If there’s been one positive outcome of the acrimonious NAFTA and the free trade talks, it’s the renewed support for Canadian farmers, retailers and manufacturers by shopping local.

We had a great #BuyCanadian experience lately. This summer we renovated our bathroom. Our contractor took us to a bath specialty store for fixtures, but we still needed a vanity and storage.

I googled bath stores in Kingston and found Bath Depot in the Rio Can centre on Gardiner’s Road.

Bath Depot (Bain Depot in Quebec) is a Canadian success story. It was founded by four brothers from Quebec and is unique, because it’s not just a retailer, it acts as a manufacturer, distributor and retailer for its products. The result is great products, made in Canada at reasonable prices. Today it has 25 stores in Ontario and Quebec and more than 200 employees.

They were excellent to deal with and had one of the best selections of vanities, fixtures and accessories to choose from and we love our new bath room.

This summer, we also scoured the big box stores to find replacement vacuum bags for our old vacuum. We had just about given up, when Dave said let’s check John Trousdale’s hardware store in the town of Sydenham. John has one of the best selections of appliances in the area, and will match just about any price. Sure enough, he had what we were looking for.

Some economists say it’s impractical to #BuyCanadian—that there simply isn’t enough Canadian manufacturers and products and we need to keep calm and keep trading on. I say it’s time to support our local businesses and when you can, #BuyCanadian.

Not sure where to find local goods? Check out madeincanada.ca, a site created by a 17-year old Ontario student on his summer vacation that lists Canadian made goods. Not bad, eh?