SASKATOON—The threat of a looming trade war with the United States sparked national pride in Canada, and the Buy Canadian campaign had a snowball effect. Canadians started supporting locally made goods more while boycotting those from the country’s southern neighbour. Social media is abuzz with the movement, especially after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian products crossing the southern border.
Saskatchewan-owned SaskMade Marketplace is among those that benefited from the Buy Canadian movement. General manager Mark Diakiw saw positive results in sales and foot traffic at the store on Eighth Street. SaskMade has been running for 22 years, helping farmers and artists market and sell their products, both food and non-food items.
“The timing is nice right now. I've noticed a significant uptick in our sales since the start of the month. Usually, February is our slowest month of the year. Still, our sales have surpassed January and are almost up 50 per cent from last year,” said Diakiw after the Saskatchewan NDP’s media availability to launch the Shop Local, Shop Saskatchewan campaign on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at SaskMade.
“We're getting many people; we just opened a second downtown location. We get many people who have never heard of our store before, even though we've been in this location on Eighth Street for years. People are always excited when they first come to the store to see everything we offer.”
SaskMade has helped 450 suppliers and vendors transport food and non-food goods to the local market for two decades. It offers around 300 grocery positions, such as jams, vegetables and various meats, and over 150 types of gift items, including homemade scented candles, soaps and accessories.
Diakiw added that applications for local producers to sell their artisan goods, food and other products at their stores are never-ending. He is reviewing 50 applications from producers hoping to bring their products to SaskMade, all submitted since January. Applications are still open.
“If there are people who are local artisans—you make gifts or crafts or anything food-related—you can go to our website at saskmade.ca and fill out an application form. Our team will review the application, and we weigh against many factors to determine whether or not it's a product we want to bring into the store. Oftentimes, we get people doing something as a hobby, and they want to take it to the next level. We can support them in properly marketing their product, labelling and packaging. There is a little bit of coaching sometimes,” said Diakiw.
He said their customers have been aware of the trade tensions between Canada and the U.S. and are sometimes surprised by the range of items they offer. He added that supporting local businesses in Saskatchewan benefits the entire province, whether the product comes from communities like Gravelbourg or Melfort.
“The money stays in our local community. Across the street, at Sobeys, a sign says everything's locally owned. It's nice to have those other stores around the area to help support the gaps we don't have or cannot fill. The money stays in the local economy when you buy things from our store here. Most businesses we work with are small operations, one to five people. You're putting money into their pockets to help care for their family and live their lives,” said Diakiw.
“The people of Saskatchewan have always been great at supporting locals. That's proven by the fact that we've been here for a long time. But there seem to be things that happen in the world occasionally that reignite the passion to support local. So when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many businesses in a similar situation to ours or of a similar size and scale struggled. But we didn't do too badly because, at the same time as the economic crisis was going on, people were reinvigorated to support locals as well. It's even happening to a greater degree in the current financial situation. So you're trying to help small businesses like this, a one-stop shop.”
The 25 per cent tariff, including 10 per cent on Canadian oil and gas, could have taken effect on Feb. 4, but the Trump administration gave both countries a 30-day reprieve. With just a few days left, air of uncertainty looms as the delay in imposing these tariffs will end on Tuesday, March 4. Premier Scott Moe is currently in Washington, D.C., to continue negotiations with White House officials.
