ‘'Better than that'', I answered. ‘'I will come down and spend the day at your booth and bring you some great products Made in Canada!''
I figured, ‘'How far can St-Thomas be from Montreal, right?'' FAR! We drove for 8 hours down the 401 (yes, my hubby tagged along to keep me company...thanks sweetheart!) through Car Manufacturing Country. It was fascinating to see those gigantic assembly plants: Ford, Chrysler, Dodge, Chevrolet, GM and Toyota. Also sad to see some abandoned buildings, evidence of the decline of manufacturing in this great country of ours. As a matter of fact, I learned that the Ford plant in St-Thomas is due to close in September, sending about 1,200 people to the unemployment line. The nearby Lear plant is also slated for closure, as it was supplying the seats for the Ford plant. I also learned that every 1 job in the car manufacturing industry sustains 6 related jobs. So all of a sudden, those 1,200 plus jobs look more like 7,200 plus jobs. Yikes!
At the trade show, I was privileged to meet many people from St-Thomas. Families, elderly people, business owners, etc. This community knows only too well the importance of buying Canadian and it's repercussions on the local economy. And not just cars. Their eyes lit up when they saw what we had brought:
On the table:
- Screwdrivers made by Picquic Tools in Ontario
- Royale Paper products made by Irving Tissue in New Brunswick
- Life jackets (PFD) made by Salus Marine in Ontario
- Pet food made by Oven-Baked Tradition in Quebec
- Goat's milk skincare products made by Canus in Quebec
- Card games made by Outset Media in British Columbia
- Baby sling made by Blue Celery in Ontario
- Boots made by Rallye Footwear in Quebec
- Belts made by Truth in Ontario
- Wall décor made by Felt Fantasia in British Columbia
- Baseball bats made by Sam Bat in Ontario
- Mr. Freeze made by Kisko in Ontario
- RimRoller made by Novel Solutions in Ontario (just in time for the 25th anniversary of Roll up the Rim to Win!)
If you want to see more of these products, check our our current Gift Guide.
To this community, buying Canadian is self-evident. But they had NO IDEA such products were made in this country. Again, information & awareness is the name of the game. And we sure LOVE to play that game!
So again, thanks to everyone in St-Thomas who came out to meet us! I will definitely be back in that part of the country in the next few months, and hopefully will be able to visit one of those assembly plants! Can't wait!
Images courtesy of Isabelle Remy
