In Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving in mid-October. Our American cousins celebrate in November. Despite the different timelines, we share traditions – turkey, the trimmings, the pie, and the overstuffed naps.
But most of all, I think we share a thankfulness for our families.
Now, for me, family isn’t just those who share my blood. My only surviving family member from my childhood is an elderly half-brother who lived hundreds of miles away with my grandmother while I was growing up. Half-brother? Lived apart? Still family! I love him dearly.
My mother suffered from episodes of severe mental illness, interspersed with periods of alcoholic self-medication. This was the root of my extended, non-related family. One neighbour showed up regularly with cabbage rolls and banana bread. Another had me over for sleepovers and would periodically treat me to a spa day – bubble bath, nail soaking, shampoo that smelled like flowers. (In reality, she was likely horrified by my overgrown, grubby nails.) Yet another let me enter her home-based kindergarten a year early. A safe place to be.
I’ve ‘adopted’ family members ever since. Blood has never been a barrier to who I choose to hold dear. We hosted another family with ours every Christmas when my kids were little. The mama in that family is forever my sister. I married a man with two children. They are the children of my heart. I am grandma to their children, just as I am to the other kids’ children.
While our children form the foundation of my family, I’ve heartily welcomed their spouses, and feel affection for those they love. While I’ve had to give up some of my space to their new extended family members, I know what a gift these new families can be. I feel reassured that my children have more people to love them. Now some of the grandchildren are building families. I love them too.
My own in-laws were on my mind this Thanksgiving.
I loved my mother-in-law as my own. Perfect? No. Neither are most mothers, me included. My father-in-law’s continued participation in farm life into his 80s was inspirational. My husband’s siblings became mine. This spring I was reminded how important they’ve been to the fabric of my life. The family farm was being sold, and we gathered one last time in the home they were raised in, the yard where our kids played with their cousins.
It was a magical weekend, interspersed with less magical wood ticks. (I suddenly remembered why I left SE SK).
There was love here. Not the gushy all-over-each-other kind of love. The Dautremonts do things differently – memories, teasing, and silly games around a campfire. These siblings and their spouses range from staunchly atheist to living faith-based lives and everything in between. One was a Conservative politician, another heads a union. Some are pretty well off, others less so. So many differences, and yet what makes this family special is how they can disagree and still draw together when it counts. That’s rare these days, isn’t it? I spend too much time mired in political discord and world events. Immersed in social media, we come to believe the “us vs. them” rhetoric promoted by bots out of Russia. Spending a couple of days with diverse personalities and beliefs, surrounded by love, I felt a calm come over me. At the very least, this part of humanity is getting it right. Their mother wanted them to stay in touch after her death. I hope she saw them that weekend.
Ranging in age from their mid-60s to 75, it struck me that we wouldn’t have many more opportunities to all be together. We live many hours away, and all travel less as we age.
This family isn’t given to saying what they feel for each other. I’m of a different stripe. As we were leaving, I declared, “I want you all to know how very special you are to me.”
These folks, unaccustomed to declaration, teared up a little. It was a good thing.
Family. The adopted, the borrowed, the temporary. All contributed to my life in their own way. I am thankful for all of them.
Recently, Team Canada went up against a foe we never anticipated.
Alberta’s former deputy premier, Thomas Lukasuk, spoke of our historic relationship with the United States: “We feel surprised, disillusioned, and even betrayed. After all, our bond with the United States is deeper than just being neighbours, allies, and trade partners. Like no two other countries in the world, we saw ourselves as inseparable twins—two nations with shared values that were always there for each other during times of need.”
We’ve been friends, trading partners and allies in war. We have relatives that fought and died alongside Americans. Many of us have family on the southern side of that border. As Prime Minister Trudeau said, we are perplexed.
Perplexed yes, but not powerless. We have been a nation divided since the pandemic, but we are seeing premiers (all but one) show a united front despite ideological differences. We are all Canadian and want to stay that way. Trump has stated he will apply tariffs until we are no longer a viable nation, at which point they will annex us as the 51st state. Like the Ukraine, we are a sovereign nation. We, too, will fight back as necessary.
The Prime Minister has secured a 30 day reprieval, by offering measures that were already put in place in 2024. The concession, I suppose, was agreeing on the rather juvenile term of “Fentanyl Czar.”
I consider this delay a gift to give our country, its producers, industry and consumers time to diversify trade and understand our options. In the meantime, many Canadians will still be shopping “anything but America.” I told my step-daughter as a teenager that she began with trust, but once broken, it takes time and effort to get it back. Applying that same principle to this situation may seem like an emotional response, but it doesn’t invalidate it. We are powerless in so much of this; a feeling of hopelessness can overcome us in the series of challenges we’ve faced during and following the pandemic. I think if we look back through time, we’ll find emotion has fueled a lot of our patriotic responses in the past. Emotion shouldn’t be the only matrix, but it’s good fuel. Like rationing in my mother-in-law’s Britain in WW 2, it can help us feel that we are “doing something.”
For now, the threat of a trade war remains, and I hope that is as far as it goes. (But surely nothing is guaranteed in a world gone mad in 2025.) The damage to the relationship may be beyond repair. The financial protest may continue as long as we can financially sustain it. We can shop Canadian whenever possible and choose options that are not American when Canadian isn’t an option. I had already focused on a few Canadian options during the early days of COVID-19 when I became aware of how much we rely on China. Our current state of affairs has had me expanding my list, so I’ll share a few with you.
As someone who is lactose intolerant, and has high cholesterol, these guys are all the things. Butter (and other) infused olive oil and a plethora of gorgeous flavoured balsamic vinegars. The butter infused is great on popcorn and a Mediterranean diet replacement in cooking. Their headquarters is in Niagara on the Lake but they ship across Canada.
Peace By Chocolate
Yes, chocolate is a food group! (In my opinion anyway.)This is a group of grateful immigrants who lost everything in Syria and brought their skills to Nova Scotia. They always have some options that raise money for different causes, too, such as Reconciliation, Ukraine, Healthcare Heroes, etc.
They are 100% Canadian and based in Nova Scotia. Canadians might find this Canada Pride product particularly appealing right now.
Based in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, the part of the province WITH trees, we became aware of Harvest Meats during a search for gluten free options for a son-in-law. Available in grocery stores across Western Canada, from Vancouver Island to Thunder Bay, ON. If you’re east of there, Costco also carries their products.
Grocery Stores
In our neighbourhood in the Columbia Valley, we have no shortage of independent grocer options. Windermere has a little grocery store and the fabulous Hopkins Harvest, who carry local produce and products AND have an cute little cafe.
Valley Foods (AG) in Invermere and Fairmont Mountainside Market (The Grocery People) in Fairmont Hot Springs are two others. Look out for these little guys as they are often receptive to your feedback on what you’d like to see. Shout Canadian!
Costco, although there is an American branch, Costco Canada sources someCanadian products and some Kirkland items (like the T-paper) are Made in Canada. The brand deserves our support for maintaining their Diversity commitment in the face of so many others in the U.S. distancing themselves. Go hunting for their Canadian products!
Bath and Beauty
Riversol
Founded by a British Columbia dermatologist and among the cheapest medical grade skin care out there, Riversol will send you a sample kit so you can see if the product is a good fit for you. https://www.riversol.com/products/sample-kit
Made in Alberta, they have a range of skin and hair care and their customer service is stellar. I’ve tried some of their serums, and a lovely lavender spray. The real winner for me is their mascara that doesn’t irritate my eyes like many other brands. https://beautyfrombees.ca/products/mascara
Rocky Mountain Soap Company
Started by a Calgary couple, I’ve watched this small business grow exponentially. My daughter is a big fan of all of their natural products, from hand soap to candles. Everything smells amazing! (Including my daughter incidentally.) I love their lip butters. They take a “licking” and keep on ticking! https://www.rockymountainsoap.com/collections/lip-care
Household
Two Canadian household cleaner powerhouses are Tru Earth Laundry and Hope Pods.
Tru Earth
This company, another start-up from BC, began small, tested the market and saw something people could get behind. Good for the environment, made in Canada and compact storage for those of us who have downsized! They did expand into household cleaners but I have gone with another Canadian brand.
We Are Planet Hope
These are three kids from the Hope family of Ontario, who have been working out of their parents’ basement. Their story is pretty inspiring and I’ve been using their products to great satisfaction for quite a while. Green seal certified, young entrepreneurs, good for the planet, and packages smaller than a deck of cards for the tiny home people like me. Highly recommend.
Clothing
A note on clothing manufacturing in Canada from Manmade boxer briefs. It’s challenging!
Now headquartered in BC, this company was founded in 2012 by two friends working out of their basement in Regina, Saskatchewan. As a bonus, this green-certified company plants ten trees with every purchase. They carry clothes for the entire family, shirts, jackets, sweats and accessories. Although items are manufactured outside Canada, products are ethically made across several countries, including China, Turkey, India, and Vietnam. All their factories are regularly audited to ensure compliance with their Code of Conduct and international labour standards. So, a Canadian company with products not manufactured or imported from the U.S., I’ll take it.
Friday Sock Company
If you want something unique and meaningful, these are your folks. The eco-friendly cotton socks are designed in Calgary and manufactured in Italy. With our limited manufacturing capacity, we need these kinds of “not U.S.” partnerships. One year, a friend of mine, a Down Syndrome powerhouse named Cait, designed their fundraising socks. They became gifts for all the girls in my family. My brother is mentally disabled, and I know a lot of his Down Syndrome friends. I can get behind these guys.
The socks are “odd socks” to symbolize the extra chromosome of people with Down syndrome and celebrate differences and uniqueness. Each design also features 21 stripes to represent 21 chromosomes. Available in Men’s, Women’s, and Kid sizes. You can see the DS/Friday Sock Company partnership here.
After a skin cancer diagnosis, I began to search for UV clothing and got in on the ground floor with these guys. It’s far easier to find UV clothing from the southern U.S. states or Australia for some reason… I was happy to find a Canadian brand I could support. The clothing is designed in Calgary, AB and manufactured in Vancouver. They sell women’s, men’s and children. I love their long-sleeve T-shirt.
These clothes are manufactured in Canada. The price point is a little higher, but they have good reviews and carry items for petite and plus sizes. Everything is manufactured in the greater Toronto area, so they can keep an eye on quality. They have been committed to staying Canadian long before Trump made Canada Made cool. If you can afford to support Canadian manufacturers and “slow fashion,” DO IT! Here’s a little bit about their story.
I’m sure there’s more, and don’t forget your local farmers markets when they return. People on Bluesky are sharing their favourite Canadian companies like crazy. Tariffs will make life more expensive. Undoubtedly, some Canadian options will be pricier. But this contract worker with an unpredictable income will give it a whirl. Invest today for a more vibrant Canadian market landscape; it feels good to support fellow Canadians, eh?
Give your favourite Canadian companies a shout out in the comments!
