Canadian Retail Thread

[Hecate]

Originally Posted by casper

What is wrong with McDonald's coffee. Like Tim's it is roasted in Canada.

The one to avoid for ethical reasons is Starbucks who roast their coffee in the US. Once they learn the errors in their ways and relocate the roasting operations to Canada they should be considered again.

That said, the local independents are also Canadian owned so they should do better.

I think Murchies makes the very best coffee, but its expensive. They are better know for their teas.
https://www.murchies.com/

Spirit Bear makes a good coffee. (Indigenous owned)
https://spiritbearcoffeecompany.com/

McDonald’s Canada pays royalty fees to the United States corporation.

So you are in part contributing to the benefit of Americans when you purchase their products… I don’t personally care about that… just calling out the hypocrisy.

And why not put your money where your mouth is and support local chains. I go to empty cup collective here in winnipeg.

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by Wigs

Elbows up! Boycott Starbucks. There's plenty of Canadian cafes, particularly Mom and Pop cafes to support.

I've noticed nobody boycotted Starbucks. Some people are just addicted to that burnt tasting coffee.

[casper]

Originally Posted by Hecate

McDonald’s Canada pays royalty fees to the United States corporation.

So you are in part contributing to the benefit of Americans when you purchase their products… I don’t personally care about that… just calling out the hypocrisy.

And why not put your money where your mouth is and support local chains. I go to empty cup collective here in winnipeg.

Murchie's here in Victoria is my favorite.

In Ottawa it is Equator Coffee.

Second Cup in Toronto.

As for McCafe, it is a multi-national. Mostly owned by institutional investors through Vanguard and BlackRock and other funds. While I think most multi-nationals should move their corporate HQ out of the US, they clearly don't agree. With time, they should leave.

I think the preference should be given to locally owned/operated companies. Second runner up should be Canadian HQ corporations like Tim Hortons followed by multi-nationals that have shown a strong commitment to a local supply chain and try to manufacture as much as possible in Canada. McDonalds is in that last camp.

[Nouvellecosse]

I do think it would be good to expand the buy Canadian approach to more things but I don't think it's hypocrisy if people aren't unwavering zealots about it. It takes a lot of mental effort to filter every purchase decision through the lens of the trade war, and making changes to one's habits can also cost more money and require more physical time and effort if they have to travel further, wait longer etc. People still have to think about all the other aspects of life that existed before this all started. The trade war didn't suddenly replace every other problem or priority with that one. There's absolutely nothing hypocritical in a person saying they're going to alter some or most of their purchase decisions but limit that to say the 70% of the easiest changes while continuing as normal for the other 30%.

It's no different than someone saying they're going to donate a percentage of their spare time or disposable income to a cause they care about but not every cent or second. Balancing the various priorities and realities of life is pragmatism, not hypocrisy.

[casper]

I live on an island. There is something about island culture. I assume it is similar on PEI or NFLD.

When I moved here years ago I was surprised by how committed many here are to buying local. If its made on Vancouver Island or its from a company based on the island it does a lot better in the market. The same did not exist when I lived in Vancouver, Saskatchewan, Ontario or Manitoba. Most people are willing to pay a small premium for the island based goods.

The major corporations understand the dynamics. Island Farms (aka Agropur) plays up their Island connection. Thrifty Foods (aka Sobey's) plays up their Island connection. Quality Foods (aka Save-on-Foods) plays up their Island connection.

[theman23]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

I've noticed nobody boycotted Starbucks. Some people are just addicted to that burnt tasting coffee.

Does anyone actually care at this point?

[casper]

Originally Posted by theman23

Does anyone actually care at this point?

They should. Trump is in part responsible for the massive increase in the cost of coffee. Especially cheaper coffee.

Tim Hortons raises coffee prices, calls hike ‘more than reasonable’

In a statement to CTV News, a Tim Hortons spokesperson said the restaurant chain is raising coffee prices for the first time in three years, suggesting that compared to inflation, the price increase of 1.5 per cent per cup was “more than reasonable.”

Although most of Canada’s unroasted coffee comes from Mexico and further south, roasted coffee largely comes from the United States, according to StatCan.

Canada imported 3.9 million kilograms of roasted coffee, mostly from the U.S. in July 2025. Roasted coffee was among the products affected by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Brazil and then were part of Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on the U.S., StatCan reported.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/articl...an-reasonable/

Trump is unhappy about Brazil charging its former president and sending him to prison, so they are being punished with tariffs. He does not like right leaning political leaders being held accountable for their actions.

I think this demonstrates the importance of having Canadian roasting facilities and ensuring the US is not part of the supply chain for something as vital as coffee. We need to bypassing US roasters.

[Hecate]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

I do think it would be good to expand the buy Canadian approach to more things but I don't think it's hypocrisy if people aren't unwavering zealots about it. It takes a lot of mental effort to filter every purchase decision through the lens of the trade war, and making changes to one's habits can also cost more money and require more physical time and effort if they have to travel further, wait longer etc. People still have to think about all the other aspects of life that existed before this all started. The trade war didn't suddenly replace every other problem or priority with that one. There's absolutely nothing hypocritical in a person saying they're going to alter some or most of their purchase decisions but limit that to say the 70% of the easiest changes while continuing as normal for the other 30%.

It's no different than someone saying they're going to donate a percentage of their spare time or disposable income to a cause they care about but not every cent or second. Balancing the various priorities and realities of life is pragmatism, not hypocrisy.

These were the same people telling me not to go on a vacation to Disneyland because I was supporting Americans.

[drew]

^ and they were correct.

[Hecate]

Originally Posted by drew

^ and they were correct.

I can’t stand “do as I say not as I do people.”

Practice what you preach.

I Had a great time!

And what’s worse… going on a vacation you’ve been saving for and dreaming of for years? Or being too cheap to support a local business?

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Hecate

So you are in part contributing to the benefit of Americans when you purchase their products… I don’t personally care about that… just calling out the hypocrisy.

And why not put your money where your mouth is and support local chains. I go to empty cup collective here in winnipeg.

Sums you up entirely. Just rage rage rage.

[Hecate]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Sums you up entirely. Just rage rage rage.

You could have just scrolled on by my original comment… but you chose to rage rage rage…

[Nouvellecosse]

Yeah the amount of funds that are sent to the US by buying coffee at a Starbucks location in Canada that pays Canadian baristas and rents a local retail space is going to be orders of magnitude less than spending likely thousands of dollars directly in the US. Something is only hypocritical when a person has a double standard for two things that are the same. That's the main problem with people who are obsessed with finding hypocrisy. They see things that have some connection or similarity but they often can't understand what makes them different. Probably because they're not looking for differences, only for similarities.

[drew]

Originally Posted by Hecate

I can’t stand “do as I say not as I do people.”

Practice what you preach.

I Had a great time!

And what’s worse… going on a vacation you’ve been saving for and dreaming of for years? Or being too cheap to support a local business?

I am not sure how you would determine that I am being hypocritical? Are you following me around?

[Ozabald]

Originally Posted by drew

^ and they were correct.

And who appointed you arbiter to determine whether the locations where people vacation are appropriate or not?

Perhaps Canada should implement an exit visa system similar to what existed in the Eastern bloc countries. Exit visas would be issued for approved locations only and if an individual wished to travel to an "unapproved" country, they would not be issued an exit visa and they would be marked or even jailed for disloyalty to the regime. Would that make you happy?

[Nouvellecosse]

No one needs to be appointed as anything to have and share an opinion on a discussion board. Members of the general public commenting on whether one considers another person's publicly shared decision to be good, bad or neutral in no way impedes the person's freedom to make said decision. And certainly has nothing to do with the government imposed restrictions in dictatorships.

Very bizarre stuff...

[casper]

Canadians are free to travel to the US (assuming the US lets them in) and have Americans in mouse costumes entertain their kids. That does not change the fact that when they do that they are in fact contributing to the economy of a country that elected a leader that wants to destroy the Canadian economy and annex us.

Canada does not impose export controls.

On my part, I have made the decisions that I am now only traveling to the US for business. With great caution and trying to minimize my time there.

I have noticed the US border guards are far less friendly of even business travelers. They ask far more questions and are more difficult.

Others can do as they wish.

Originally Posted by Ozabald

Perhaps Canada should implement an exit visa system similar to what existed in the Eastern bloc countries. Exit visas would be issued for approved locations only and if an individual wished to travel to an "unapproved" country, they would not be issued an exit visa and they would be marked or even jailed for disloyalty to the regime. Would that make you happy?

I would point out that the country that still does this is the US with travel to Cuba. Canada has never done this.

[dreambrother808]

It’s odd how some of the most conservative voices are least loyal to their own country.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by dreambrother808

It’s odd how some of the most conservative voices are least loyal to their own country.

Also the ones who want Soviet-style economic controls.

[Djeffery]

Anecdotally, I've crossed twice in the last couple months recreationally and my wife has also crossed once for business, and we have as usual found the US agents friendlier and easier to deal with than the Canadians when returning.

On the topic of choosing to go over. I say do what you want. No way in hell was I cancelling a vacation we have planned for more than a year and have wanted to do since we were first married. That guy takes up enough oxygen, he is not completely running my life. And I had people in my personal life telling me I was "supporting the regime" by still going, as if any of the money I gave the cruise line or the small business operators we supported on our tours was ending up in orange pockets in DC. I don't make the quick trips over like I used to as my own personal form of protest but I don't care what others do or judge them over still going over

My mom wants to go to Florida for a couple months in the winter but feels she is betraying the country or something. I said "I can see both sides of this, but you are also 77 and how many more years are you going to sit in the car and drive down there? You still have a life to lead, don't let him have that control over you". Who knows if they will still go or not, probably will be whether they find a deal.