How to show your significant other — and Canada — some Valentine's Day love

Marsha Wright was looking for homemade, authentic chocolate to give her boyfriend for Valentine's Day and wanted to make sure she was supporting local — and her country.

"I wanted something a little more heartfelt, that I made a bigger effort [for]," said the Windsor, Ont., shopper.

She's one of many Canadians who are looking for that perfect gift for that special someone this week — while also thinking about what country they're supporting with their dollars.

Keeping dollars on this side of the border has never been more important to Canadians than now, amid threats of tariffs imposed by the U.S. 

The possibility is inspiring Canadians to look for more local options. 

Wright settled on something at Walker's Fine Candies, a shop local to the border city.

Store manager Rob Obeid says all of their suppliers are from Canada and he tries to keep as much local as possible — but some of them may get their cocoa from Ecuador.  

In 2023, Ecuador exported $1.14B in Cocoa Beans as the second largest exporter of Cocoa in the world, following Côte d`Ivoire in Africa. 

"We gotta help out … keep everything local and help our economy out," Obeid said.

"We appreciate it when we have all our supportive customers coming in and buying local."

Whether it's truffles or chocolates in the shape of hearts and roses, the store specializes in handmade, old-fashioned candies made on marble slabs.

"We roll them. We make the mixture, roll them, and dip them all from scratch. You can't beat handmade," Obeid said. 

"Ever since what's been going on with Canada and the U.S. with these tariffs … I think everybody's jumping on board to support local and all of us retailers, we really appreciate it because it does help a lot. "

Domestic petals

Shannon Gilbert says she sources her flowers from the Niagara region whenever she can.

Gilbert, who owns Flowers by Design in Windsor, says supporting Canadian growers is something that she has always prioritized— even before the tariff threats came to Canada. 

"We have quite a few growers coming from the Niagara region," she said. "Even prior to everything going on, that was always something that was available to any Canadian, locally owned florist."

And while Gilbert says she does what she can to buy local, there are some flowers — like roses — that she ends up getting from other countries.

"I would say maybe 50 per cent is grown in Canada. Unfortunately just because of the climate here, it's not as easy to do certain crops. Ecuador is one of the biggest exporters of roses. We support a lot of family-owned … growers down in Ecuador to get our roses."

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Gilbert says flowers such the purple lisianthus, alstroemeria, snapdragons, chrysanthemums  and gerbera daisies are popular for bouquets and are all sourced from Ontario.  

In 2020, Canada imported $137.8 million in cut flowers and buds for ornamental purposes, largely from Colombia, Ecuador, the U.S. and the Netherlands, according to Agriculture Canada. 

Put a ring on it. But from where?

Iris and Marnie is an online small business focused on handmade jewelry made in Windsor.

And for owner Megan Cornwall she says she's always made a point of trying to buy the majority of her materials in Canada.

 "I'm dedicated to sourcing my materials, majority of them from Ontario and throughout Canada so that I can guarantee to my clients that what I make is Canadian made and truly Canadian made, which is really important," she said.

According to Cornwall, she's working toward having everything 100 per cent Canadian – and that it still poses a challenge.

"I would say we're about 90 per cent. There's still a couple of items — where it's like either a raw material or what's really hard to source Canadian made. But at the same time it's not less than that. So, we're working toward doing a little better." 

To her, she believes Canadians should support local businesses as there are plenty of options in Canada - especially handmade. 

"Because we have some amazing makers, we have some amazing local artists and businesses that are doing Canadian made and offering Canadian products. It just makes it that much more special," she said. 

For this Valentine's Day, she wanted to make it more local by adding a Windsor touch. 

"We are known for our pizza. And it's something that if you grew up in Windsor, you just know good pizza. And so for me, making these little pizza charms, it was key to kind of a little Valentine's Day nod to the city that I love."