To show support for Canada amid a trade war with the U.S., John Mackay says he tries to only buy Canadian products during grocery runs.
That’s why the 81-year-old from Tillsonburg, Ont., said he’s complained to Metro multiple times after seeing orange juice with pulp by Irrésistible — a Metro-owned private-label brand — with a red maple leaf next to the price tag on the shelf.
“Since when are we growing oranges in Canada?” said Mackay, whose home is roughly 115 kilometres west of Hamilton. “I was pissed off.”
There are a lot of Canadian products that are only “Canadian” products. Even something like Old Dutch chips – which (when sold in Canada) are made in Canada by Canadian employees using Canadian ingredients… Is a privately held business owned by Americans. These companies are effectively part of the funnel of capitalism – profits are extracted from Canadians and sent elsewhere.
And yes, I get it, sometimes foreign investment is nice. Canadian companies invest in foreign markets too. But when you’re in a trade war with your neighbour, you want to know not just where it is made, but where the money flows.
Even buying Canadian products at Walmart Canada (an somewhat independent Canadian subsidiary of Walmart in the US) still feeds some of the profits on the sale to the US.
Capitalism is a funnel. Too much profit is funnelled south.