Found this one, Men and Women's underwear made in Nova Scotia. Thinking some long johns might be in order for the upcoming winter!

When I ran my first business, shipping was my largest cost and the part I understood least. I thought I could outsource figuring it out.
After I sold the company, I started helping a few friends. They gave me the job I never wanted: figure out shipping for them.
But this time, I did it.
I now run Part n Parcel and review shipping invoices with ecommerce businesses every day. One thing I wish I’d understood sooner is dimensional weight.
Here’s an example: a box measuring 40 × 30 × 25 cm has a dimensional weight of 6 kg, using a divisor of 5,000.
Even if the package only weighs 2 kg, a service using that calculation bills it at 6 kg.
The divisor and rounding rules vary, so check your carrier’s terms. But the size of your box can matter just as much as what’s inside it.
Understanding this sooner could have saved me thousands of dollars a week.
I built a dimensional-weight calculator so you can try your own box sizes and see the difference.

Every October/November we run into the same issue: kids outgrow their winter gear, and finding durable snowsuits or winter coats that can actually survive slush, gravel, and daily playground abuse without costing $400 is getting harder.
A lot of classic outdoor brands have been bought out by US private equity or moved production offshore, so I spent some time digging through domestic ownership and manufacturing to compile a solid list of Canadian brands making kids' cold-weather gear:
Heavy-Duty Snowsuits & Schoolyard Parkas

• Gusti Canada (Montreal) – Probably the best balance of price and durability. Their 2-piece sets and reinforced knees hold up well to rough recesses without boutique prices.
• Deux par Deux (Montreal) – Known for their grow-cuffs and heavy-duty reinforced seats/knees. Great resale and hand-me-down value.
• Souris Mini (Quebec City) – Built specifically for severe QC winters. Very warm and durable, though priced a bit higher unless caught on clearance.
• Freed Kids (Winnipeg) – Locally produced in Manitoba. Great if you specifically want domestic garment assembly.
• Arctic Bay Kids (Toronto) – Extreme arctic-grade down coats made in Ontario. Very expensive, but buy-it-for-life warmth.

Rain, Mud & Mild Winter Outerwear

• Faire Child (Dartmouth, NS) – Fully waterproof gear made in Canada from recycled materials. Great for wet coast winters.
• Perlimpinpin (Quebec) – Really reliable infant/toddler bunting bags, car seat covers, and early-walker snowsuits.
• L&P Apparel (Quebec) – Outdoor activewear, lined beanies, and winter accessories designed for active outdoor kids.

Base Layers & Cozy Indoor/Outdoor Knits

• Little & Lively (Abbotsford, BC) – Ethically made bamboo-cotton leggings, long sleeves, and thermal layers sewn in BC.
• Stanfield’s (Truro, NS) – Traditional waffle long-johns and thermal undershirts.
• Hatley & Petit Lem (Montreal) – Solid fleece layers, warm sleepwear, and mid-season sets.
• Padraig Cottage (North Vancouver, BC) – Handcrafted sheepskin-soled wool slippers that actually stay on toddlers' feet.

For other parents: Which brands have held up best through multiple kids or tough winters? Any hidden gem domestic brands that belong on this list?

We’re Huumans - a Canadian company that helps small businesses with financing, payroll and health benefits, and we run a marketplace of Canadian marketers and web designers.

It’s Small Business Week, so from Oct 19–25 we’re running a “get cash, get customers” week:

Get cash

• Working capital or line of credit: we’ll pay you back 10% of your loan cost in cash once your loan funds
• Payroll: 3 months free
• Health Spending Account (through Quikcard): pay for dental, glasses and physio with pre-tax dollars through your business
• Take all three: we pay back 20% of your loan cost instead

To see what you’d qualify for, fill out the calculator at huumans.com and click “Find how much financing you are eligible for.

Elbows and forks up!

Finding genuine Canadian-made winter outerwear has gotten notoriously confusing over the last few years. Several iconic heritage brands have shifted production overseas, while others maintain hybrid models where only specific flagship parkas are sewn here.

With sub-zero weather on the horizon, here is a categorized breakdown of 20 Canadian winter jacket brands to help clarify who actually designs, manufactures, or specializes in true cold-weather gear:

🏔️ Sub-Zero Heavy Expedition Parkas (Made in Canada)

1. Quartz Co. (Montreal, QC) – Fully made in Quebec using traceable Canadian down or milkweed insulation. Sleek, minimalist design rated down to -30°C.
2. Kanuk (Montreal, QC) – Handcrafted in Montreal since 1970. Known for synthetic Thindown insulation that handles humid Atlantic/coastal slush as well as deep prairie freezes.
3. Tough Duck (Winnipeg, MB) – Heavy-duty insulated work coats, bomber jackets, and winter parkas built for industrial Canadian winters.
4. Wuxly Movement (Toronto, ON) – 100% animal-free, vegan-insulated technical parkas made in Toronto. Exceptional warmth without down or fur.
5. Canada Goose – Note: While they moved casual apparel offshore, their core classic parkas (Expedition, Chilliwack, Snow Mantra) are still assembled in Canadian factories (check the label).

🌲 Heritage Wool & Boreal Layering

1. Anian (Victoria, BC) – Heavy recycled wool outerwear (The Melton, Modern Coat) built to shed Pacific Northwest damp cold.
   
2. Stanfield’s (Truro, NS) – The classic Canadian heavyweight wool henleys and heritage shirt jackets that loggers and outdoor crews have trusted for over a century.
   
3. Mackinaw / Woolrich Heritage Vintage – Classic Canadian-milled heavy wool field coats.
   
4. L. Garneau (Saint-Augustin, QC) – Hand-trimmed sheepskin and shearling outer garments.

🏙️ Tailored City Coats & Luxury Outerwear

1. Mackage (Montreal, QC) – Luxury tailored down coats. While higher-volume pieces are internationally sourced, their heritage specialty coats are designed and finished in Montreal.
   
2. Sentaler (Toronto, ON) – Signature baby alpaca wool wrap coats and luxury outerwear crafted with Canadian pattern-making.
   
3. Judith & Charles (Montreal, QC) – Clean, tailored wool-blend topcoats and winter car coats, with a significant portion manufactured in Montreal.
   
4. Moose Knuckles – Note: Look specifically for their "Canadian Collection" for domestic assembly; standard diffusion lines are imported.

🌧️ Technical, Rain & Mixed-Climate Outerwear

1. Arc’teryx (Arc’One / Veilance) (North Vancouver, BC) – Standard consumer lines are imported, but select ultra-premium technical pieces and Veilance garments are still assembled at their Arc’One facility in New Westminster.
   
2. Vallier (Montreal, QC) – Modern urban technical coats built with waterproof membranes and recycled materials.
   
3. Norden Project (Montreal, QC) – 100% recycled plastic outer shells and high-loft faux-down insulation for eco-conscious city commuters.
   
4. Freed & Freed (Winnipeg, MB) – Heritage outerwear manufacturer running since 1921, producing vegan and faux-fur trimmed insulated trench and puffer coats.
   
5. Soia & Kyo (Montreal, QC) – Down and wool-blend transitional coats known for sleek silhouettes.
   
6. Nobis (Markham, ON) – Technical outerwear designed in Markham with Canadian white duck down and Sympatex membranes (internationally produced, Canadian-owned).
   
7. Outdoor Survival Canada (OSC) (Toronto, ON) – Extreme cold outerwear hand-crafted and sewn in Toronto, tested down to -40°C.

A searchable directory that indexes domestic outerwear brands and lets you sort by price and style can be browsed at CanadianOwn Website (under the Winter Jackets collection).

Which Canadian coat has lasted you the longest through real winter freezes? Anyone rocking a Kanuk or Quartz Co. coat this year?

Finding genuine Canadian-made winter boots is becoming incredibly difficult. A lot of household names either moved production offshore or use confusing branding where only a tiny subset of their catalog is actually made domestically.

With winter around the corner, I spent the last week digging into manufacturing locations, company histories, and real-use reviews to build a cheat sheet of 20 Canadian brands who still manufacture winter footwear or heavily support domestic production.

⚜️ Montreal & Quebec Suede / Leather (Handcrafted, fashion, & city wear)

1. Anfibio (Montreal) – Incredible waterproof leather and suede boots. Handcrafted and completely made in Canada.
2. Martino (Quebec City) – Famous for their shearling-lined boots and Amphi-technology. 100% made here.
3. Saute-Mouton (Quebec City) – Very warm, natural wool-lined boots. Excellent craftsmanship.
4. Pajar Heritage (Montreal) – Important: Only their "Heritage" collection is made in Montreal (look for the Canadian flag on the label). Their casual line is imported.
5. Olang (QC/Italy) – Known for retractable ice-gripper soles. The uppers are imported, but key final assemblies and specific collections are domestic.
6. La Canadienne (Montreal) – Premium, high-quality waterproof fashion boots. A large chunk is still made in Montreal.
7. Garneau (QC) – Famous for their indoor sheepskin slippers and booties, but their indoor-outdoor shearling footwear is 100% QC-made.

🌲 Heavy-Duty Snow & Sub-Zero Boots (For deep snow and sub-zero weather) 8. Baffin (Stoney Creek, ON) – Famous for extreme cold-weather gear. Make sure to look for their "Made in Canada" collection (Industrial, Utility, and specific Winter models). 9. Kamik (Montreal & QC) – A massive favorite for affordable winter boots. They manufacture roughly 70%+ of their footwear in Canada and New England. Check the "Made in Canada" labels on their classic snow and rain models. 10. Acton (QC) – Known for rugged industrial and outdoor winter boots. Look for their "made in Canada" collection.

🍁 Indigenous-Owned & Heritage Moccasins / Mukluks 11. Amimoc (Quebec) – Beautiful hand-sewn moccasins and winter mukluks. 12. Laurentian Chief / Eugène Cloutier (Saint-Émile, QC) – Handcrafted, natural leather and suede boots with sheepskin lining. 13. Manitobah Mukluks – Note: They have moved some production overseas to lower prices, but they have a dedicated "Indigenous Market" and "Made in Canada" section on their site where local artisans handcrafted them here. Verify before buying! 14. Bastien (QC) – Historic brand specializing in traditional hand-sewn winter moccasins and outdoor footwear. 15. Hiawatha (QC) – High-quality handcrafted traditional mukluks and indoor-outdoor sheepskin boots.

🐾 Independent & Casual Winter Everyday 16. Canada West Shoes (Winnipeg, MB) – Primarily known for rugged work boots and "WM Moorby" boots, but their insulated footwear is 100% made in Winnipeg. 17. Dayton Boots (Vancouver, BC) – Extremely high-end, custom handcrafted leather. Pricey, but buy-it-for-life quality if you wear heavy socks. 18. Royal Canadian – Designed in Toronto and built for extreme cold (-30°C). Waterproof and great for winter city commuting, but make sure to check specific styles for domestic manufacturing tags. 19. EGON (QC) – Local hand-constructed boots made to withstand QC winters. Very tough to find but built like tanks. 20. Boulet (St-Tite, QC) – Although primarily western and casual boots, their Goodyear-welted insulated boots can handle tough winter conditions.

A directory filter that includes a ton of these brands and compares online availability can be found at CanadianOwn Website (specifically the winter boots section), which makes it a lot easier to browse them.

Is there anyone I missed? What have been your experiences with Baffin vs Kamik or the Montreal leather brands? Let's compile some good honest reviews below!

After many cribbage nights with my family, I came up with the idea to start 3D printing cribbage pegs with names or symbols on them!

A lot of the symbols ended up pretty Canadian: maple leaf, moose, lobster, lighthouse, hockey sticks, etc. All made here in Halifax.

One tip if you're ever replacing pegs: check your hole size first. Most boards take 1/8" pegs.

I'm the one making them (cribpegz.ca if you want a look), so ask me anything!

My brother and I invented the NoPane Handle, a simple tool that makes carrying propane tanks much more comfortable by giving them a proper, centred grip.

We could’ve outsourced manufacturing overseas, but keeping production and jobs here in Manitoba was important to us.

Here’s our story!

There’s a widespread perception that buying Canadian-owned or locally made goods is strictly a luxury that if you want to support domestic businesses, you automatically have to pay double compared to cross-border or overseas alternatives.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been digging through domestic brand catalogs and pricing data to see whether this actually holds up, and the reality is a lot more balanced than most people think.

While heavy winter outerwear and boutique artisan goods carry premium price tags, everyday consumer goods tell a completely different story. Once you factor in currency conversion (CAD vs USD), import duties, and cross-border shipping fees from US retailers, hundreds of Canadian-made and Canadian-owned staples come in competitive or cheaper:

• Kitchen & Pantry Essentials (Under $15–$20): Brands like Camille’s, Maison Orphée, and local roasting companies often beat US imports on a per-unit basis once shelf markups are accounted for.
• Personal Care & Grooming (Under $20): Clean bar soaps, balms, and skincare from domestic makers like Rocky Mountain Soap Co., Routine, and Druide sit neck-and-neck with equivalent US specialty brands.
• Home & Paper Goods (Under $25–$30): Basic home utility items, wool dryer balls, natural cleaning refills, and canvas totes from domestic labels carry almost identical price parity to major commercial shelf brands.

The main hurdle isn’t that affordable options don’t exist—it’s that smaller domestic brands lack the massive shelf-space marketing budgets that multinational conglomerates have. A lot of makers also regularly host clearance and end-of-season sales that fly under the radar unless you actively look for them.

For those trying to keep dollars domestic without stretching budgets: What are your favourite everyday Canadian products that cost under $20 or $30? Which categories do you still struggle to find budget-friendly alternatives for?

Hello! I wanted to share a Canadian Gift Guide I put together. It includes 88 independent shops that ship across Canada, organized into 10 categories. 60 of them also make what they sell in Canada.

Check it out here: https://thegenerall.store/holiday-guides/canadian-gift-guide/

The site is still growing, but I hope it makes shopping Canadian and finding local businesses a little easier!

The guide is part of The Generall Store, a website I’ve been working on with input from fellow Buy Canadian Redditors. Shops can claim their listings and add their own photos, deals and events. I’ve also linked some community calendars so you can find local events all in one place.

Your Community: https://thegenerall.store/your-community/

With fall winds picking up and indoor heat turning on, cold-weather dryness usually sends people rushing to pharmacy shelves for imported staple creams and balms.

A lot of the household names we see in big-box aisles are foreign multinationals. If you're trying to keep your winter routine strictly domestic, here are 5 authentic Canadian-made swaps that perform noticeably better:

• Rocky Mountain Soap Company (Canmore, AB): 100% natural body butters, hand creams, and foot balms crafted right in the Rockies. Great rich beeswax formulas that don't dry out after 10 minutes.
• AG Care (Vancouver, BC): Clean, salon-grade hair care, treatments, and oils formulated and bottled locally in BC.
• Pure Anada (Morden, MB): Prairie-made shea butters, face serums, and lip balms using cold-pressed oils without filler petrochemicals.
• Barefoot Venus (Kelowna, BC): Heavy-duty hand lotions and bath oils specifically formulated for dry interior BC winter climates.
• DESIGNME (Montreal, QC): Vegan hair care and restorative hair masks/oils developed and made right in Quebec.

Everything here is owned and produced right here in Canada.

Are there any other domestic skincare or body brands you rely on once the sub-zero temperatures hit? Drop your go-to makers below! 🍁

(P.S. We track and vet 500+ domestic makers over on our free community directory at CanadianOwn website if you're building a domestic shopping list this season).

🇨🇦💚🍁Your Canadian
seed source! 🇨🇦💚🍁

MatchesSeeds.ca

Hey everyone,

With colder weather creeping in and supply chains constantly shifting, a lot of us are looking closer at where our daily essentials actually come from. It's easy to spot foreign alternatives in big-box stores, but domestic makers are often doing it better with higher-quality ingredients and materials.

Here is a quick breakdown of 6 reliable Canadian-made swaps across everyday household categories:

1. Home & Laundry

• Attitude Living (Montreal, QC): Plant- and mineral-based household cleaners, dish soaps, and laundry detergents made domestically with EWG-verified ingredients.
• Bio-Vert (Laval, QC): Certified eco-friendly and biodegradable cleaning products, phosphate-free and formulated right in Quebec.

2. Pantry & Condiments

• Kozlik's Canadian Mustard (Toronto, ON): Handcrafted small-batch mustards made with 100% Canadian mustard seed.
• Crofter's Organic (Parry Sound, ON): Family-owned organic fruit spreads and fruit-based preserves crafted locally in Ontario.

3. Coffee & Tea

• Balzac's Coffee Roasters (Ancaster, ON): Micro-roaster specializing in fair-trade, organic beans roasted and packaged domestically.
• Pluck Tea (Toronto, ON): Premium teas blended in small batches using ingredients sourced from local Canadian growers.

Everything listed here is produced and manufactured domestically.

If anyone wants to explore more domestic makers or needs a specific category swap, feel free to drop a note in the comments and I can share more details!

What are your go-to Canadian-made staples in the kitchen or around the house that deserve more attention?

We have homeschooled our children since the beginning. My husband is a software developer. We found that our kids would freeze mid problem and forget the next step. The hints in any other curriculum we tried, just seemed to give the answer instead of an actual hint. So he developed Math Magus. Here’s a little video to show how it works. You can sign up to be a beta tester and get free access at https://www.mathmagus.com/

Any recommended stores or boutiques to purchase before going home? Will be in Quebec City and Montreal before flying home next week. Mostly as gifts for relatives.

So, about 5 years ago I got a Bartesian machine because my husband and I host quite a bit, and I hated spending time mixing cocktails instead of having quality time with friends & family.

I have to admit, I loved it - it took a while to narrow down the top 10 drinks worth keeping in stock, but once I did it was absolutely a crowd favourite. Made a lot of nights extra fun!

Even my kids liked it, since there’s a mocktail setting with no alcohol added.

Of course I stopped buying pods almost two years ago, but I’m starting to miss it. The machine is collecting dust in our basement.

Does anyone know if there’s a Canadian version, or a non-US-supporting way to get compatible pods?

Hey everyone,

Following up on my post from a few weeks back where we covered the first 130+ domestic makers: thanks to suggestions from this community, the catalog has grown to over 500+ verified Canadian-owned brands and domestic manufacturers.

With colder weather setting in, here is a breakdown of 10 authentic domestic alternatives across outdoor gear, winter wear, and household staples:

1. Subzero Winter Work & Outerwear

• Raber Glove (Winnipeg, Manitoba): Makers of authentic subzero "Garbage Mitts" and cowhide arctic gauntlets crafted for prairie winters.
• Watson Gloves (Burnaby, BC): Heritage leather and cold-weather work gloves, still cutting and stitching their premium industrial lines domestically.
• Quartz Co. & Kanuk (Montreal / Quebec): High-grade winter parkas designed and manufactured in Quebec.

2. Winter Apparel & Base Layers

• Vallier (Montreal, QC): Tailored technical winter wear and 100% merino wool neck gaiters and accessories.
• Manmade (Montreal, QC): Canadian-designed natural modal and bamboo everyday base essentials.
• Tough Mode Apparel (Ontario): Independent Canadian-made athletic performance wear and activewear cut and sewn domestically.

3. Household, Kitchen & Workshop

• Maison Orphée (Quebec): Non-GMO, cold-pressed domestic culinary oils and condiments.
• KLETON (Montreal, QC): Commercial ladders, warehouse rolling stairs, and heavy-duty shop equipment made in Canada.
• Recochem / Turbo Power (Edmonton & Montreal): Domestic formulation and manufacturing of subzero all-season windshield fluids.
• Signature MB (Quebec): Small domestic maker crafting durable windshield wiper protective covers for freezing rain and snow.

The project remains completely free to search with direct outbound links to the makers' own sites (no markups or paywalls).

If you want to check out the directory or search a specific product category, drop a note in the comments and I will happily share the link.

What domestic winter brands or local makers are we still missing?