By Andrew Macdonald
From today and going forward, The Macdonald Notebook will highlight Canadian retailers, focusing on both Atlantic Canadian and Maritime independents. We will feature products made in Canada, and locally, and tout manufacturers in this country, the region and locally here in Nova Scotia. We will also feature regional and national chains that are truly Canadian.
If you have a story suggestion on a local, regional or national retailer, products or manufacturers we should feature in our Truly Canadian feature series of articles, send me a note to Andrew@TheMacdonaldNotebook.ca
Our debut Truly Canadian column last weekend featured Paderno, the famous kitchen pot brand, since 2017 owned by another iconic company, Canadian Tire Corp. The pots are still manufactured in Charlottetown, PEI, keeping the tradition going since 1979. As we detail in the story, Canadian Tire contracts Meyer Canada to make the pots on the Island, and Meyer has the rights to manufacture a knock-off pot under the Meyer brand, too.
A maple leaf ball cap, purchased at a fourth-generation independent retailer, 5 C to $1 store in Antigonish. It’s a charming store and does brisk retail business, despite its backyard containing a 20-year-old WalMart. Stephen Jewkes runs this independent retailer. If you’re visiting Antigonish, shopping and dropping by at what locals call Jewkes Department Store is highly recommended. Lots of Antigonish and Canadian hats, and they also retail Truro’s Stanfield products and Meyer kitchen pots made in PEI,
This weekend’s Truly Canadian column has been written by Notebook columnist Don Mills, who tells a story of a manufacturer of ambulances. It’s worth a read, in the above column.
To see the stories in this series so far, click here to be taken to the Truly Canadian category in The Macdonald Notebook.
