‘It’s phenomenal:’ Ottawa businesses seeing surge in sales from buy Canadian push

As the Canada-U.S. trade war drags on, many Canadian businesses are seeing a boost to their bottom line. CTV’s Kimberely Johnson reports.

Canada Day has given customers another chance to think about buying local.

Businesses in Ottawa say they are seeing more and more faces determined to keep their dollars local and buy Canadian.

Darren Cassidy and his family came from Greely to spend the day taking in everything Carp has to offer.

“We like to go out to the Carp Market and then we like to come here and have a glass of wine,” he said.

He says the ongoing trade war with the United States has him focusing his hard-earned dollars at home.

“We feel proud to be Canadian and so we’ll do our best to support Canadian businesses.”

Months on, Ottawa businesses say campaigns like “buy local,” “Buy Canadian” and “Elbow’s Up” have helped as they weather economic uncertainty.

Liam Mastersmith is the retail sales manager at Kin Vinyards. His parents also own the winery. He says their wine sales are up and are seeing more people from across Ontario and Quebec.

“We’ve seen a 25 per cent increase overall. On our sales in general,” he said.

He says it has also translated to more sales at the LCBO. Mastersmith says they’ve seen their in-store sales jump 325 per cent. They’ve also tripled the number of LCBO stores ordering from the vineyard and have sold bottles as far as Toronto and Mississauga.

“We did $9,000 in sales to the LCBO and we’re up to around $23,000 now. So, it’s good,” he said. “That’s not huge numbers by any means but it’s good. It’s great to have that kind of sales channel for a small business like us. Those numbers that mean something.”

He hopes it gives people a chance to consider wines from Ontario, where they may not have before.

“It’s a great trend that you’re seeing in the wine industry towards buying locally and buying Canadian wines,” he said.

Gareth Davies, owner of Maker House on Wellington Street West in Hintonburg, says he’s seen his sales skyrocket – jumping 70 to 80 per cent this year over last.

“Just phenomenal,” he said. “Even in the last week, leading up to Canada day and the last few days, we’ve seen that continue, maybe even up a little higher for this period.”

That is showing up both in-store and online, he explains.

“It’s great to know that more people are finding us because they’re looking for Canadian-made and in turn, our makers, hundreds of Canadian companies, are also getting more new customers and more attention.”

The store sells only Canadian-made goods, half of which are from Ottawa artists, which is important for customers like Rebecca Seal.

“I know whenever I come here that’s what I’m going to get,” she said. “I’m really appreciative of that.”

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