Let’s Get Personal

The United States chose to invigorate Canadian national pride, although unintentionally. Yet, while Canadians largely choose to boycott the American neighbour (yes, “bour,” not “bor.”), the response is fragmented. The way Canadians respond is personal. The individual approaches to supporting our communities carry the sense of pride and anger mixed. It’s as if we are declaring, “let’s get personal.”

Of course, there are many common responses to threats to our sovereignty, as well as to the tariff cudgel.

Tourists Get Personal

This was one of the two primary “beat-backs.” Tourism to the USA experienced a precipitous drop in 2025 and 2026, while non-USA tourism rose. The most gratifying tourism pivot came with Canadians opting to staycation or visit their own province and nearby provinces. Canadian internal tourism in Canada rose by 2.5% in 2025 and 5.6% so far in 2026.

That was both a collective reaction and an individual choice.

In tandem with hotel and restaurant visits, visits to farmers markets, local events and simple day trip excursions rose as Manitobans experienced parts and aspects of their province that they had previously ignored.

Locals Get Personal with Retail

The surge in usage of Made in Canada apps showed our determination to support Canadian businesses. Our retailers an, particularly, our grocers experienced consumer wrath when they crept away from promoting Canadian goods. Loblaws quickly reinstated the shelf talkers showing country of origin for produce. Consumers opted for Canadian, or non-USA in every aspect of shopping, from cars to building supplies.

When Canadian goods were out of stock, consumers often chose not to buy a similar US product at all.

Yet, individual consumers have limited impact on manufacturing and big-business production. Most of our exports consist of energy and lumber. There is only so much we can buy that will impact on multi-billion dollar industries.

So, What Can We Do to Impact the Big Stuff?

Surprisingly, we can do! Ottawa’s recent counter-tariffs help point the way. The items on which they placed tariffs are the goods that we can source in Canada. That means that, hidden in the non-tariffed products are the keys to business growth at home. If we are not producing it now, is there an opportunity to do so? While few of us have the personal buying power to start our own multi-million-dollar business, we can stimulate those startups.

One of our weak areas is plastics production. We have a wealth of oil and petroleum resources, yet we do very little in the field of plastics processing. Is there an opportunity for niche development here?

A lot of our specialty tooling and equipment comes from the USA because we do not scale our production. In the 1960s to 1980s, we manufactured a good deal of farm equipment. But we relinquished that role to the Americans. The world (and our own country) now craves such products. So, an eager entrepreneur has an open door, as well as funding opportunities through governments.

Yet, there are angel and venture financiers who lend to such businesses, and we can invest part of our savings and retirement plans in these lenders.

Spinoff Businesses Can Get Personal

These are large scale projects, but they also spin off smaller support businesses. One company in Vidir, Manitoba began because the employer of the business owner needed specialty tooling for its operation. The employee left and set up a local tool and die business. Another needed equipment for a lumber yard and, in setting up a machine shop to produce that equipment, grew to a global supplier. An employee of the company set up a grain bin manufacturing operation that quickly eclipsed the prior largest grain silo manufacturer in the province.

Very often, it is not the original business that drives huge growth, but the spinoffs and support businesses that arise.

Why Should We Get Involved?

Getting personal and proud of our local community, province or country is not tribalism or protectionism. It is a recognition of the value of our community and the role we play as responsible members of that community. Our responsibility to our community allows us to benefit from the individual freedoms and rights that are only possible when we have balance and duty to others. It is a moral duty.

But moral duty is only one part of our reasons to take care of our local area, and our neighbours. The community that works together for a cause develops social bonds that will help it survive occasional downturns and obstacles. That social conscript may seem burdensome at times, but the benefit of drawing together becomes obvious during crises. Think of Manitoba’s floods and fires and how we pitched in to help over the decades. Our pioneer roots remind us of the value of the barn-raising or harvesting bees.

Then there is the clear benefit: economic. While it may seem convenient to buy cheaper American goods, we do so at the cost to our neighbours’ jobs. Buying Canadian reverses that disadvantage. The US currently laments how many of their jobs have migrate off shore. Yet, big business squeezes out local options in favour of cheaper Asian products and even services. Canada follows the same trend. The newly discovered national pride may help defray the impact of such consumer habits.

Life in Manitoba Gets Personal

We started this website in 2025 as a response to American aggression. That, no longer, is its focus. L.I.M. promotes Manitoba. It promotes it people, businesses and places. But one of the weaknesses of the website was its inability to promote Manitoba micro-business to Manitobans. We addressed that problem with www.needtogetit.com, a marketplace that hopes to have all little home-based businesses and local small businesses promote themselves on the platform. It’s free, but it needs you to sell on and buy from the platform.

For now, needtogetit.com  is in the early stages, so we need your feedback to make it work. We will be marketing only within Manitoba, but, as vendor numbers increase, we will begin cross-Canada advertising.

We also offer shipping service to those who are unable to ship their own goods. That, too, will take time to refine, but bear with us. For now, we invite you to list your business and your products with us, and shop on the site when you can.

We are making it personal. Hopefully, you will, too.