Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall is pushing local shopping, and he’s doing it through social media.
Wall has been taking to Facebook and Twitter to give shout-outs to local entrepreneurs and Saskatchewan-made products, and urging shoppers to look beyond the big box stores.
“All over the province, people are making everything from food to great shirt brands to you name it,” Wall said.
“It’s amazing. You can get all your shopping done and support local entrepreneurs no matter who you’re buying for, that much is clear.”
Final Push for Local shops
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At Italian Star Deli, owner Carlo Giambattista calls this stretch the “harvest season.” He said all hands are on deck and the staff is working around the clock to get orders out.
“This is the retail harvest for people, for ourselves with people of the food industry. So everything’s coming to the end of the line now,” he said.
They’ve been in business for decades and have a very strong local following. Each year, Giambattista said that following seems to get even bigger.
“We buy 50 cases of cake last year, this year I bought 60 cases of cake, next year I’ll have to buy 70 cases of cake. We got a lot of cake,” Giambattista laughed.
It’s the bread and butter for retail shops this season. Christmas time is a big push for local shops vying for your shopping dollars.
Euphoria Muse’s manager Jess Donhauser said their customers are looking for unique gifts and are looking local to do so.
“It is quite busier, especially as the holidays approach… local is always good, it gives people something different than what the others stores kind of bring,” Donhauser said.
Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB) vice-president, Prairie & Agri-business Marilyn Braun-Pollon said local businesses are the majority in Saskatchewan. She said there is a ripple effect when it comes to buying local.
“We know they’re leaders in our community. They give back to our community in a big way. They support little league,” she said.