Victory Gardens for a Trade War
Editorial by Marlene Wandel
Christmas spirit is all around us, just like it is every December. It creeps in a little earlier every year, with the gong signaling the start of the season of spending now ringing as soon as the last bugle note of Remembrance Day fades away.
The average Canadian household spends roughly $2,000 on Christmas every year. Unpacking (or rather unwrapping) that figure isn’t that hard; between festive meals and the required pile of gifts to show our love, we need to buy a lot of stuff. Buying stuff isn’t necessarily a bad thing—it injects money into the economy, keeps stores open, and keeps people employed. If we see it that way, maybe Christmas is all about gifts, including the gift of continued economic growth if we spend our money in the right direction.
Depending on the tone of your echo chamber, you may or may not agree that the lunacy that is the leadership to the south of us has been very successful in some ways. The trade war intended to pour money into the American company has indeed changed spending patterns. The unabated stream of unhinged tirades are likely as successful as the ever-fluctuating tariffs at influencing spending patterns.
Cross-border travel has slowed considerably, and reports of snowbirds staying home or going elsewhere are all over the news. “Elbows up,” while not perhaps the most festive of sentiments, is perfect to guide our seasonal shopping and lead us to spend our dollars a bit closer to home. In past years, online shopping accounted for almost 40% of holiday spending; we could almost rebrand it “Christmas shipping” instead of “Christmas shopping”. The buy-Canadian movement may skew that this year, and we can take it a step further and consider how we can spend money in our own community or our own region.
Brick-and-mortar stores are still in evidence, and Thunder Bay has a few nice little shopping districts; whether buying building supplies or stocking stuffers, it’s surprisingly easy to find almost everything you might need right here in Thunder Bay, or at least in Ontario.
This trade war of attrition won’t go away anytime soon, and while we can’t plant victory gardens in December in Thunder Bay, we can keep the home fires burning by spending our money close to home. Every gift or holiday dinner purchased here helps keep the lights on at another business struggling in a trade war, and helps keep a few more people employed.
The best offense is a good defense, which in this case just means a bit less time online and maybe a bit more time in line at a local retailer. The Walleye has a handy list of suggestions of just how to do this in the preceding pages. With apologies to Ryden’s, this might be the Christmas to offer your wallet a nice Canadian staycation.