The Buy Canadian movement continues to hold strong months after tariffs were introduced on domestic goods. The support of national products over American was triggered by trade disputes between Canada and the United States at the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House, one year ago. Despite the challenges of the economic landscape in Canada, shoppers see it as an opportunity to support the local economy.

The movement has prospered in the food and beverage industry, according to the dean of the Culinary Arts program at Lethbridge Polytechnic, Sobey’s and the manager of a Lethbridge store who finds ways to support other local businesses.

Gary Hughes, local development manager at retail chain Sobey’s, believes “keeping money in, in your neighbouring economy is important because you’re helping businesses thrive.”

The campaign for local support runs concurrently with southern Alberta’s position as a national agri-food hub. The region of the province is significant for its production of grains, crops and proteins and supported by Canada’s Premier Food Corridor (CPFC), a collaboration of local municipalities, including Lethbridge, Coaldale and Taber.

With nearly 680,000 hectares of irrigated farmland, Alberta has the largest region to grow a variety of crops. The production success is complemented by economic incentives, including lower taxes, affordable farmland, a skilled workforce and access to transportation infrastructure with both the Canamex highway and railway spurs.

Chef Stephen Klassen, dean of the Culinary Arts program at Lethbridge Polytechnic, highlights that southern Alberta offers a variety of high-quality products that are not widely known.

Foundational food processing companies have known the region is a prosperous food production corridor for over 100 years. The large players in the food industry include Cavendish Farms, Lamb Weston-Con Agra, Maple Leaf Foods, Richardson International, McCain Foods and PepsiCo Foods Canada. They benefit the most from freshness and contribute to an eco-friendlier supply chain.

“If we’re not transporting products from California or Ontario and we’re sourcing them from our own backyard, they should be at their peak freshness. And then I think about the whole environmental aspect of greenhouse gas. There are opportunities there to cut down on some of that because you’re not trucking product across the country,” says Hughes.

Small local businesses also commit to domestic sourcing. In fact, part of CPFC’s core mission is supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and promoting industry collaborations.

Nancy Graham, store manager at Cupper’s, a local coffee house and roaster, underlines the importance of supporting other small businesses in the city of Lethbridge.

“I think supporting local means supporting your community and being supported by your community. So the more local we can be, the more it helps our community support us,” Graham remarks.

The traditional coffee house and roaster displays everything from local snacks to pottery. The shop also sells products from other parts of the country and even all over the world, including American teas and an admirable coffee collection. Nevertheless, the “made in Canada” tags mark their presence on the shelves. The store manager suggests being open-minded and curious about what can be found at home.

“I would say one of the biggest things I’ve learned is not to be surprised by what you can get locally. I say that, and yet I’m constantly surprised sometimes when it comes out local and I don’t realize we could even do that here. But just keep looking. Be open-minded. Don’t be afraid to ask the current suppliers… Sometimes you get really good answers from that, so don’t be afraid to ask,” Graham comments.

According to the food data management software, Nutritics, the benefits of sourcing ingredients for the food and beverage business locally include product freshness, environmental concerns, support for the local economy, community and sustainability messages, and seasonal variety on menus.

At Lethbridge Polytechnic, local sourcing of ingredients is a key component of education. It is present in the classrooms and in the practical lessons at the post-secondary institution’s Cafeteria and restaurant, The Garden Court. Chef Klassen prioritizes the cooperation between producers and food services. “If we expect people to come to our restaurants, we should do the same thing, supporting those smaller producers,” he says.

With that in mind, Canada’s Premier Food Corridor and Lethbridge Polytechnic’s chefs and students are preparing a Local Producers Gala Dinner on April 11. The special culinary experience uses local ingredients and encourages partnerships between growers, ranchers, producers, distributors, researchers and business service providers. With trade and economic uncertainties, supporting local has become even more appealing to businesses, grocery chains and post-secondary institutions.