Embracing fashionable Canadian clothes needed now more than ever, says Gander entrepreneur

Amid the uncertainty of the U.S. tariff situation, one Gander, N.L. entrepreneur says now more than ever, people need to support Canadian clothing brands.

Gander businesswoman Marilyn Robinson founded Inspire Collections, a clothing and accessories boutique with locations in Moncton, Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor. A new location is coming to Corner Brook.

She says she makes it a point to stock Canadian fashion brands in her stores.

"All my suppliers right now for clothing — every single one of them — they're all Canadian companies, every single one of them. And there's a lot of them that are manufactured in Canada, but not all," Robinson told CBC Radio's Newfoundland Morning.

"But there's nothing that's manufactured in the United States, I will say that."

Robinson says Canadians need to support Canadian brands, for a number of reasons beyond just U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war — it means keeping Canadian dollars in Canada.

"You can buy good quality clothing that can sit in your closet for year-after-year," she said.

"The quality of Canadian goods is just superior. But right now we want to keep our money in Canada."

Life changes

The meaning behind the Inspire name is because Robinson wanted to inspire women and supporting female Canadian designers, she said.

"There's a lot of them out there," she said.

"My entire mantra really is, like, working with women. I want to see women grow and thrive. And especially women who think they can't, because lots of times it's our mindset that will hold us back in life."

Before opening Inspire Collections, Robinson said her career in financial services was going well, but her career trajectory changed because she decided to become a stay at home mother to care for her sick child. As a result, her family downsized to a smaller home and one vehicle to make it work, she said.

"Twenty years later, I look at it and I say to myself, I wasn't being buried. I was being planted because out of that dark time came such a beautiful thing," said Robinson.

She started Inspire Collections with just $5,000 in investments and it has grown to several stores.

"I just was thinking it was a hobby business and, you know, and never in a million years could I see what was ahead."

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