Confronted with rising costs and shifting loyalties at the till, more Canadians are scanning labels for something they once overlooked: Made in Canada.
From food to fashion, the push is gaining momentum thanks to ongoing tariff conversations with the U.S. that threaten to drive up the cost of everyday goods.
For Evelyne Nyairo, this shift to buying local couldn’t come at a better time. The environmental scientist and chemist turned entrepreneur is the founder of Ellie Bianca, a Calgary-based natural skincare brand with deep roots in sustainability, social impact and national pride.
The company’s roots trace back to Nyairo’s time traveling and consulting on environmental projects. Drawn to the strength and resilience of African women – many of whom were supporting their families by making natural products such as shea oil – Nyairo was inspired to launch a business that combined her scientific background with meaningful change.
She started Ellie Bianca in 2015 as a natural skin care line built on sustainability, ethical sourcing and women’s empowerment. Nyairo’s story, and her company’s products, are now riding the wave of growing popularity of Canadian-made products as consumers seek brands that align with their values while supporting the local economy.
Since November, Nyairo and her team have been crisscrossing Canada as part of a new partnership with Costco. The globally recognized warehouse club has been carrying Ellie Bianca products online since 2022.
In November, that relationship expanded into roadshows where the Ellie Bianca team has been hosting special in-person events at Costco locations across the country. Nyairo says the response to offering all-natural products that are made in Canada has been overwhelming.
“It’s the energy, the excitement… Women love that we are all natural, and love that we are Canadian,” says Nyairo, noting they’ve also seen a significant uptick in consumers choosing to shop directly through their own website, alongside continued sales through retailers such as Whole Foods and others.
“We’ve been a proud Canadian brand from day one. It’s just now the timing is reinforcing what we’ve always believed in.”
Dennis Darby, president and CEO of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, says the tone of many conversations he’s having with members across the Prairies has shifted in recent months. What began with cautious uncertainty has evolved into a more optimistic outlook, as growing consumer awareness of Canadian-made alternatives is helping business owners see new potential in the domestic market.
In response to the unpredictability of the U.S. market, many Canadian companies are re-committing to building better supply chains within the country. He singles out Alberta, where many businesses are seeking suppliers in provinces such as Ontario or farther east – which Darby notes was not commonly seen in the past.
“If you’re struggling to find something positive from the U.S. presidency, this might be it. We’re seeing more interest than we have seen in a long time,” says Darby.
To facilitate better collaboration, the association has launched a business-to-business online network for manufacturers to help members find suppliers across Canada. In the weeks after launching, Darby noted hundreds of companies were already using the system, indicating demand, particularly among small and medium-sized businesses.
“I think one of the positive outcomes from this is it’s opening new doors to trade across Canada,” he says. “Not that it’s not going to replace the U.S., but it’s certainly interesting to see how many businesses are already looking at it.”
Like Nyairo, growing interest in Canadian-made goods is also paying out for Mark Griffiths.
The Calgary-based owner of Barrington Griffiths Watch Company has spent more than a decade quietly building handcrafted timepieces in his basement workshop. While the local venture initially began as an “expensive hobby,” it took off more recently amid growing consumer awareness of Canadian-made products.
“Then came February and March, and there were periods where I was selling up to 20 watches per day for about two weeks straight until I sold out,” says Griffiths, an industrial designer by trade.
“So, yeah, it keeps me more than full-time busy. And it feels like this is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Like Nyairo, Griffiths attributes the spike in domestic demand to a heightened attention to Canadian-made products, created from the ripple effect of U.S.-imposed tariffs on Canadian goods.
He notes that while his customers were previously concentrated in Calgary and across Alberta, he’s now shipping watches from coast to coast – helped in part by a Made in Alberta award his company won in 2024.
“I’m seeing significant increases from Victoria to the Maritimes. I’m at the point where I’m … getting inquiries from all sorts of different places,” he says, noting it helps that he’s only aware of a few other Canadian watchmakers.
“There’s definitely more sensitivity around Made in Canada this year. More people are paying attention.”
Though Griffiths assembles and finishes each watch himself, he also works closely with several different Canadian suppliers to ensure as much of the final product can be traced close to home as possible. The watch cases are specially machined by Horizon Machine & Design in Leduc using Canadian-sourced steel. The straps are also made at a Hutterite colony near Nanton.
Though the U.S. tariffs have not dramatically impacted his supply chain, they have prompted slight changes. Earlier this year, Griffiths moved away from using American-sourced leather and, with no viable Canadian alternative available, began sourcing it from a tanner in South America.
He estimates about 55 per cent of his current product lineup involves Canadian materials and labour – enough to meet the Made in Canada designation, which requires at least 51 per cent of production costs to originate domestically.
“I would love to do more, but when it comes to things like the movement and mechanics of the watch, there really is no capability in Canada to handle this,” he says, also pointing to materials such as sapphire crystals that have had to be sourced internationally.
While Griffiths is realistic of the impact that his company is having on the Canadian economy, he also believes there’s a ripple effect in how his success is impacting other businesses in the country.
“Even though I’m just a guy in my basement, I’m now buying more leather from a company in Saskatchewan; I’ve gone from placing an order with the machining shop every five to seven years to, just recently, placing a third large order in the last several months. So, while I might be a small drop in the bucket, I’m doing my part,” he says.
Looking forward, Nyairo strongly believes that policymakers have a critical role in supporting Canadian capabilities. She views the pandemic as pivotal moment that exposed vulnerabilities in supply chains and the need for strategic capacity building.
“COVID was one of those wake-up calls when we were walking by empty shelves and the response was reactive rather than strategic. I almost feel like we were given a chance to build better capacity,” she says, advocating for a strategy that mandates a certain percentage of products in Canadian stores be Canadian brands.
While Darby agrees that Canadian authorities need to build better pathways and networks across the country, he also notes it’s not something that can happen overnight. Improving the corridor for moving goods within Canada takes time and an investment to build the necessary infrastructure that removes barriers from the movement of goods between provinces.
“If we’re going to get anywhere close to taking advantage of this … we just have to start thinking, how do we do better east-west,” he says.
As for Griffiths, he’s cautiously optimistic that this Canadian-made momentum is here to stay.
“I don’t see Canadian manufacturing just blossoming and suddenly we can buy everything in Canadian again,” he says. “But I do see at least there’s an awareness. You see it in the grocery stores, you see it in places where it makes sense to buy Canadian.”
