Thanks Fred! What I sometimes notice is a "Maple Leaf" that is shaped like a weed plant, &, since I don't want to wear something that advertises weed, I walk away! It's like manufacturers think we won't notice the difference? We didn't just fall off a turnip truck, we KNOW what a beautiful Maple Leaf looks like!!! haha
Good one Fred. I've noticed a lot of tv advertising lately where the statement being used to try to trick you into thinking you're buying a Canadian product is "shipped from Canada". To me, all that means is that an American company opened a warehouse in Niagara Falls, ON and think they can fool us wily Canucks. No way man.
If I can find a company name on an advertisement, I now routinely Google search the company to try to find out where they're from. (ok, now I just admitted that I use Google, an American search engine, but as far as I know we don't have a Canadian alternative)
Excellent and timely article, Fred. I ordered a product online from a Canadian company but the product when it arrived was marked “Made in USA”. When I queried it, customer service told me that Canadian products on their website had maple leaf symbols. I felt cheated. No one these days marks Madd in USA anymore. And the fine print is getting smaller and smaller!
Exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about, Joanna. 🍁
Nothing wrong with selling products made elsewhere... just be upfront about it.
If Canadians are intentionally trying to support Canadian businesses, the burden shouldn’t be on customers to decode tiny fine print or hidden symbols after the fact.
That “surprise, it’s made somewhere else” feeling leaves a bad taste. Transparency matters.
Another terrific and very timely article, Fred. We try to buy Canadian as much as possible. My wife has celiac disease, and unfortunately we have to buy some Made in USA products. For a celiac, “food is medicine”. But thankfully, at least 80% of the gluten-free items she eats are made here in Canada.
On another issue, there was a piece on CBC radio recently warning soccer fans to be on the lookout for all sorts of fake FIFA merchandise. The commentator warned people that these fake items could contain cancer-causing materials, and it's hard to tell the genuine from the fake, because of false labelling. It's sort of like the spam texts and emails that all of us receive from time to time. We've noticed that the scammers are getting more sophisticated since it's often hard to tell if it's genuine or not. A senior in our condo recently fell victim to a scammer, and her identity was compromised. Perhaps a topic for one of your informative articles?
Thanks Fred! What I sometimes notice is a "Maple Leaf" that is shaped like a weed plant, &, since I don't want to wear something that advertises weed, I walk away! It's like manufacturers think we won't notice the difference? We didn't just fall off a turnip truck, we KNOW what a beautiful Maple Leaf looks like!!! haha
😂 Fair point, Patsy.
Some of those “creative” maple leaf designs definitely make you do a double take.
And you’re right... Canadians know what our flag looks like.
We’ve seen enough real maple leaves over the years to spot an imposter from across the parking lot.
Maybe the new shopping rule is...
If the maple leaf looks suspicious… so might the marketing. 🍁😄
You are absolutely right Fred!!!
Some of us have seen a lot of pot leaves as well as maple leaves and can tell the difference😎
Good one Fred. I've noticed a lot of tv advertising lately where the statement being used to try to trick you into thinking you're buying a Canadian product is "shipped from Canada". To me, all that means is that an American company opened a warehouse in Niagara Falls, ON and think they can fool us wily Canucks. No way man.
If I can find a company name on an advertisement, I now routinely Google search the company to try to find out where they're from. (ok, now I just admitted that I use Google, an American search engine, but as far as I know we don't have a Canadian alternative)
😂 Fair point, Frank.
“Shipped from Canada” is one of those phrases that sounds Canadian…
right up until you realize it may only mean the box crossed the border from a warehouse in Mississauga five minutes before landing on your porch.
That’s exactly why more of us are becoming accidental detectives.
Nothing wrong with importing products...
just don’t wrap it in maple-flavoured wording and hope nobody notices.
And hey… until Canada invents a search engine called MapleSearch, I think we’ll forgive the Google confession 😄🍁
"If I have to spend twenty minutes trying to figure out whether a company is actually Canadian…".
If I takeaway a main rule from your stack, it's this. Genuine Canadian companies can easily display credentials.
Good reminder Fred, especially when deliberate representation skirts misrepresentation.
Exactly, Pete.
That was really the whole point of the article.
Legitimate Canadian companies usually don’t make you play detective.
They’re proud to tell you who they are, where they’re based, and what’s actually Canadian about what they sell.
If customers have to go hunting through fine print just to figure out who’s behind the curtain… that’s a fair reason to pause. 🍁
Excellent and timely article, Fred. I ordered a product online from a Canadian company but the product when it arrived was marked “Made in USA”. When I queried it, customer service told me that Canadian products on their website had maple leaf symbols. I felt cheated. No one these days marks Madd in USA anymore. And the fine print is getting smaller and smaller!
Exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about, Joanna. 🍁
Nothing wrong with selling products made elsewhere... just be upfront about it.
If Canadians are intentionally trying to support Canadian businesses, the burden shouldn’t be on customers to decode tiny fine print or hidden symbols after the fact.
That “surprise, it’s made somewhere else” feeling leaves a bad taste. Transparency matters.
Another terrific and very timely article, Fred. We try to buy Canadian as much as possible. My wife has celiac disease, and unfortunately we have to buy some Made in USA products. For a celiac, “food is medicine”. But thankfully, at least 80% of the gluten-free items she eats are made here in Canada.
On another issue, there was a piece on CBC radio recently warning soccer fans to be on the lookout for all sorts of fake FIFA merchandise. The commentator warned people that these fake items could contain cancer-causing materials, and it's hard to tell the genuine from the fake, because of false labelling. It's sort of like the spam texts and emails that all of us receive from time to time. We've noticed that the scammers are getting more sophisticated since it's often hard to tell if it's genuine or not. A senior in our condo recently fell victim to a scammer, and her identity was compromised. Perhaps a topic for one of your informative articles?