Grocery store with almost entirely Canadian inventory encouraging shoppers to buy local
A photo showing the storefront of a new grocery store in Perth, Ont. on Friday, June 13, 2025. (CTV News Ottawa/ Dylan Dyson)
A brand-new grocery store in Perth, Ont. has opened with an almost entirely Canadian inventory.
The Perth General Store opened on June 7, offering more than 50 Canadian brands for sale, with at least one item from each province and territory.
'We have everywhere from Saskatchewan to Whitehorse and we're going to continue to grow,' said co-owner Megan Adams.
'For us right now, especially with the way the world is, it was really important for us to just stay true to our roots,' she said about her all-Canadian selection.
'And as I started researching Canadian brands, I just got more and more inspired, like, there's some really cool brands out there.'
The opportunity to shop local products appeals to many shoppers, who say they are still cognizant of buying Canadian and staying away from American products.
'I definitely would say it's heightened due to politics at the moment,' said Alyson Colon, who stopped in to browse the Perth General Store.
'Particularly with produce I notice it the most. So, I am paying attention to where things are being grown and where they're coming from for sure.'
New numbers from Nielsen IQ show Canadians are putting their money where their mouth is, as the sale of Canadian food products increased at the beginning of 2025, while the sale of American food products dropped, compared to the same time last year.
Sylvain Charlebois, senior director at the Agri-Food Analytics Lab, says those numbers correlate to the time when the tariff war between Canada and the United States was at its peak.
'When you look at 'made in the U.S.', food products sales were down since February 8.5 per cent, and that is huge in food retail in just a few months,' Charlebois told CTV News Ottawa.
'I would say that this boycott against American products actually did work… When people walked into the grocery store, they basically hated America more than they actually liked Canada.'
And retailers and consumers say they are willing to pay the price if it means avoiding American products.
'Where things might appear a little bit more expensive than something that's mass produced in the States, folks are willing to invest and they know that the quality will be there too,' said Adams.
'Is just the juice worth the squeeze?' asked shopper Justin Machan. 'If it's comparable for sure. We're not going to go 30 per cent more to pay for a Canadian product, obviously. That's just crazy. But I mean, overall if we can get it comparable, we'll take it.'
'People are spending basically the same amount of money, then six months ago,' notes Charlebois.
'So, when you have a consumer spending the same amount, it's just about it's about shifting budgets and shifting purchases essentially from one destination to another.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Post
32 minutes ago
- National Post
Varcoe: 'Keep calm': How Carney can deal with Trump factor to ensure successful G7
Article content The G7 summit, which is expected to begin with official sessions on Monday and Tuesday, includes the leaders of Canada, the U.S., the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany and Italy. Article content As host, Carney has already outlined Canada's priorities, such as strengthening peace and security — improving joint response to wildfires, for example — building energy security, developing critical minerals, accelerating the digital transition and AI adoption, and securing future partnerships. Article content Russia's invasion of Ukraine will also be raised; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also been invited by Carney to the Kananaskis event. Article content The summit is not expected to lead to a final group communique that's usually backed by all G7 members. Instead, officials expect to see a series of shorter issue-based action statements. Article content It's not unprecedented for a summit to end without a final communique signed by all countries, which happened in 2019, noted Senator Peter Boehm. Article content Article content 'My experience with President Trump, both in 2017 in Italy and in 2018 in Charlevoix, he participates in the discussions. He's an active listener and he engages. He will have points of view,' Boehm said Thursday in an interview in Calgary. Article content 'It's nothing dramatic. Now, what is said to the media afterwards, or what is said on social media, that could maybe go in a different direction, as it did in 2018. So I fully expect that Kananaskis will be a success. There'll be a number of thematic statements that leaders will agree to.' Article content Boehm stressed that G7 participation is an important part of Canadian foreign policy. It acts as 'a very important counterweight to our overwhelming bilateral relationship with our southern neighbour.' Article content And what takes place inside the formal sessions may not be as important as one-on-one bilateral discussions for Canada's prime minister. Article content Boehm calls it 'diplomatic speed dating,' pointing out the heads of Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan will be attending their first G7 meetings as leaders and trying to establish international relationships. Article content Carney is expected to sit down with as many of the global leaders as possible, including those from non-G7 countries that have been invited to the gathering, such as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Article content The broader question of the future of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) — already set for review in 2026 — remains uncertain, as both countries face U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum and some auto parts. Article content There have been reports this week that Canada and the U.S. are quietly making progress on a new commercial and security agreement. That's a hopeful sign. Article content The sheer volume of trade between the countries highlights the importance of having a productive relationship with the United States, particularly as the North American free trade agreement comes up for review and Trump appears determined to maintain tariffs. Article content 'Our relationship with the United States, yes, it depends on having a good relationship with the president of the United States, but it goes way, way, way beyond that,' said U of C professor Ian Brodie, one-time chief of staff to former prime minister Stephen Harper. Article content
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Heat-pump scheme banned in Ontario snares Miramichi homeowner
Social Sharing Theresa Marcotte now regrets her decision four years ago to have two heat pumps installed in her Miramichi home. The equipment's not the problem. It's the contract she signed in December 2020. It said for $160 a month, Simply Green Home Services would install two mini-splits and provide ongoing service and maintenance for the next 10 years. "Why would you buy one when you can rent it from them, and they take care of it?" Marcotte said to explain her decision. "That's a good sales pitch, and I fell for it." Marcotte's understanding was that at the end of the 10-year contract, Simply Green would take the heat pumps back. Or if she decided within that time that she no longer wanted to rent them, the company would take them back earlier, and her monthly payments would end. She admits she didn't read the fine print, but said there was also more to the deal that the salesperson didn't explain to her. Loan included 'NOSI' on Marcotte's home Earlier this year, Marcotte applied for a home equity loan to help her daughter with college expenses. "And in the final stages, it came up, these two liens against my house — one for each mini-split — that I didn't know about," she said in an interview after working a full day as a personal support worker. It turns out they weren't exactly liens. According to the land registry office, the encumbrance on Marcotte's property title is a notice of security interest. People call them NOSIs, pronounced no-sees. Two were registered on the title to her home by Crown Crest Capital, part of the Simply Green group of companies. A notice of security interest tells a potential homebuyer that a lender has an interest in a specific fixture on the property — often a piece of equipment such as a heat pump or a furnace. That's different from a lien, which gives the lender a claim against a property and a right to be paid from the proceeds of a sale. Marcotte had never heard of a NOSI and immediately put the home equity loan on pause as she tried to figure out what it was and what it meant for her personal finances. NOSIs now illegal in Ontario NOSIs are allowed in New Brunswick, but they were recently banned in Ontario after a class-action lawsuit was brought against the same company Marcotte rented her heat pumps from. Plaintiffs claimed Simply Green used the same technique with as many as 54,000 households in Ontario. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said it was typical for homeowners to enter into agreements without a clear understanding of their obligations, as required by the Creditor Protection Act. The Simply Green group of companies would then register a NOSI on the homeowner's land title. "The Simply Group then waits until the consumer has to sell or refinance her home," said the factum of the class action plaintiffs. "At that point, often pressed for time with an upcoming closing or refinancing, the consumer has no choice but to pay whatever amount Simply Group demands, sometimes up to ten times the new market value of the equipment in question." Simply Green told Marcotte that to have the NOSIs removed from her property, she would have to pay the company more than $5,600 per heat pump to buy out the contract. She would then own the mini-splits. Combined with the rent she has already paid, the buy out would bring the cost of two mini-splits to more than $19,000, well above the cost of buying them new. To protect consumers from fraud and bad actors, the Ontario government passed legislation last year that made it illegal to register NOSIs on consumer goods and retroactively rendered existing NOSIs expired. NOSIs a 'scourge,' lawyer says Lawyer David Sterns, counsel for the plaintiffs, believes lawmakers in New Brunswick should follow suit and ban NOSIs as well. "One of the best things about the settlement is that the NOSIs will all be removed," he said. "They can all get wiped out. There's a certain amount of administration that's involved in that, but these companies no longer have that leverage over everybody to be able to extract whatever payment amounts they want." Sterns said the real function of NOSIs was debatable but they did have a terrifying effect on a lot of people. " And I hope any legislature, any person in position of power in New Brunswick who's listening to this gets working on writing a bill that gets rid of NOSIs because they are a scourge." 'I feel like I've been scammed' Marcotte said the entire experience has left her feeling duped. The NOSIs remain on her property, and despite the ruling in Ontario, Simply Green won't remove them unless she pays the lump sum of more than $11,000. Her other option is to continue renting the mini-splits for the remainder of her contract and hire her own lawyer to have the NOSIs removed in the meantime. She said coming up with the buyout sum of $11,000 is unmanageable and unreasonable. An HVAC provider CBC News spoke with said two brand new heat pumps for Marcotte's home would cost about $8,000 plus tax. Marcotte said she feels trapped, and it's small consolation that thousands of homeowners in Ontario got taken in by similar schemes. "Based on how the representative explained things — and based on similar ads I'd seen on TV about renting HVAC equipment — I thought this was a standard rental setup with a fixed monthly payment and the ability to discontinue the service when no longer needed." "I feel like I've been scammed," Marcotte said. "You know, like, no one was truthful. They truly convinced me that this was just a rental program." Company response to CBC News The class action against Simply Green Home Services was settled on terms accepted in April by an Ontario court. According to the settlement agreement, the defendants continue to deny all allegations of wrongdoing, fault, liability, or damage of any kind. CBC News asked Simply Green Home Services for an interview, but the company declined because it's currently under creditor protection. The company also declined to comment on Marcotte's account because of privacy legislation. The New Brunswick Financial and Consumer Services Commission advises homeowners to read the fine print in any contract and seek advice or clarification on any parts of a contract they don't understand. "All of your rights as a consumer in regards to that contract are going to be included in the contract," said Marissa Sollows, the commission's director of communications and public affairs. "That's why it's critical to read it." Sollows said the contract should spell out the total amount a consumer will have paid at the end of the loan term, including interest and fees. Mark Marshall, who's been counselling borrowers in the Maritimes for 25 years, said he does see people enter agreements they don't fully understand. "You should always be looking for any kind of trigger words that would say 'security' or 'personal guarantee.' Anything that would kind of make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up a little bit." Marcotte said she wanted to take her story public because homeowners may not know about NOSIs, and they may not know about the class action settlement, which applies to homeowners across Canada who signed equipment leasing contracts with Simply Green between July 17, 2013, and Jan. 15, 2025. The deadline to file a claim is Oct. 3, 2025. Marcotte also complained to the Better Business Bureau, saying she was not satisfied with the options the company has given her. Marcotte wants the NOSIs removed at no cost to her because, she said, what the company did was unethical.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
South end arts and community building should have been saved, groups say
Social Sharing With a large community space in Saint John's south end on its way to becoming 25 apartments, non-profit groups are angry at the loss of a cultural centre in a city with so few. Julie Whitenect, the executive director of ArtsLink NB, said the groups were shocked to learn last October that the old theatre building that housed several community organizations, including hers, was being sold. ArtsLink, a non-profit that promotes arts in the province, with given only 30 days to vacate. Had they known sooner, Whitenect said, community groups and their members would have tried to save it. WATCH | 'We don't have anywhere else children's theatre can be done," says non-profit head: "It is possible that we could have helped, either through a purchase of the space or through financial planning with [the owner] or helping to raise money in the community," Whitenect said. InterAction School for Performing Arts bought the building, at Germain and Queen streets in the Trinity Royal Heritage Conservation Area, in 2013. The former church became a space for several community organizations, including InterAction, Chroma NB, ArtsLink NB, and a studio called Monopolized Records. The school sold the building to B.C. architect Bruce Wilkin last October for $150,000, about a quarter of its assessed value. Earier this month, city councillors approved first and second reading for Wilkin's application to rezone the site to allow residential use. The application needs a third reading before being fully approved. "If you wanted somewhere to host your own workshop, get married there, practise your dance performance — those kinds of spaces for the arts community to connect with each other and the public are very important," Whitenect said. "It's quite unfortunate that we no longer have that." She said the sale of the building takes a multifaceted cultural space away from a city already lacking in an "ecosystem" that supports and cultivates the arts. "We don't have as many large institutions in Saint John, and we don't have large arts educational institutes based here either," Whitenect said. This makes it difficult for the city to compete with Moncton, which has the Aberdeen Cultural Centre, or Fredericton, with the Charlotte Street Art Centre, she said. Both buildings have studios and rental spaces for other non-profits. The Saint John space is currently occupied by Choma NB, a non-profit that provides support and programs for 2SLGBTQ+ residents, and by InterAction., whose programming in a variety of performing arts is aimed at children and youth. Both will be vacating by the end of the month. ArtsLink left after learning of the building's sale and is now on Prince William Street. Space should have been protected, Chroma says Hadeel Ibrahim, Chroma NB's executive director, said the city should have stepped in to save the building's zoning as a "neighbourhood community facility." "We don't have a lot of space that is fully designated by the city and protected as community space … it's a big loss to have that protection possibly removed," she said. At the meeting where council showed support for the new development, Wilkin said his zoning application included "community resources" as an exception to allow Chroma NB and InterAction continued use. But Ibrahim said this would have required her organization to move to another floor, into a space too small for the group's school lunch program for 2SLGBTQ+ youth, which serves about 20 people a day. Being on the third floor, Ibrahim said, would also have made the organization's office inaccessible. Both groups decided to leave. The City of Saint John and Wilkin declined to comment on the application. Ibrahim said she is hoping to fill some of the void left by the loss of the theatre building with Chroma's new space on Carmarthen Street, which will have enough room for programming and for other groups that need event or program space. But the small group can't meet the extensive needs of the community, Ibrahim said, and will be taking on higher rent and liability by opening the space up to other organizations that need it. "For us, it is worth it to take on slightly more risk to have some community space that people can use for programming and services," she said. Chroma's new space will also be in the city's south end, which Ibrahim said is important. The south end is one of Saint John's five "priority neighbourhoods" for its higher rates of poverty than other parts of the city. Only two councillors, Brent Harris ad Gary Sullivan, voted against Wilkin's zoning application, saying the community space was a loss and could have been saved. Coun. Joanna Killen, who favoured the rezoning the property to urban centre residential, praised Wilkin for rehabilitating the building. She said the city has other opportunities on the horizon and referred to the Saint John Theatre Company's courthouse project. InterAction representatives were not available for an interview. Sara Wilson, the president of the school's board, said in a statement that the group will reveal a new location later in June.. "While we say goodbye to our former space, we know that a building doesn't define us," she said in the statement. "Our passion, creativity, and commitment to children's theatre will carry us forward." Wilson said current board members joined in the spring and were not involved in the sale of the building.
