Quebec designates June 12 as ‘buy local’ day

To encourage consumers to change their purchasing habits, Quebec organizations are joining forces to mark the first-ever Quebec Buy Local Day set for Thursday.

It aims at promoting local produce and products following months of trade tensions and tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump.

“I think the takeaway for me is to say that we need to get serious about buying local and initiatives like this help us do it,” said Christopher Skeete, the Quebec associate minister for the economy.

“We’re hoping that Quebecers are going to seize the opportunity to develop the reflex that we’re hoping that they’re going to be developing to buy local.”

Representatives of Aliments du Québec and Les Produits du Québec made the announcement Monday, noting that consumers should keep their eyes out for three certification marks: product of Quebec, made in Quebec and designed in Quebec.

“As a consumer, I can feel that Quebec people are looking for Quebec products,” said Elfi Morin, the general manager of Les Produits du Québec.

Morin explains what criteria businesses need to meet to be eligible for each certification. One of them, for instance, is that 85 per cent of labourers and raw material have to come from the province.

“The difficulty is not only to know what is made in Quebec, but it’s also to make sure that it’s made in Quebec,” Morin said.

“The idea here is to create that momentum so that people look for these logos that are behind us that we should learn to identify as being Quebec based,” added Skeete. “You know, when you buy local, it has tremendous impacts on the economy.”

Skeete says part of the reason behind the initiative is based on identified shock factors from local consumers, such as a fear of products not being able to enter the province during the pandemic and the rise of inflation.

“There are shock behavioral changes that are created at that time and that continue to be repeated thereafter. We continued to grow, even after the pandemic, until the arrival of the customs tariffs,” explained Isabelle Roy, the general director of Aliments du Québec.

“The world is changing and it’s changing quickly,” added Skeete. “And in the last five years, we’ve had major disruptions in our economy. And so we always think, ‘oh, well, it’s temporary. It’s going to go back to where it was. It’s not.’”

The minister said up to 100 jobs are connected to each local product made, noting a giant economic upside once purchased.

Montrealers who spoke to CityNews were all for the logos.

“I think it’s important to buy in Quebec, especially to support our small businesses,” one person said. “Supporting these small businesses is always important, instead of buying from large chains, whose money often leaves Quebec.”

“It’s just something that I’ll support because I think during this period, it’s kind of intense,” another said. “And I just want to support local business. So that’s very important to me.”