This Small Business Saturday, reoccupy Main Street and shop local
This year is different, particularly for Canadians who want to avoid American products and services.
For fifteen years now, I have been promoting Small Business Saturday, set up in 2010 as an alternative to Black Friday by American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. As Stephanie Meeks of the National Trust noted:
“When we invest in small businesses, we are investing in Main Streets - the places that give our towns and cities a unique sense of place. By celebrating Small Business Saturday and shopping at independent businesses, everyone can play a part in strengthening our economy and supporting revitalization on our Main Streets.”
I listed many reasons for supporting it (and my kids who worked in small businesses) in my post of two years ago:
In 2011, a group in Dallas started Reoccupy Main Street. The Occupy movement is long gone, but I still love this campaign and its focus on shopping local and paying with cash, not your Amex card.
This year, thanks to the US President and his ridiculous Ambassador to Canada, shopping local and buying Canadian is more critical than ever. As the Times notes,
“Mr. Trump’s insistence that Canada should be the 51st state fueled a patriotic movement that drove Mr. Carney to a stunning electoral victory in the spring. Together with the tariffs on Canadian goods, the souring of relations has led to a major negative shift in attitudes toward the United States among Canadians.”
Many Canadians are boycotting American products and services, but it’s difficult when the choice is between a multinational chain and Amazon. A study by PwC Canada found that nearly half of respondents “said they would choose a Canadian product even if it was more expensive than an imported one,” but good luck finding them. Even hockey sticks are made in Asia or Mexico now. This is why Small Business Saturday (and small business every day) is so important.
Small Business Saturday in Canada is a partnership of Amex and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which is wrapping itself in the flag, according to a press release:
“The holiday season is make-or-break for thousands of small businesses across the country,” said Ryan Mallough, CFIB vice-president of legislative affairs. “We’ve seen a really great uptick in people buying local and Canadian goods as the Canada-U.S. trade battle continues. We want to see that trend continue on Small Business Saturday to kick off a strong finish to what has been an extremely turbulent year for small businesses.”
I am a bit ambivalent about the people behind Small Business Saturday, given that it promotes shops that take American Express, which is obviously American and is sending a few cents of every purchase south. The CFIB is no friend of employees in small businesses; it has taken positions against raising minimum wages and increasing the number of sick days, and even came out against the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) during the pandemic because it “created a disincentive to return to work for some staff.”
But the basic principles that attracted me to it apply more than ever. Two years ago, I concluded:
“This is why “shop small,” and Small Business Saturday are so much more than just an American Express promotion. It’s about rethinking how we build and maintain healthier, low-carbon cities. It’s about creating jobs for our kids in our communities. It is about a much bigger picture of how we want to live.”
And this year, for Canadians, it is about supporting each other in the face of American economic pressure. Buy local, and buy Canadian.